Mountain Biking Blog

Here are some useful stretches that we recommend to perform after riding. Sometimes you might feel that some body parts are stiff or pulled more than others. When riding in terrain that you are not used to, you will do a lot of physical effort with muscles that are not used to doing so. In those cases, it is extremely important to perform long stretches with those muscles.

1. Stretching your calf: While bike riding, a lot of physical effort is done by your calf (the back part of the lower part of your leg) – Stand a step away from a wall or a strong support. Lean on the support with your forearms, while your head is resting on your hands. Take one leg ahead of the other. The front leg should be bent and the back leg should stay straight. Slowly move your hip forwards. Move forward slowly, until you feel that you are stretching the calf of the straight leg. Keep the foot of your straight leg flat on the ground. Hold the stretch for about 20 seconds.

2. Stretching the Achelles Tendon area: Stay standing in the same posture. Slightly bend the knee of your back leg, while keeping your foot flat. This stretches the lower areas that are closer to your ankle and Achilles tendon. Keep this stretch for about 10 seconds.

3. Stretching the upper hamstring and hip: sit down and hold the outside of your ankle with one hand. Hold your arm around the bent knee. Gently pull the bent leg towards your chest until you feel a stretch in the back of the leg you are holding. Hold this stretch for about 20 seconds. In order to perform this stretch you might want to sit against a hard surface for support.

These were only a few examples for stretching. These tips should not come instead of consulting a fitness instructor.

There are many components that together allow us to have a pleasant ride on our bike. There are different components that differ between different kinds of bikes. One of the components that are crucial to our riding experience and enjoyment are the bike’s handlebars. The important task of handlebars are to allow us to have a firm, yet comfortable grip on our bike throughout, sometimes, a rough downhill trail, or long single rider trails. The comfort of our hands on the handlebars will contribute or take away our enjoyment of the ride. Here are some variables that should be taken into consideration before choosing handlebars for your bike:

Width: There is a tradeoff considering width. On the one hand wide handlebars allow you to have a comfortable and firm grip. On the other hand, narrower handlebars make the bike easier to maneuver sharp turns and downhill trails of Morzine. Narrow handlebars make the bike more aerodynamic. The best compromise between the two is a width of about 15 cm wider than the width of your shoulders. In any case, the decision is very individual. Before choosing handlebars, such as most bike parts, it is best to ride with them a bit to decide if they are right for you.

Design and Materials: The two main components of handlebars, as of bike frames are aluminum and steel. One can find handlebars made of carbon fiber and titanium handlebars rarely. Just as in choosing a bike frame, the usual tradeoff considering handlebars is weight versus strength. If you are more or less an average bike rider it is best to pick a material that is in the middle of the two these two ends.

These were the first two categories you should think about when choosing handlebars for your mountain bike. Next time we’ll give a few more categories for you to think about, together with some riding tips.

Once in a while, I look at professional bike riders in magazines or on television and ask myself: “how do they make their work so well?” – Mostly, the differences between professional bikes and serious biker’s mountain bikes are not so substantial. The answer I am told when asked, and is also the answer which I believe is true – it’s not only what bike you have – what really matters is what you do with it. A good bike provides its rider good performances if the bike is fitted to the rider’s dimensions and needs and takes good care of the bike. It’s not enough to own a state of the art mountain bike. If you don’t take care of it properly, even a pro bike will deteriorate as well and will provide you with only mediocre performances.

Here are some useful tips given to me by professional mountain bike riders on keeping good technical care of your bike:

- Keep your chain lubricated. A lubricated chain will allow you to have a smoother bike ride.

- Replace your chain between 2-3 times a year (depends how much you ride regularly).

- Check all nuts and bolts after rides. Loose nuts or bolts can move important handles and leavers, which if taken out of their fitted position will lower the quality of your bike ride.

- Make sure you ride with the proper air pressure in your tires. When riding in harder terrain, it is recommended to lower air pressure on your bike.

One of the advantages of taking a biking vacation, and to Morzine especially is that you can learn a lot of important information on keeping up your bike from peer bikers and instructors. We’re expecting to see you in Morzine this summer!

In the first part of our mountain bike brake review, we gave a short summary about disc brake systems for mountain bikes. Disc brakes have their pros and cons. Disc brakes are not the most popular kind of brakes used in mountain bikes. One of the main reasons is because of their high price. On the other hand, when coming to rent a bike on your next vacation at Morzine, you might want to think about renting a bike with a braking system that you don’t have on your own bike. This can be a chance to experience another kind of riding (and braking).

This Blog will give a short summary on rim brakes. Most non professional bikers have rim brakes on their bikes. The tradeoff between rim brakes to disc brakes is between braking efficiency and light weight. Disc brakes are much more efficient brakes, yet rum brakes are much lighter.

Throughout the years, rim brakes have developed into many sub designs of braking systems such as V-brakes or U-brakes. The idea behind rim brakes is that, when squeezing the braking leaver on the handlebar, friction is made by pads (usually made of rubber or leather) onto the rim of the bike’s wheel and thus causing the bike to stop.

As said before, the main advantages of rim brakes are their low costs, light weight, simple maintenance and yet high power. Some of the main disadvantages using rim brakes are that they are prone to weather and track conditions much more than disc brakes. Rim brakes can get clogged up with mud or snow or can get lubricated by too much water. If you use rim brakes on your bike, you should get them checked every once in a while to make sure they are not worn down.

In conclusion, if you are about to purchase a mountain bike and are not yet professional, I would advise you to purchase rim brakes. On the other hand, for your next biking vacation in Morzine I would recommend trying something new and trying out a disc bake bike.

I’d like to share with you my reasons for riding Downhill mountain biking. For years I was a pretty standard mountain biker. I rode single tracks and different nature trails with my mountain bike. The first time I heard of Downhill riding was in a magazine I subscribe to. I was surprised to read that there was a whole section of mountain bike riding I was not aware of. At that time I was planning my summer vacation. I was looking for an area that I would enjoy a comfortable climate, beautiful views and enjoyable bike trails. A short search through vacation options brought me to making a reservation in Morzine for a week in July. My wife and I (we both enjoy mountain biking) thought that this vacation would be a good chance to try out a new biking style that until then was not familiar to us: Downhill riding.

My distinct memory of the first downhill trail that I rode down is of a feel of adrenalin. The adrenalin levels you can get to riding downhill trails, especially riding down the trails of the French Alps are amazing. I can’t tell you that it wasn’t hard or that I didn’t fall down here and there (it takes time, effort and experience to be a expert downhill bike rider) – but I can definitely tell you one thing – at the end of the first trail and every other downhill trail I rode downhill since – my first thought is: “when and where can I do this again?”.

I highly recommend trying out riding a downhill track. Be careful – it’s addictive!