Freeride
Successful movement on such routes requires special technical training and specially adapted bicycles (usually usedMountain bikes with a strong frame, large travel front and rear suspension, powerful disc brakes).
Freeride tracks include overcoming steep slopes up to tens of meters high, jumping at high speed, driving along narrow winding paths laid along steep slopes or over bridges (there is a special name for these tracksnorth shore ).
For freeride anddownhill powerful two-suspensionbicycles . Their weight is about 13-18 kilograms. moveforks 140 to 250mm, pros mostly use dual crown forks. The rear suspension travels 100-200mm.brakes - disk, hydraulic. The number of speeds is generally limited to 10, but there are some models with 20 speeds. Freeride bikes are fitted with large tires that are specialized for extreme riding.
Freerider equipment
An integral part of the freerider equipment -helmet . For this style of riding, mostly full-face helmets are used, for example, inmotocross . A helmet will save the athlete from a broken neck, concussion, jaw knockout and other severe injuries, however, since freeride is usually full of falls from a height, sometimes a helmet may not save you from a twisted neck. A special system is used to protect the neck, but it is quite expensive.
Neck protection is fastened to the so-called "shell" (aka "turtle"), which performs the function of protecting the spine, ribs, collarbones, shoulder blades, etc. Also, athletes use shields to protect the knees, tibia and fibula and elbow pads to protect the elbows.
All athletes use gloves, as they allow you to protect your palms when falling, and some models can save you from a fracture.metacarpal bones Andphalanges . In addition, gloves provide a better grip on the bike handles. Also, many use special masks to protect against foreign objects getting into the eyes while skiing, which can lead to injury to the athlete.
Freeride is a special discipline of bike sport and a certain style of riding. A fundamental feature is the movement on difficult tracks with a large number of a wide variety of obstacles. It is simply impossible to pass them on a regular bike, which is why special freeride bikes are used in this area.
The name of this direction is borrowed, the English phrase free ride is translated as “free movement”. If at least for a moment to imagine what the tracks are like, and they are insurmountable for an unprepared cyclist, then the question immediately arises: what kind of freedom is there? Indeed, this sport requires a lot of preparation and professionalism from a person in managing a bicycle in harsh conditions. However, in addition to the usual, or classic, there is a lightweight type of freeride.
Classic and light options
Extreme riding in the wild is clearly expressed in the classic form of bicycle freeride. The cyclist knows no restrictions in the trajectories of movement, speed, length of the jump from the cliff, the steepness of the turn. In a word, free flight! Despite this, very good preparation is required:
The advantages of skiing in this style are the opportunity to get an unforgettable experience and enjoy the natural beauties. Of course, there are areas with mud and water, but this is more of a highlight than a drawback.
The dangers of freeriding on a bike are the high risk of falling off the bike and getting serious injury to any part of the body.
The tracks are represented by numerous slopes, bumps, sharp narrowing of the paths, turns and cliffs. All this is unusual for a cyclist who calmly rides his bike in a forest or over rough terrain. I want to try, but I want to train for a long time. How to be? And here the light version of freeride will come to the rescue, and in a simple language - a lightweight look.
Light does not require professional training from cyclists and is very popular among tourists. In the light version, there are no sharp cliffs, long stone-dirty descents and “jumping” paths. The tracks are only modeled after the classic freeride ones: artificial low springboards, traveled paths in the mountains with minor bumps.
The slopes are gentle, and if they are lined with stones, then they are small in size. Sometimes, instead of a natural descent, an inclined structure is installed that imitates a slope from a mountain. In terms of speed, light bike freeride does not give any restrictions, so even in this semi-artificial environment you can feel like an extreme.
Features of freeride bikes
Since free riding is singled out as a separate type of cycling, the bikes themselves must fully comply with it. A professional freeride bike is a special kind of mountain bike. The model is somewhere in the middle between downhill and MTB greats. The features of the bike for extreme movement include:
- Structural strength.
- Ease.
- depreciation system.
- Powerful braking system.
- Wide profile tyres.
The importance of the first indicator can hardly be overestimated: when riding on difficult and dangerous routes, the bike experiences serious dynamic loads in motion under the load of the cyclist himself. The strength of the frame is higher than that of standard mountain bikes, and the frame is made of aluminum alloys. The same requirements apply to all components.
Bicycles for extreme riding are full-suspension, equipped with front and rear shock absorbers. An integrated system of vibration damping and damping allows you to smooth out shock loads that fall on both the bike and the freerider. A distinctive feature of the shock absorbers is their long travel, about 7 inches. Types of suspensions used: spring-elastomer (light version) and spring-oil, assigned to the heavy version.Not only strength plays a big role in the safe and efficient passage of the track. The weight of the bike itself also significantly affects the efficiency of climbing uphill and flying over cliffs. It is easy to guess that the higher the weight of the structure, the more difficult it will be to climb and jump over the cliff - it will pull down. It is for this reason that all freeride bikes are light and weigh around 15 kg.
