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 Welcome to the exciting world of Cross country mountain Biking. Here you'll find info on basically anything you need to know. From rules and regulations, Events, reviews and Pics. So Enjoy! Below, you will find various pics of parts of bikes, and numerous links. Take your time, and look around!  What you see to the left is a prime example of the new Mega 9 Cassettee developed by Shimano, a major leader in the biking indusrty. Almost all parts for bicycles are developed by Shimano. Other leading bicycle part producers are AVID brakes Bontrager Components, Manitou Suspension, Rock Shox suspension systems, Bomber suspension, GT Bikesand numerous other company's which are just getting the feel for bikes, such as K2 Bikes and many more. There are so many different bike companines throughout the industry, it might seem hard to choose which bike is for you. But, as you read further along the page we hope, you'll find information that can be of aid to you. If there is anything missing, or info you would like posted here ( since this is a non-posting page) please feel free to contact us from the Info page. Bio: Mountain biking as a sport was introduced into the world almost 25 years ago, and since then it has grown into on of the most popular action\adventure sports. This sport include all aspects of fitness, from you arms to your legs, sends you adrenalin into overhaul, and let's you explore the wilderness in a way you would of never expected. Many people see mountain biking as a boring sport where nothing ever happens. Well, the honest truth is that Cross country mountain biking is an exhilirating sport which gives you a sense of power, speed and agility. One of the best feelings in the world is the wind brushing past your face at 30km/h while crashing through the woods, going over stumps, rocks, twigs, ditches, mounds of dirt, dropoffs, and well basically anything else you find in there.Ok, they say, enough with the rambling, tell em how to get started! Well, the first thing you need to do when buying a bike is to find a reliable dealer. Now, depending on where you live; in Ottawa, two very reliable dealers are Tommy and Lefevre, and What was know as Cycle Path, is now known as Poison Spider. Now, the next decision... where ever you are, make sure the store/company your buying from has a good reputation, and will not go out on buisiness on you. He he, companies don't want us to tell you this, but ask for a free water bottle and cage when you buy your new bike. First thing you do when buying a bike. FIND THE ONE YOU REALLY WANT. Bikes range from the very cheap Scorpio-AT-50 ($150) all the way up to the very expensive IBIS BOW TI at a hefty price of $6,925. Depends what components you want, and it depends on what kind of a ride you want. Now, when buying a bike, one of the most improtant things you can do is to make sure you buy a bike which is fitted to your height correctly. How do you do this? Well, the first thing you should do is step over the cross bar ( one foot on both sides) and see that the cross bar almost touches your groin area. Now, if your into those "Girly" bikes girls, i can't help ya cause i'm a guy! Anyways, once that test is complete, you need to get someone to hold the bike for you while you sit on the bike. Now, when sitting on the seat, you only want your feet to to just touch the ground. If you are an experienced biker, you don't want to buy some piece of crap right? so what do you want to buy? Well, there are numerous things you should consider. Let's start of with the essentials. This would be the braking system. There are numerous types of brakes which you can buy, ranging from $40-1500. The first type of brake which i am going to mention are called "side pull brakes". These types of brakes use one cable and pull from the sides, forcing the pad inward toward the tire. The next level up are called "center pull brakes". These brakes are more powerful and can be set up more easily at home. These brakes run on one cable and pull from the center, moving the brakes in at the same time towards the tire. Next level are the famous "V-Brakes". These brakes are the most commonly used brakes on higher end bikes. These are extremly sttong brakes, and are very easy to maintain as well as provide excellent stopping power. NOTE: Do not pulled hard on your brake levers with these brakes, especially the front. You will learn to fly. AVID makes terrific "V-Brakes", so if you have the time, check em out in the latest edition of Mountain bike magazine, located at your local magazine rack, or reach them on the web at Mountain Bike Magazine Online other good braking systems are made by Shimano. Ok, well you got your brakes, only 1200 more components to go. Now, let's check out your shifters. Shifters are the levers you put on to change your gears. Let's start with the basics. first you got thoses hifters ( i'm not sure of the name) that are mostly found at lower end bikes and are flat and black.. These types of shifters are a pain in the ass and should be replaced at the soonest possible moment. Next we have almost the same as before, but these have small notches which tell you when you've placed the chain in gear. These are a bit better than the aforementioned ones, but again i wouldn't suggest these either. Next, we have a popular type of shifter, which are called "Grip shift levers". These shifters act like motorcycle accelorators, and are called gript shit because you use your palms and thumbs to shift to the nest gear. Now, what i belive is the most popular kind of shifters are called "Quick shift or Rapid fire" levers.  These only require on small push from the thumb and the gear is changed. Hold it down and your gear will shift as far as it will go. A great shifting system which boasts power and speed.
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