Modern Trend Design Mountain Bikes

From along history until recently, mountain bikes had road bicycle style frames and geometry. Mountain biking has since become more mainstream with riding styles becoming more aggressive. Newer frames are better-designed, lighter, and stronger, with a geometry that allows for much more spirited riding over obstacles like logs, rocks, wooden bridges, and man-made ramps.

Newer mountain bikes have either 21, 24, or 27 speeds, with 3 gears in the front and 7, 8, or 9 gears at the rear wheel. 30 speed mountain bikes are currently unworkable, as a slimmer 10-speed chain is not strong enough.

Some of the latest trends in mountain bikes include the all mountain bikes, the 29er and the singlespeed. The "all mountain bike" is characterized by 4-6 inches (100-150mm) of travel, the ability to descend and handle very rough conditions and still pedal efficiently for climbing. 29er bikes are those using 700c sized rims (as do most road bikes), but wider and suited for tires of two inches (50mm) width or more; the increased diameter wheel is able to roll over obstacles better and offers a greater tire contact patch. The single-speed is considered a return to simplicity with no drivetrain components or shifters, but thus requires a stronger rider.

Following the growing trend in 29 inch bikes (29ers as stated above), there have been other trends in the mountain biking community involving tire size. One of the more prevalent is the new, somewhat esoteric and exotic 650B (27.5 inch) wheelsize, based on the obscure wheel size for touring road bikes.

Another interesting trend in mountain bikes is outfitting dirt jump or urban bikes with rigid forks. These bikes normally use 4-5" travel suspension forks. The resulting product is used for the same purposes as the original bike. A commonly cited reason for making the change to a rigid fork is the enhancement of the rider's ability to transmit force to the ground, which is important for performing tricks.

Rapid popularity increase has led to the development of mountain bike oriented resorts, similar to or in the same complex as a ski resort or abandoned factory, such as Ray's MTB Indoor Park. Their parks include chairlifts which are adapted to bikes, a number of trails of varying difficulty, and bicycle rental.