I'm sure you realize that all of the components of your bike work together to make for an efficient and comfortable ride assuming that you have everything configured the way it should be. And if you have ever been on a really long ride over several hours you most likely know how important it is to have the right seat (or saddle) on your bike since having the wrong one can be a very painful experience.

There is more to choosing a seat than how cool it looks, how much it weighs or what the rails are made out of. In order to get the best seat for your seat you need to do a little research and find out what specifications you need to look for when shopping for one. You may find that you have to go through a couple of them before you find the right one. In this article we will hopefully shed some light on what to look for when choosing your seat and what your options are to assist you in your search.

Of course everyone knows that helmets are an essential piece of equipment that we all use when riding our mountain bikes. And if you don't use one you deserve whatever brain damage you get when you smack your head on a rock! But how much thought do most people really put into their helmet besides how well it matches their jersey and how many vent holes it has?

The most important part of a bike helmet is how well it protects your head in the event of a crash. There are different types of helmets that are designed for different types of riding. You have your full face helmet for the downhill stuff, your XC helmets for the easy Sunday rides and then your all mountain\enduro type helmets for the more technical trails. Now just because a helmet looks like it provides adequate coverage and protection doesn't necessarily mean it does.

This is where MIPS helmets come into play. MIPS stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System and is designed to provide protection against the rotational motion caused by angled impacts to the head which can result in brain injury. Rotational impacts are more dangerous to the head than linear impacts. MIPS technology was developed in Sweden in 1996 and is becoming a major factor in helmet design.

Everyone loves the feeling of satisfaction when they fix something themselves rather than having to pay someone else to do it for you. Some people just like to save themselves some money whenever possible as well. This applies to many things in life and can definitely apply to your mountain bike too. And if you are a serious rider you know how often things need to be adjusted or even fixed to keep your bike in optimal working order.

With mountain biking more popular than ever there are more and more mountain bike specific tools coming on the market that can make working on your bike easier than ever before. But which tools do you need to take care of the basics and which tools do you need to become a mountain bike master mechanic? In this article we will discuss the simple tools everyone should own and then in a future article discuss tools that confuse most people just by looking at them!

Let's start with the basic tools that every driveway bike mechanic should have. We will not cover the obvious tools such as a screwdriver set, wrench set and various pliers. Most bikes these days use metric bolts that are usually Allen head or Torx head and you should have a set of screwdrivers or sockets that will fit these types of bolts. The most common size Allen head bolts on a bike are 4, 5 and 6 and you can purchase one tool that has all 3 sizes on it. Components such as brake levers, shifter levers, seatpost clamps and brake calipers tend to use Allen bolts while brake rotors and some shifter and brake levers will use Torx head bolts. You should also get yourself a pedal wrench so you have something easy to use when taking off your pedals. Some pedals use an Allen head on the end and some have an area to place a wrench on so it's always a good idea to be prepared and have booth tools.

If you are a regular mountain biker who hits the trails a couple of times a week then I'm sure you must have seen an e-bike or two by now whizzing by you on the uphill. Or maybe you just thought it was a really good rider or that you were just really slow! If you saw that bulky plastic box looking thing on the frame then it most likely an electric motor and its most likely an e-bike or electric bike.

Now when we say an electric bike we don't mean that it moves on its own without any effort from you. It's more of a pedal assist bike where you do some work and the electric motor does some of the work at the same time. By doing this you still get to pedal but it's much easier climbing the hills than if you only relied on your own power. And they have adjustable settings to control just how easy it is for you on your end.

As mountain biking progresses it seems like you need a degree in bikes to be able to figure out what combination of components you need to have on your bike to make it ride the way you want it to ride. The name of the game is to have fun rather than worrying about things like head tube angles, axle sizes, handlebar width and brake pad materials etc.

It's hard enough deciding what brand of tire you want to put on your bike because there are so many different tread patterns, weights and compounds to choose from. But even after you figure that out you still need to decide on what size will be best suited for your style or riding and the terrain you will be riding on. Should you go skinny or should you go fat tire style. Well it all depends on your riding style and the trails you like to ride.

Most mountain bikers have their "go to" trails that they do on a regular basis and many people are fine with doing the same trails over and over. But if you are like us you are always looking for something new and exciting and usually head over to YouTube or Google Maps to try and see what else is out there.

One great resource that you might want to try to find some new trails is called TrailForks and it's from the people who run Pinkbike and if you don't know what Pinkbike is you need to go to their website right now and check it out. TrailForks is a mountain bike website designed to help you find trails as well as trail conditions, photos, videos and more. It kind of sounds a little like this site! There is also an app for it as well so you can actually use your smartphone and GPS on the trail to see where you are in relation to the trails on their site you are looking for.

Once you log into the TrailForks site you can enter the area you are looking for or let it find you based on your location. You can see a map of the area with all the known trails listed along with their skill level based on colors.

If you're an avid rider, then you most likely bike both indoors and outdoors. After all, you need to stay in shape even when weather and environmental conditions aren't cyclist-friendly. If you want to get to elite level, training all the time is a must.

There are many ways to update your mountain bike. However, if you own a spinner as well, you might need to consider getting some gadgets and accessories that are universal. This will not only save you a lot of money, but you will also be able to track your progress in a more accurate manner by doing it on the same devices across the board.

Interchangeable Accessories
Buying separate accessories for your outdoor bike and its indoors sibling can get quite costly. This is why finding some that work for both of them is an amazing opportunity to save some money. Here are three parts interchangeable between your MTB and your spinner.