High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A mountain bike or mountain bicycle (abbreviated MTB) is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines, on dirt trails, logging roads, and other unpaved environments—activities usually called mountain biking. These bicycles need to be able to withstand the stresses of off-road use with obstacles such as logs and rocks. Wheels used on mountain bikes usually use wide, knobby tires for good traction on uneven terrain and shock absorption. Since the mid-1990s, front wheel suspension has become the norm and since the late 1990s, full front and rear suspension has become increasingly common. Some mountain bikes are also fitted with bar ends on the handlebars to give extra leverage for hill-climbing.