About

Over the last 20 years or so mountain biking has increased in popularity and sales have gone from bugger-all to now out numbering all other bike sales combined (serious considering the bike market in the UK alone is worth about £400m a year - cripes). With their basic purpose to offer off-road transport these bikes are designed to withstand demanding terrain and are both rugged and versatile.

Technology continues to play a major part in the design and development of mountain bikes and now it is not uncommon to see carbon fiber frames, programmable front and rear suspension, disk brakes and banana shaped rear swing arms on bikes available down at your local bike shop. It may come as no surprise that along with these trick lightweight parts comes a very heavy price tag. In fact, I know guys who have spent more on a new mountainbike than I have spent on a used motorcycle, but having said that you can still purchased a good quality mountain bike for a few hundred pounds, and running costs are minimal.

If the above information isn't enough to convince you to go out an purchase a mountain bike, consider this, we live in a world where manufacturers go out of their way to complicate things. It seems everything now a days is totally reliant on a flippin' onboard computer whether it be a car, motorcycle or kitchen toaster. Sure these machines are great when they are working, but if the slightest thing goes wrong you're completely screwed. In contrast, a mountainbike is pretty straightforward in its design and lets a fella experience the joys of going to his garage and getting his hands dirty carrying out routine maintenance and basic repairs to his bike.