5 ~ Sunday, June 18, 1989 — Lynn Valley Echo

Mountain bikes proving popular with

MOUNTAIN BIKES — those fat-tired, sturdy bikes that are showing up on streets, trails and schoolyards — have far surpassed their road bike counterparts in sales and general

popularity.

“You can’t sell road bikes anymore,’’ says Mark Peters, owner of the 16-year-old Lynn Valley Cycles.

According to Dave Lewis of Reckless Rider, mountain bikes took over from road bikes about three years ago, because they’re easy to vide, simple to use and comfortable.

The rider of a mountain bike is in a more upright position than when on a 10-speed, allowing greater visibility.

Versatility is also a feature, as the mountain bikes, with their fat tires, are equally adaptable to street riding and to off-roading on trails or logging roads.

And when confronting the North Shore’s hilly terrain, the 18 or 21 speeds offered by most mountain bikes are, for many cyclists, a necessity if they’re going .to make it to the top of the more challenging climbs.

According to Tony da Roza of Sportsmen’s Bike Supplies in Edgemont Village, it’s the bike’s ability to gc off-road that is mak- ing it popular with families who are concerned about riding in street traffic.

While many of his customers buy bikes for the whole family, usually in the $300 to $400 range, he also gets a range of single peo- ple, from teenagers who spend $600 for a bike to 60-year-olds who purchase a mountain bike to take to their cabin at Whistler.

“Even the elderly people are getting into it,’’ agrees Robert Edworthy of Cap’s Bicycles on Marine Drive.

Edworthy doesn’t see the moun- tain biking boom as a fad that’s going to fade. ‘‘It isn’t something that’s going to run out,’’ he says confidently. Last year alone, his store sold close to 2,000 mountain bikes.

The only people buying road bikes now, he says, are competitive riders and triathletes.

When picking out a bike, buyers will find themselves faced with a wide range of prices, from the mid-$200s up to $2,500 — or more if the bike is custom-made.

While there is no need for most tiders to buy at the top of the

Local trail access

MOUNTAIN BIKES are adaptable to a wide variety of ter- rains, from paved roads to rocky trails, but it is sometimes difficult to sort out the rules and regulations stating on

which trails bikes are allowed.

“*It’s not a hard and fast, black and white thing,’’ said Jim Slater of the North Vancouver District Parks Department. ‘‘The onus is on the bikers,’? he noted, to find

area in which they can cycle witheut endangering pedestrians.

Slater emphasizes that bikes are not allowed on any fitness trails in North Vancouver District, and that bikers should try to stay away from the parks altogether.

They can, however, bike in the B.C. Hydro powerline right of way, although they stand the chance of rubbing shoulders with the equestrian riders who also use the area,

Martin Moore of the North Vancouver City Parks Department telis a similar story.

All trails in city parks are off limits, he says — ‘‘there’s just too much foot traffic.””

And according to a spokesper- son at the Provincial Ministry of Parks, biking trails at Cypress and Seymour Provincial Parks are also limited. .

The only trails bikers may use at Seymour are the horse trails near the base of the mountain and the

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Old Buck fogging trail that begins just up from the Parks office.

At Cypress, bikers can use the logging road, which can be access- ed across from the West Van- couver Works Yard found épprox- imately 1 km along the Cypress Bow! road after turning off from the highway.

The logging road continues from this point up to the Alpine ski area at Parking Lot #5,

One area set aside for the sole use of bikers is the road leading through the Seymour Demonstra- tion Forest (see article page 4). The paved road, which also leads to the Seymour dam and fish hatchery, has proved popular for bikers of all ages and abilities.

The _Baden-Powell trail, which runs from Deep Cove to Howe Sound, is not open to bikers.

For information on enjoyable toad trips in the Lower Mainland and its surroundings, a number of books are available that detail routes, mileage, stops of interest and traffic conditions.

HIGH PRICES. *

983-2045

(across from 7-11)

range, Edworthy advises that ‘‘if it’s under $400, it’s not a mountain bike.”

“It’s kind of foolish to spend less than $600 this year,’ he says, explaining that the hyperglide gears that usually come on the $600-and-up bikes allow riders to shift gears much more easily, and will no doubt be on all bikes in the future.

At Reckless Rider, most of the first-time mountain bikers buy in the $600 to $800 range, says Lewis.

While many people are buying the bikes simply for recreation or transportation, Edworthy has a tip for those who are interested in im- proving their level of fitness.

Keeping up your cadence — or number of pedal revolutions per minute — is ‘‘real important” in developing cardiovascular en- durance, he emphasizes,

While racers are often pedalling at 110 rpms, Edworthy e2dvises recreational cyclists to learn to work the gears in order to keep their cadence at « minimum of 60 rpms, Other experts recommend a cadence of between 80 and 100.

More information about the sport of biking can be obtained from the Bicycle Hotline Informa- tion Service, 731-7433, or the Bicycling Association of 8B.C., 737-3034.

limited However, there is currently little information forthcoming to guide

mountain bikers who wish to take their steed off-roading.

photo Mike Wakefletd

MOUNTAIN BIKES can be secn more and more often on streets. in playgrounds and on trails. With their many gears, they make it much easier for even novice riders to tackle North Shore hills. Robyn Brown (left) and Jody Bell, above, demonstrate correct hand signals that should be used whenever riding in treffic. .

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