Particular attention in the manufacture of a professional freeride bike is paid to the brakes. On such bikes is putdisc hydraulic brake system . Earlier it was said that the strength of all parts is extremely important, especially for brakes. The discs are mounted on the front and rear wheels, the brake pads are made of metal.
Freeride is an environment where a high cross-country bike is required. What are off-road, stone slopes or sands, where smooth tires are simply out of place. The wheels of freeride bikes are fitted with wide-profile tires with a deep tread pattern.
Freeride cyclist safety requirements
In extreme cycling, there is a risk of injury in one way or another. To protect yourself, you must not only follow the techniques of tricks, but also carefully equip yourself. The most dangerous injuries include:
Elements of the first importance in the equipment of a freerider is a durableBike helmet , neck and body protection. Full-face helmets are used for the head. Unlike standard ones, they cover the entire head, both top and bottom. Devices are put on the neck, which, in the process of falling, take all the load on themselves, protecting the vertebrae from strong bends. The same applies to wearable protection, which is attached using special fasteners. On top of it, riders put on cycling clothing.
Mandatory elements of extreme cyclists attire are knee pads, elbow pads and gloves with “cut fingers”. Knee pads protect essential parts of the legs, such as the knees, from injury and fracture. The elbow pads perfectly protect the elbow joints, and the gloves protect the palms from rubbing and fractures of the fingers when falling. In addition, the steering wheel feels better when wearing gloves.
It must be remembered that the helmet is used only once and when dropped it is no longer suitable for use. The same can be said about the neck protection. In other elements of the equipment, you can fall several times, although falls are generally not recommended anywhere, including in freeriding.
Sometimes cyclists use special mesh masks that prevent dust, small stones and dirt from entering the respiratory tract. Eye protection can be provided with special cycling goggles.
Despite the dangers, freeriding a bike is an exciting and unusual style. Competent driving, combined with the right equipment, will reduce the risk of injury to a minimum and allow you to quickly and easily pass the track with all its surprises.
Wild sand drops, north shore, and big bigairs - all these obstacles are elements of black courses (Black Diamond), which in turn characterize freeride. Extreme freeride bikes have the longest suspension travel (170-200mm) to handle the big stuff.
Heavy weight, 18-21 kg, so that your bike does not fall apart on a large gap. When creating these bikes, engineers are guided by the maximum strength of the bike, to the detriment of its driving performance. The cost of these bikes is quite high. For a hardtail, pay a minimum of $1000 (Norco Manic), and for a two-suspension from $2000 (Norco Atomik, Shore, A-Line).
Freeride can be different - classic freeride, north shore, dropping, etc. Classic freeride is the technical passage of difficult routes of both natural and artificial origin. Narrow paths, serious jumps, steep descents. North Shore is riding on narrow platforms, logs, swings and other similar structures. Dropping - jumping off cliffs, quarries. Freeride rides are mostly not for the sake of the result, but for their own pleasure.
A freeride bike is usually a solid full suspension bike with long travel shocks, wide handlebars, short stem, toothy tires and powerful hydraulic disc brakes. For North Shore, strength requirements are not as high, but in dropping, strength plays a key role, which leads to an increase in weight.
Dropping bikes often feature 24-inch wheels. Hardtails can be used for light freeride. Freeride is a freestyle riding style invented by snowboarders and widely used by bikers. The main motto of freeride is to go where possible. There are no bad roads for a freerider.
Driving where it is impossible to walk on foot, going down the mountain over stones and off-road, testing yourself and the bike in an extreme situation, enjoying communication with wildlife - this is what attracts fans of this riding style.
This is the most common and most diverse style today. The freerider does whatever he wants at the moment and most importantly he is absolutely free. He does not depend on lifts, like a downhiller, he himself is able to drive up a hill, and then rush down, overtaking cross-country racers.
And jump on his shoulder. Freeride is possible as a more extreme continuation of cross-country, but can also be more extreme than downhill. Recently, competitions in this discipline have become popular, their motto is freedom. The track is laid in such a way that the biker chooses his own route, and depending on its complexity, he is awarded a certain number of points. Sometimes such competitions include dirt jumping stages.
A special place in freeride is occupied by street riding (riding around the city), this is where bike trial skills and even some BMX tricks can come in handy. Jumps and drop-offs are another element of the freerider. This applies in particular to the so-called new school of freeride, where jumping off a 5-meter cliff is the norm.
Freeriding is the style where you can use your imagination the most, looking for different routes and ways to jump off that rock. It is freeride that allows you to show your individuality, not limited by the rules, the track and the scope of the competition.
For freeriding, a lightweight two-suspension bike is usually used, weighing 13-14 kg. with front fork travel 70-100 mm.
Freeride competitions are funded by cycling and other sports equipment companies. Freeride racing, with detailed demonstrations of all the risky tricks, is the main subject of numerous films aimed at mountain bike enthusiasts.
Freeride bikes are similar in performance todownhill bicycles, but lighter so that cyclists can independently climb up without the help of lifts.
