2 question re maintence books and ride definations

lovepasty
lovepasty Posts: 53
edited September 2010 in MTB beginners
Hi all

Can anyone recommend a good book for MTB maintenance, I guess I should learn if I am going to keep this up....

Also, I'm a little confused between the "types" of MTBing I read about, anyone care to provide a simple defination or explain what is meant by:

XC (I know it means cross country!)
Downhill
All mountain
Trail
Freeride
Anything I have missed

Sorry of this seems obvious, not sure if these are different ways of saying the same thing or distinctly different things

Thanks

Mike

Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    maintenance.

    use the links in my sig. and save the cost of the books.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Yup, Park Tools is better and more up to date than any book, and for specifics you can usually get good hits on google. Good time to be a DIY spanner!

    As far as types of riding:

    XC: Riding up and down a hill on a bike
    All Mountain: Riding up and down a lumpy mountain on a bike
    Trail: Riding up and down a purpose built mtb trail on a bike
    Downhill: Riding off a mountain on a bike
    Freeride: Riding off a mountain, sometimes no longer on a bike
    Uncompromising extremist
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Northwind wrote:
    Yup, Park Tools is better and more up to date than any book, and for specifics you can usually get good hits on google. Good time to be a DIY spanner!

    As far as types of riding:

    XC: Riding up and down a hill on a bike
    All Mountain: Riding up and down a lumpy mountain on a bike
    Trail: Riding up and down a purpose built mtb trail on a bike
    Downhill: Riding off a mountain on a bike
    Freeride: Riding off a mountain, sometimes no longer on a bike

    Excellent definitions, makes me a XC Freerider.
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

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    Parktools
  • lovepasty
    lovepasty Posts: 53
    XC: Riding up and down a hill on a bike
    All Mountain: Riding up and down a lumpy mountain on a bike
    Trail: Riding up and down a purpose built mtb trail on a bike
    Downhill: Riding off a mountain on a bike
    Freeride: Riding off a mountain, sometimes no longer on a bike

    Thanks, that makes surprising sense and I get it now
  • Koiler
    Koiler Posts: 513
    Northwind wrote:
    Freeride: Riding off a mountain, sometimes no longer on a bike

    i dont like the term LOL, but that did make me chuckle
  • x-isle
    x-isle Posts: 794
    ....if you do go down the route of wanting a book, some people do as it's not always easy to grab the internet with greasy fingers.

    I can highly recommend the Park Tool Big Blue Book.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Park-Tool-Blue- ... 211&sr=8-1
    Craig Rogers
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    i always think definitions like those are useful to describe a bike, but not always particularly useful to describe actual bike riding.

    i dont see the difference between xc, trail and all mountain as types of riding, they are all riding up and down hill. people just think the term xc is too tame and that they are more hardcore.

    whereas an all mountain bike represents something different to an xc bike and different to a trail bike. they are all ridden on the same terrain.
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Spot on that man. Like, I have an all mountain bike, but I'm just a mountain biker not an "all mountain biker" or a "trail biker"
    Uncompromising extremist

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