Mountain Biking - How to make a bike ride smoother

hey, i need to know how to make a bike ride smoother!

Thanx

Style. It's all in your style:cool:

And if it's a ht then lower you tire pressure.

Get Slicks...

Buy front forks if you don't already have them. As long as its no too expensive. Otherwise do what the other people said.

It also depends on what you mean by smooth. Do hate the bumpy ride? Or does the bike not feel like it is flowing under you? Two complete different type of smooth :)

Proper adjustment of bearing surfacs and a genorius amount of grease to those areas will result in a smoother feel.

Originally posted by Maelstrom
It also depends on what you mean by smooth. Do hate the bumpy ride? Or does the bike not feel like it is flowing under you? Two complete different type of smooth :)

I dont hate a bumpy ride, I like it, i just dont like it when its so bumpy when im riding on the ROAD! And when i walk my bike, i can see my hand on the handle bar shaking heaps, because the bike is so bumpy! wat do i do apart from buying new tires. will a new chain do anything?

Your hand shaking on the handlebars while walking the bike is from the knobby tires on the road. Less-knobby or slick tires will fix that, and are a good investment if you do a lot of road riding on the MTB. Otherwise, just make sure everything is greased/lubed up correctly so everything runs smooth. I don't think a new chain will do anything for the problem you are describing. From your earlier posts, I take it you are talking about a mountain bike. Remember, it won't ride the same on the road as a nice road bike (slick tires). It is meant to be used off-road, so on-road comfort isn't a huge consideration. Buying a suspension fork if you don't have suspension already and installing slicks will make the biggest difference. If you are thinking about doing more road riding, you can pick up a steel frame road bike for not a whole lot of money. This will give you a smoother ride olln the road because it is a road bike as well as give you the benefit of the less harsh ride of the steel frame. Hope some of this helps!

-Moab

Originally posted by Diamond_Back_03


I dont hate a bumpy ride, I like it, i just dont like it when its so bumpy when im riding on the ROAD! And when i walk my bike, i can see my hand on the handle bar shaking heaps, because the bike is so bumpy! wat do i do apart from buying new tires. will a new chain do anything?


<Laughing a little> No a new chain wont do anything, your bike is rigid (no suspension), thats probably the reason that its bumpy. New tires arent going to do anything either.

Originally posted by KleinMp99



<Laughing a little> No a new chain wont do anything, your bike is rigid (no suspension), thats probably the reason that its bumpy. New tires arent going to do anything either.

Dang...I was expecting so much more Klein :D

Make it SOUND smoother and you'll swear it is riding smoother.

Start by using a lizzard skin or something to keep your chain from slapping. Then take a look at cables going long distances on the top tube, or any other tube for that matter. The little doughnut things only work for a while then slide down to a useless position. I made a silicone "booger" on the rear brake cable and that cable noise went away. Also wiggle your front derailleur. If it makes noise, then that's amplified while riding as well.

Relax your grip on the bars and let your elbows and shoulders act as shock absorbers. Riding on trails with a cyclo-cross bike( or any non-suspension robust bike) will teach you how to cope with rough surfaces much quicker than a full suspension bike will. You will become a better rider, and go faster on your MTB.