Offroad cycling
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Offroad cycling is a cycling activity where bicycles (or unicycles) are ridden outside of standard grounds, for example in forests or on narrow mountain trails. It can be done in a recreational, utilitary manner or as a sport. In the first and latter case it is commonly referred to as mountain biking. Cyclo-cross is another form of offroad cycling, and is mostly a sport. Utilitary offroad bicycling, however, is impractical and as roads are paved anyway, it is seldomly done. Offroad cycling contrasts road cycling.
For as long as there have been bicycles, people have been riding and racing them off-road. However, factory-produced offroad bicycles have been around only since 1981.
Mountain bicycling
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See also: Mountain biking
Mountain bikes differ from road racing bicycles in several ways. They have a smaller and stronger frame, knobby tires on wheels that are wider and smaller in diameter, a lower range of gears to facilitate climbing up steep hills and over obstacles, a wider flat handlebar that allows a more upright riding position, and usually some form of suspension system for either the front wheel or both wheels. The inherent comfort and flexibility of the modern mountain bike has led to an estimated 80% market share in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
While it is estimated that only 10-20% of mountain bikes are actually ridden off-road, the sport of mountain biking has seen an explosion in popularity and diversification.
Mountain unicycling
In mountain unicycling, unicycles are ridden on offroad trails, which requires very good handling of the unicycle.
External links
- [1] (http://www.vorb.org.nz)
- Reviews of equipment and chat boards (http://www.mtbr.com)