Used Downhill Mountain Bikes

Downhill biking is a gravity-assisted time trial mountain biking event. Riders race against the clock, generally beginning at intervals of thirty seconds ( seeded from slowest to fastest ), on courses which often take 2 to 5 mins to finish.

Riders are timed with plant like that employed in Downhill skiing. The placing is set by the quickest times to finish the course ; races are typically won by margins of under a second.As the name of this discipline implies, downhill races are held on steep, downhill terrain with no extended climbing sections, leading to high speed descents with extended air time off jumps and other barriers. The 2008 Downhill World Champ is Gee Atherton from UK. The 2008 Girls's Downhill World Champ is Rachel Atherton ( Gee's Sister ).

Downhill biking without any pads or protectors could be threatening. 10 riders descended 1300 feet of Repack in about five mins ; the winner, Alan Bonds, was also the sole one to make it to the line. The 1st bikes used for descending were known as "clunkers" or "paperboy bikes" : coaster brake cruisers using balloon tires first imported to America by Ignatz Schwinn.

By 1979, 2 organizers and rivals of the Repack downhill, Charlie Kelley and Gary Fisher set up the company which named the sport, MountainBikes. As mountain biking grew very in the eighty's, downhill riders continued to use either stiff or limited suspension travel ( under two inches ) bicycles, and purpose made downhill bikes were not made till the ninety's. A number of these innovations included twin crown suspension forks and disc brakes, as well as very elaborate frame suspension designs. Later, riders from all disciplines of cycling started concentrating on downhill. The approaching of age for downhill biking was its inclusion at the first UCI off-road bike Championship, held in 1990 in Durango, Colorado. This first event was won by Hall of Celebrity racer Greg Herbold.

A downward bike has a tendency to weigh between seventeen to twenty-five kg ( thirty to fifty pounds ), most usually 16-20 kg ( 35-45 pounds ), and typically feature a full-suspension design, and frame geometry that leans back further than other trail bikes. As of 2006, 203 mm ( 8-inch ) is the 'norm' for suspension travel however some commercially available bikes can have as much as three hundred mm ( 12-inch ). Large-diameter 203-5 mm ( 8-inch ) hydraulic disc brakes moderate the riders' speed, just like in bikes or autos. Downhill bikes and freeride bikes are extraordinarily similar but there are some slight differences. Downhill race bikes usually are significantly lower and have slacker head angles than freeride bikes, so that the bike is steadier at speed and in corners. The price differences have to do with the elements that are on the bikes, also the dearer bikes are customarily made with better quality materials and more time and care is put into quality frame production. Selecting parts on a downhill bike, as with many performance orientated bicycles, involves a trade off between weight and strength. Latest advances in technology have permitted firms to enhance the strength and weight of elements. This is to reduce weight and improve responsiveness. In the United Kingdom and other parts of the planet, many Downhill bikes also have smaller travel these days, with 6-7 inches ( 150-180 mm ) rather than the older standard of 200 mm or eight inches. This is for a similar reasons as the switch to air-sprung suspension.

This has led on to blurred limits between freeride and downhill bikes. Where Freeride bikes used to be lighter and made from steeper angles, Downhill bikes now occupy this outline, with freeride bikes now heavier and comprising slacker angles. This is for 2 reasons ; * Many world cup downhill tracks are far more technical than before, requiring steeper head angles to help quicker changes in bike direction. * Newer Freeride-lite bikes offer lighter weight than either downhill OR 'full-on' freeride cycles, suggesting that freeride bikes can focus on being tougher, and downhill bikes can concentrate on being lighter, while freeride-lite bikes can provide a not much of both. Freeride-lite bikes are often for those that like to be able pedal up hills as well as down them, and are barely heavier and more robust than trail bikes.