Mountain biking is a sport that generally can be defined as riding bicycles over rough terrain trails that are found off-road, and often feature adaptations to make the trails more challenging. In general, mountain biking requires the use of a mountain bike that is built for the challenges of the off-road trails, although adapted hybrid bicycles can also be used. The main difference between mountain bikes and other bikes is that they are highly durable and perform much better on rough terrain.
In general, mountain biking is broken down into the following subcategories, trail riding, all mountain, cross country, freeride, urban trails, and dirt jumping. Out of these categories cross country and trail riding are the most popular, with cross country mountain biking the only category to be recognized as an Olympic Sport.
Mountain biking is a combination of physical strength and technical skills. In particular it requires participants to have a large amount of core strength, endurance, bike handling skills, balance, and self-reliance. With this in mind, mountain biking can be an arduous sport, although there are many trail skill levels, which makes it easy to gradually learn and familiarize oneself with.
Mountain biking requires a larger list of equipment than you may think outside of the initial mountain bike, although it certainly is important to purchase a mountain bike you can rely on since most trails take riders far outside of civilization. Some of the equipment that you should purchase before mountain biking include helmets, glasses, gloves, bicycle pedals, comfortable clothing, hydration systems, shows, bike tools, and a pump in case of a flat tire.
Although any sport carries a risk with participation, in general mountain biking does not have to be dangerous if you purchase the proper equipment and know your limitations when it comes to choosing which trails to embark on.