Speed is something that gives a mountain biker the true feel of a real adventure across challenging trails and terrains.
Riding the mountain bike at a higher speed in the midst of the lush trails showcases the inner zeal and passion of a mountain biker.
Hence, the most important thing a biker must learn and practice is to make his mountain bike ride faster.
Mountain biking is not just limited to the only specific purpose of riding.
Be it for the adventurous riding across the mountains, commuting, cruising, racing, or anything else, it demands the mountain bike be faster.
To hold expertise in mountain biking, a rider must need to practice speed and control over the bike.
Generally, for a normal speed, a road bike is known to be perfect. But in the case of high speed, mountain bikes are considered ideal, as they provide a comfortable biking experience to the rider, even being at the highest of speed.
To enhance the efficiency and performance of the mountain bike, it is very important to boost its speed while riding.
Hence, if you are the one seeking the best and essential tips and tricks that help in making the mountain bike faster, this article is for you.
The tips mentioned in this 10 step guide will help you obtain the maximum benefits from your mountain bike and make it glide faster over any type of trail and terrain.
Some modifications are also explained underneath, which can help improve your mountain bike’s speed and performance.
With this piece of writing, we sincerely intend to help all you mountain bikers out there, full of passion and zeal, to boost the pace of your mountain bike along with boosting self-confidence, stamina, efficiency, balance, and control within yourself.
So that while you embark on a fantastic journey of mountain biking the next time, you would make it to the best with higher confidence and a much faster bike’s speed.
Hence, read the below guide till the very end to grasp all that you need to know about it.
Tips About How To Make A Mountain Bike Faster
When your intention is all about making your mountain bike ride faster, you must always focus on the performance of your overall bike parts and components.
Beginning from the bike’s maintenance to the replacement and modification of its parts, everything would eventually make it worth a ride over those tough and challenging mountains.
So let us get started with the tips to make a mountain bike faster.
1. Trust Your Mountain Bike
The very first tip to make a mountain bike faster is being friends and trusting your bike.
If you look forward to an excellent and faster biking experience over a variety of trails and terrains, you just need to leave it all on your bike the moment you hit the ground for the expedition.
Never try to be extremely intense and aggressive while sitting on the saddle.
Let the bike glide throughout, overcoming the bumps and thumps on the rough surface with ease.
This way, eventually, you would achieve a great ride with the maximum speed without getting tired or causing strain over your back and shoulders.
In short, you should have to trust the mountain bike that you are having one of the best mountain bikes and you are going to have the best mountain biking experience.
2. Replace The Bumpy Wheels Of Your Mountain Bike With Slick Tires
Generally, mountain bikes are equipped with a little wider mountain tires with efficient treads.
These treads provide a better grip and traction over bumpy trails and terrains while making the ride comfortable for the bikers.
But an excessive amount of treads over the wheels may slow down the ride.
Usually, such aggressive wheels are perfect for beginners who are in their initial stage of learning the skill.
But in the later stages, they seek to replace the wheels with slick road tires, which provide a higher speed and are more efficient.
Hence, in order to make a mountain bike ride faster, you must replace your normal bumpy tires with perfectly fitting slick tires.
3. Keep A Check On The Tire Pressure Of Your Mountain Bike
Like the wheels, the tires’ pressure is also highly responsible for enhancing the speed and efficiency of a mountain bike.
If the tire pressure would be high, it would let the tires bounce over the track.
On the other hand, low pressure would result in much better traction and stable contact of the wheels with the ground.
To ride with optimally inflated wheels over rough terrains would eventually widen the tires and increase the rolling resistance.
The ideal tire pressure depends on factors like the types of terrain, the wheelset, rims, and the intensity of your biking. But that would not accurately give you an answer.
Hence, you need to keep a check on the tire pressure and that the wheels should neither be overinflated nor underinflated.
4. Clean Your Mountain Bike Often
It is an extremely true fact that often or regular cleaning of the mountain bike can enhance its speed and durability.
Dirt, mud, and the slumpy material over the ground are obvious enemies of your bike’s performance.
If the road grime would get into the bike’s chain, gears, or wheels, it would settle down on their surface until you wash and thoroughly clean it all.
Riding on the bike in this situation would affect the drivetrain, ultimately making it rough and slower while riding.
Hence, it becomes very important to clean your bike often to stabilize its speed and efficiency.
After cleaning the bike, it is important to wipe it gently and let it dry completely.
Re-lubrication of the chain is also very important as that enhances the rolling momentum of the bike gradually.
