Select Your Bicycle Seats Wisely
By Adam Peters.
The three chief factors that led to the popularity and acceptance of mountain biking as a form of sport are the passion of dedicated people, the type of geographical features, and modification of bike equipment from ordinary mechanisms to modern high-tech gear.

No one can contest the saying that necessity is the mother of invention. When looking at the history of mountain biking this necessity becomes the chief inspiration for making the sport competitive, fun and popular.

The three factors that inform the history of mountain biking are the people passionate enough to pursue the sport, the geographical terrain, and the invention of the mountain bike.

The People:

It was in the late 1960s when a couple from San Francisco grew tired of the grinding life they were leading. Their departure from urban life took them to Marin County where life was calmer and less hectic with a rustic escapade.

Over time, their passion for together with the mountainous prospect landed them up with competitive bike races which were organized through a 3 mile fire trail track in the city of Fairfax. Other bikers soon joined the race with the hope for creating new records. There was a downward slope of 1600 feet that was included in the race. Thus began mountain bike racing.

Soon the word spread around but in the face of possible threats the sports manifested it had to be canceled. This was because the racers failed to meet insurance requirements. This was how the race came to an end.

The Geographical Area

However, the popularity did not die. The official birthplace of mountain biking was accorded to Mount Tamalpais in California.

In the beginning, bicyclists would race down Mount Tam and take the bikes to the top of the mount by other means of conveyance. Later, they not only came down but also explored uphill trails too. This was a good thing because it stretched the scope of the mountain biking race - not only

Schleck ousted from Tour of Spain
Two-time Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck is sent home from the Tour of Spain for breaking team rules.
Laws secures breakthrough victory
Britain's Sharon Laws wins the first major race of her career by sprinting to victory in stage one of the Tour de Ardeche.
Tour of Spain latest standings (external)
Manxman Mark Cavendish is among the riders at the Vuelta a Espana, the third of the year's three Grand Tours.
Blyth out to fulfil Olympic dream
Leeds' Anna Blyth wants to emulate the success of her team-mates at the 2012 Olympics
Team Sky withdraw from Spain Tour
Team Sky pull out of the Tour of Spain following the death of masseur Txema Gonzalez.
Millar replaces Thomas in GB team
David Millar replaces Geraint Thomas in Britain's three-man team for the road cycling World Championships in Melbourne.
McLaughlin smashes trial record
James McLaughlin smashes the Guernsey Velo Club's five mile time trial record by 20 seconds.
Cavendish beaten again in Spain
Mark Cavendish is beaten in a sprint finish for the second time in three days in the Tour of Spain.
Tour legend Fignon dies aged 50
Two-time Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon dies of cancer at the age of 50.
Ill Team Sky riders abandon Tour
Two Team Sky riders quit the Tour of Spain during the third stage having been left sick by a mystery illness that has swept through the team.
Cavendish loses in sprint finish
Mark Cavendish retains the leader's red jersey in the Tour of Spain, despite being edged out by Yauheni Hutarovich in a sprint finish to the second stage.
Team hands Cavendish Spain lead
Mark Cavendish takes the leader's red jersey in the Tour of Spain after his HTC-Columbia squad win the floodlit opening team time trial in Seville.
Storey included in England team
Multiple Paralympic gold medallist Sarah Storey is named in England's cycling team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
GB duo join Cavendish at Worlds
Geraint Thomas and Jeremy Hunt are named as support riders for Mark Cavendish's bid to win the World Championships road race in Melbourne in September.
Hoy and Pendleton set for Poland
British Olympic champions Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton will head to Poland in November for the European Track Cycling Championships.

racing down but racing up as well.

The Equipment

The bike also went through a metamorphosis. Modifications began to take place on the mountain bike like tires, seat, safety arrangements. One of the changes included the replacement of typical braking system in an ordinary bike with cantilever brakes. This gave the bike the strength to pause quickly to brave extreme terrains. If you are an avid mountain biker you must agree that a mountain bike does need to brave it out on severely dangerous terrains.

Another modification included more gears for the biker to enable scaling of higher mountains and hills. Because all bikers do not use their mountain bikes for scaling mountains of the same height. A competent enough bike, therefore, needs to be tough enough for all kinds of heights. When you are ready to purchase a bike, if you are like most bikers, you start reading mountain bike reviews.

Article Source: http://www.articlemap.com

Adam Peters is a syndicated columnist on different resources like www.bikecyclingreviews.com .Keep reading about bike reviews and cool bikes at his web.