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A brand of bicycle intended for off-road use on dirt or gravel trails. There is no limit to how much you can spend on them. Some of the best ones are amazingly beautiful works of high-performance technology that are also tougher than nails.
Most mountain bikes, though, are bought for fairly cheap, sometimes under $100, at department stores under brands such as Mongoose, Schwinn, or Magna. These "mountain bikes" are covered with fancy graphics, lots of gears, and suspension, but actually work very poorly:
1) The components are all bottom-of-the line, even if they have good names such as Shimano. They are heavy, poorly machined, and wear out or break quickly. The gears will usually grind and skip no matter how well you adjust them. Rims are often steel, which quickly rusts and bends out of round, is very heavy, and is never seen on decent wheels.
2) They are no fun to ride. Most of them weight at least 31-35 pounds, and the full-suspension models weigh around 45! Try riding up a hill on one of these. Most people just ride them around the streets, and the knobby tires soak up so much energy you can actually hear it. Full suspension will completely absorb any power you put out. It feels like riding through mud.
Mountain bikes are extremely popular, though, accounting for over 90% of all bikes on the average college campus. They are easier to ride than road bikes, but will prevent you from ever enjoying bike riding. If they are used for off-road use, they simply become a toy like dirt bikes that you can't use for everyday transportation. Overall, I think they are a backwards development in cycling technology.
"Did you see my new mountain bike? It's loaded! It has full suspension, 24 gears, chrome rims..."
"Dude-do yourself a service and buy a road bike like mine. Then see if you can keep up with me on the road."
17π 146π
A commonplace word that occasions exclamations of "Ooh, SAT word!" when employed in normal discourse. Incidentally, those who use this moniker happen to not read enough books, not even pulp not conducive to formal education.
discourse
incidentally
moniker
conducive
words, not 'SAT words.'
20π 15π
A pickup truck or SUV whose suspension has been modified to jack it up. It is fitted with big off-road tires, usually mounted on expensive, tough-looking wheels. Often the engine is modified or replaced both to:
a) increase performance, and
b) make more noise.
Often they are adorned with gaudy decals for motorsports brands, heavy metal groups, or generic stuff like Tapout or SKIN.
Commonly lifted vehicles include most pickups and large SUVs, especially the Ford Excursion. Any vehicle designed for off-road use, however, can be lifted.
Theoretically this is to increase off-road performance, although the higher center of gravity would likely make them more likely to roll over on rough terrain. They never have a single scratch on their beautiful paint jobs anyway and are usually seen on the highway next to Corollas and Civics.
They guzzle gas like no other due to the higher aerodynamic profile, the big engine and the knobby tires. They also obstruct visibility on the highway. The point of these vehicles seems mostly to project an obnoxiously aggressive attitude over all other drivers. They are especially popular in the Inland Empire for this reason. One cannot live in the 909, or anywhere in SoCal, without seeing them every mile or so on the freeway.
"Did you see Michael's lifted truck?"
"Yeah, pretty sick man. I wish I had 12,000 to blow on mods."
167π 71π
Technically, either Johann Strauss the Waltz King or Richard Strauss, the more serious composer who wrote tone poems and operas. Among real musicians, though, 'Strauss' almost invariably refers to Richard Strauss. You are a total noob if you think music festivals and professional orchestras program silly waltzes all the time when you see Strauss in their repertoire.
"Hey, wanna come to my concert tonight? The conductor's amazing, and we're playing Strauss."
"Uhh...I don't know if I care to hear Emperor Waltz or the Blue Danube again."
"Aww come on- we're talking 'Death and Transfiguration' here!"
24π 13π
A very fashionable car that makes you look "environmentally conscious." People also think the fuel economy is unbelievably amazing.
The fact is, however, that if you are really interested in saving the environment and gas, a regular subcompact is a much better choice. Older subcompacts such as the Geo Metro, some Honda Civics, the Toyota Tercel, and so on actually got equal or better gas mileage, often above 50 mpg. There is also no electric motor or batteries to mess with, so they are cheaper and easier to fix. These reliable little cars are so cheap to buy and maintain today that it is ridiculous to claim a new Prius saves money.
They also have zero environmental impact, since the are already manufactured. In addition, hybrids' gigantic battery packs full of lead, toxic heavy metals and acid, screw the environment so badly that some people have calculated that a Hummer H3 has less environmental impact.
Also, conventional cars can be hundreds of pounds lighter without the batteries. Performance (and fuel economy) is improved. There is also more room/fewer ugly bulges/ lower aerodynamic profile without a battery pack.
However, this will not convince the liberals who only want to LOOK like they are on the right path.
Liberal nerd: "Everyone should own a Prius! It just makes sense! I can't believe it gets 45 mpg! I'm really just self-interested, because it will save me $$ in the long run!"
Liberal nerd who knows something about cars: Dude, my 1992 Honda Civic VX gets 60 mpg, and it looks better even though it's 17 years old. I bought it for $500 and I can do all the maintenance myself. It can also dust your battery pack on wheels.
Nerd 1: Hey, it's worth it for the status it gives me.
100π 75π
A brand of cheapo bikes sold in department stores such as Walmart. They usually are supposed to look like mountain bikes, but are not strong or light enough to actually tolerate such use, and are rarely ridden off street. They are usually extremely heavy. I do not know of one under 35 pounds.
Some of them do have decent components and function ok. The shifting is usually good. They tend to be more reliable than other department store brands. They are definitely not serious bikes, though. If you have one that you ride to work, class, etc., then you will think cycling is slow and laborious and will give it up. Spend the same amount you bought the Huffy for new and buy a used road bike on craigslist. It will make a world of difference.
They do make good presents for kids. They are nice-looking and have lots of fancy stuff on them and more gears than you can use. Not for anyone over the age of 12, though.
Soccer mom: "I got our son a bike for his birthday. It was a huffy and it's so cool!"
Dad: "It's a good thing he hasn't acquired a taste for real bikes yet."
77π 41π
1. A BMX bike designed for racing over dirt tracks. They are lighter than other BMX bikes. They are fairly cheap but give their owners, usually boys in their teens or younger, a sense of status and pride.
2. Any road bike of reasonably light weight. This is sometimes another use of the term "racing bike" among teenage males. Although real cyclists would laugh at this definition, any decent road bike is much better for road racing than BMX racing bikes.
1. "Hey, want to race? Let's go down the dirt road a mile and back."
2. "Racing bikes are so awesome. They are so much fun to ride on the roads."