You should learn more about basic mountain bike maintenance that will help you to have a fresh and clean-looking mountain bike whose speed will not be affected.
5. Keep Your Head Up While Riding On The Mountain Bike
This tip indicates that if the biker would keep his head up during riding, it would keep him focussed and more attentive towards the path.
That way, the biker would be more efficient in recognizing the trail he is following and hence, overcoming the hurdles more quickly.
However, it is equally needed to look down while gliding over the obstacles, more focus should be towards the way ahead. This would eventually let the biker ride constantly at a must faster speed.
6. Keep Weight Centered And Body Relaxed While Riding The Mountain Bike
While riding on the trails, the weight of the biker must be centered. In case if the rider would be leaning forward over the handlebars, that may result in a sudden forward fall.
And if the biker would be putting all his weight backward, that may affect the performance of the front brake, which may again result in a crash.
Hence, it is always advised to maintain and center your weight while riding in order to make your mountain bike faster.
Moreover, while riding, the arms and knees must be kept bent and not straight.
Hold the grip loosely yet carefully and not too tight. The hands must in positioned well over the brakes maintaining firm control over the bike.
Following the manner, the bike would be balanced and glide much faster, ensuring the biker’s safety.
7. Apply Brakes Even Before Making The Turns
Always apply the brakes a bit earlier and not at the time of taking the turn while rolling over the bumpy trails.
This would help the rider to maintain the speed and momentum of the ride.
In the case of applying brakes just while you are twisting or turning the bike, the bike’s wheels would tend to lose traction, the bike may stand for a while, and the constant speed of the bike would be affected.
Moreover, the biker would need to apply the power again to make that sharp turn intending to get back on the track.
8. Keep Your Drivetrain Well Lubricated
Proper lubrication certainly enhances the lifespan of the machines. In the case of following the tips on how to make a mountain bike faster, it becomes necessary to keep the drivetrain clean and well lubricated.
This would keep the bike work efficiently and ride smoothly over the terrain, making it much faster.
If the bike’s parts and components are well lubricated, they pass onto each other effectively without causing much friction and noise.
Hence, the energy saved that way eventually helps the bike’s wheels glide faster over the bumpy trails.
9. Escape The Corners Correctly
While railing the corners or the trails, you need to maintain the bike’s speed along with ensuring your safety.
While making a sharp turn, always look ahead and lean your mountain bike and your body at opposite angles.
Precisely, lean the bike according to the direction of the turn and keep your body slightly upwards in the opposite direction.
This way you would be safe from any serious fall or crash, and the speed of your bike would be maintained or somewhat enhanced.
10. Timely Replace The Bike’s Chain To Keep It Riding Faster
Mountain biking is indeed an intense activity that may easily result in the wearing and tearing of the bike’s chain and other parts.
The chain stretch and its elongation affect the efficiency and speed of the bike in the worst possible manner.
Hence it becomes a necessity to check that how much the bike’s chain is stretched.
This could be done with the help of genuine chain checker tools, widely available in the markets or online.
With the use of such tools, it becomes easy to make sure that the chain is required to be replaced at the moment or not.
For instance, if the rear cassette of the bike has 11 or more sprockets, the chain must be replaced when it would stretch around 0.5%.
In several cases, the time of chain replacement could be identified based on the number of sprockets or gears.
Got a question that how fast can a 21-speed mountain bike possibly go? Read more about this discussion at Quora.
Conclusion
Mountain bikes are specifically manufactured for the purpose of off-road biking over rough and rocky surfaces.
It features a sturdy frame, powerful suspension, wide mountain wheels for better traction, and expert technical specifications.
The bike’s parts and components are durable and are designed to resist the harshness of challenging surfaces.
Mountain bikes are capable of making it easy and comfortable for the riders over any type of terrain and weather conditions.
But the most important factor that is associated with a mountain bike’s performance and efficiency is its speed.
This 10 step guide is created as a result of a thorough study of facts and views of many experienced riders about speed and modulation while riding.
This all is to extend help to the biking enthusiasts to be clear about how to make a mountain bike faster on a variety of terrains.
There are certain factors that affect the speed of the bike while you are on the journey across mother nature, yet with a deep understanding and practice of these valuable tips and tricks, you would be able to make your bike ride faster over the ground.
Go through all of these tips, especially adorned for you, to get the most out of them while being on the journey.
Pull up your socks, grab your mountain bike, spin its wheels, look ahead and embark on the journey of mountain biking with style and speed.