The Latest Tech In Mountain Biking

    As any habitual mountain biker knows, continual innovation and development in this rawest and most enjoyable of sports will always translate to a better biking experience. Mountain bikers use their wit, their will and their longing for adventure to follow the best natural trails, experiencing the world outside with speed, conscious control, and true gratitude.

    For those of us that regularly partake in this hobby, searching for further means of enjoying this sport can be a great use of our time. As such, understanding exactly what the latest tech offerings are, and how they may translate to your biking experience, can improve your future riding sessions.

    For this reason, we have taken the time to discuss some of the newest mountain bike innovations in the market, and the tools that make them function with advantageous might:

    E-Bikes

    E-bikes are more than just the latest e-rendition of a noted product. E-bikes have actually been around for some time, such as in elderly-suitable biking systems or in areas such as the Netherlands where bike sales and public bike high rates are extremely high. However, e-bikes are starting to become a popular purchase in the United States and more of Western Europe. 

    E-bikes often have motors in the rear wheel or are mid-drive designated. They allow you to pedal with assisted strength via additional power input, and motors are graded in watts. This gives you responsive torque that grants the user a smoother riding experience. 

    Additionally, regenerative braking allows the extra kinetic energy to help recharge the battery, although this is not a feature on all e-bikes. The circuit board also power the electric sensors, powering the terminal and its associated UI. This gives you the chance to sync with the manufacturers provided smartphone apps, better helping you track your cycling metrics (which can be hard to determine when moving through uneven ground).

    E-bikes give mountain bikers the chance to enjoy assisted cycling without feeling as though control is taken away from them, which in turn may help you go for longer or tackle steeper hills.

    Dropper Posts

    It’s an objective fact that cyclists enjoy having the most control possible over their riding experience, and mountain bikers would agree with this tenfold. Tackling uneven terrain means having to approach your trail in a thousand different ways each session. 

    You may find yourself standing on your bike to apply more hip power down your legs into the pedals, especially when ascending steep hills. Additionally, lowering your body to become more aerodynamic is often an acceleration-friendly tactic when moving on flatter or descending terrain.

    Dropper posts help you avoid the need to get off your bike and lower or raise the seat manually. This technological advancement grants you the means to alter the height of your bicycle seat with an interconnected unit on the handlebars, allowing you quick and easy access to adjust how your hips and legs interface with your pedal cycling. It’s not hard to see how raising the seat can grant you further power going up hills without having to sacrifice the stability of your bike standing up. 

    For that reason, dropper posts have become a celebrated and often welcome new addition for mountain bikers the world over.

    Hydraulic Brakes

    It’s important for mountain bikers to think of their safety before setting out on any journey, despite the apparent danger of their pursuit. A great safety helmet, arm pads and a worn visor can, of course, get them some of the way. Yet as for the architecture of the bike itself, there are improvements to be made.

    Hydraulic brakes are becoming a vastly more popular alternative to mechanical disc brakes, and denote a new innovation within the mountain biking product library. Hydraulic disc brakes is an insular, closed system of reservoir and hydraulic hoses filled with proprietary hydraulic fluid, used to operate the breaks quickly. The internal plunger forcefully pushes said fluid through the hose and into the callipers, from there allowing the pads to touch the rotor and bring the bike to a stop.

    A benefit of hydraulic breaks is that after a clean install, the closed system prevents mud, dirt and other debris from entering the braking system, which is beneficial for obvious reasons. This means that while regular maintenance is uncommon, it’s important to check their function before each riding session as normal. Additionally, hydraulic brakes often feel much more powerful yet, thanks to the aforementioned fluid, allows the braking experiences to feel smoother and more reliable. For that reason, they are a worthwhile addition to any mountain bikers’ riding toolkit.

    With this advice, we hope you can better understand and maybe even purchase the latest tech in mountain biking. 

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