How To Lube Your Mountain Bike

A mountain bike is a lot of fun although it does require some maintenance. You should always lube your bike 15 hours or so before riding, as quick jobs right before you take off normally doesn’t get everything lubed. Some lube jobs will last for more rides, although if things get loud or shifting gets sticky, it’s time to lube.

Here is how to lube your bike:

1. The chain
Apply a generous amount of mountain bike lube to your chain as you move the pedals around backwards. It also helps to find a spot to steady your hand such as the frame while you move the pedals around and around. Make sure you watch out for the cranks and chain rings as they move around.

2. Front Deraileur
On the front defaileur, lube the pivots. Use a spot of lube everywhere you can see movement when you move the shift lever.

3. Rear deraileur
Just like the front deraileur, lube the pivots.

4. Pedals
There are some types of clipless pedals that will need to have the release mechanism lubed. You should only lube this mechanism if you have this type of pedal.

5. Everything into motion
Pedal around, shift your gears, and bounce your bike around. If you hear anything squeak, there’s a moving part there are it should be lubed immediately.

6. Wipe it all clean
Once you’ve lubed everything and wiped it all around, simply wipe it all back off. Use a rag to wipe away all the lube you used, including all the lube off the chain. Wiping it away will leave the lube in between the parts but clean it away from everywhere it isn’t needed. This will keep your bike from collecting dirt while you ride.

Skiing Resorts For Mountain Biking In Summer

This year was a good one for ski resorts around the world. Europe has been blessed with some great dumps of snow this year and America hasn’t done too badly either. The same cannot be said for Canada however, although they have had great snow for as many years as we can remember so it was about time they had a bad season. The majority of ski resort owners where made very happy this year as the looming recession threatened to make the slopes a very lonely place to be. The simple realization however that they could potentially be soon facing financial problems led many to explore other ways to make money in the summer months.

The U.S introduced a bill to Congress recently which would increase the ease at which local ski areas could build and maintain summertime activities. Not to be left behind, European resorts are looking into doing the same. Currently a successful ski resort might earn around 15% of their money during the summer time. This percentage could be vastly increased if the resorts where used for a much wider and diverse range of sports and events. The activity that has generated the most buzz and excitement around introducing it has been mountain biking

There are often mountain bike trails at the base of ski mountains already and used mountain bikes shops dotted around the areas. This would make the sport very accessible to locals and visitors alike as they wouldn’t have to buy their own gear, just rent it as they would a pair of skis. The proposed idea however is for mountain biking a little more on the extreme sports side of things, utilising the ski lifts that are already in place to host downhill mountain biking events and competitions on the steep runs.

Roger Joules who runs one of Lake Tahoe’s ski resorts says “mountain bikers have been looking for some steep and challenging runs and our slopes are perfect for that in the summer. If we charge a small amount for the use of our lifts then it’s a situation where both parties win”

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