Trails In Every State

Mountain bike trails are vitally important to riders, who expect to take spills but want to minimize the number of spills by maximizing control. The straight-across handlebars help by putting the rider in a more upright position, as does the greater distance between wheel hubs, moving the rider's center of gravity toward the back. (Picture yourself hunched over the turned-down handlebars of a racing bike and going down a steep, rugged hill, and you can imagine how easy it would be to somersault.) The more-upright position, by itself, draws a certain number of buyers, Lew said. "You can ride all day long," he said.

The brake grips on the handlebars are massive, to resist breaking off in a spill and to give the rider leverage to pull on a new kind of brake, called a cantilever on a Mountain Bike Trail. "They give maximum pad pressure to get rid of grit, mud, water, all kinds of other stuff in one revolution of the wheel." Road bike brakes, Lew said, are "not really for stopping but to modulate speed. This kind is for a dog chasing a cat in front of you. It stops you on a dime."

The shift levers are right next to the brakes, within thumbs' reach so you don't have to take one hand off the handlebars just as you go over a tree root and realize there's canyon on the other side of that bush. Most shifters now are indexed, meaning they make a definite click as the front and rear derailleurs select new gears. That eliminates the hunting method common to the traditional 10-speed shifters.

The pedals are oversized so your foot stays on better, and tougher to survive regular bashings.

The seat, perhaps surprisingly, is about the same as the racing seat. That's because you need that narrowness when you are leaning forward and pumping. And when you're hopping down the bunny trail, your bottom won't be on it anyway. "You let your legs act as shock absorbers. You stand up a little on the pedals, unload your weight from the seat," Lew said. That also moves the strain on the bike down to the tough area near the bottom of the frame, and lets the pedal crank arms flex and take some load.

The seat can be raised or lowered with the flick of a lever-the idea being to lower it for downhill riding. In practice, Lew said, "We use one position for riding on the street and lower it a hair for off-road work."

Mountain Biking