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Mountain Bikes Buying Guide

Also known as all-terrain bikes, mountain bikes  come in a variety of styles, colors, speeds and sizes. They are typically quite versatile -- lightweight yet sturdy -- and are designed to handle rugged terrain. Larger tires  give extra traction and provide added shock absorption, a necessary function for biking through the mountains. True enthusiasts may want a specialized bike  designed to tackle the courses they most frequently ride.

Buying a bike is a very personal choice. There are multiple factors to take into account, including your budget and what you plan to do with your bike. Depending on your experience and cycling style, you can get either a serious off-roader or a simple hybrid. It all depends on how advanced a rider you are and where you plan to go. Read on. Learn what's out there, what all those terms mean and what's hot right now.

Suspension Categories

Mountain bikes typically get categorized by their suspension level. Below are the basics.

  • Hardtail: No rear suspension. Usually equipped with front suspension forks.
  • Fully Rigid: A sub-category of hardtail. It has a rigid fork.
  • Dual or Full Suspension: Front suspension fork and rear suspension with a rear shock and linkage causing the rear wheel to move on pivots.
  • Soft Tail: Has little rear suspension. Activated by flex of the frame instead of pivots.

All About Suspension

Suspension allows the bike wheels to move up and down to absorb small bumps, while keeping the tires in contact with the ground for better control. It helps the bike absorb large shocks when landing jumps. Both front and rear suspension systems have two essential elements: the spring and damper. A spring allows the suspension to move up when the wheel hits a bump and to quickly back down after it passes the bump. The damper controls the spring so that it doesn't bounce out of control after each bump. It allows it to bounce just enough to absorb the shock. The trick is to good shock absorption is finding the right balance between the spring rate and the damping.

Types of Bikes

Cross Country (XC)

Cross country bikes  are made of a lightweight material; these bikes tend to have small amounts of suspension. The composition of the frame and the bike's components create a lightweight bike, but as a result, the bike itself tends to be weaker than others. Cross country terrain typically has the same amount of ascents as descents. These courses do not entail any kind of stunt riding. The suspension is typically provided by shocks and forks, yet some XC models have no suspension at all and use a rigid front fork only.

Trail

Trail bikes  feature a softer suspension system for handling harder and more technical courses and obstacles. Extra suspension may mean extra effort while pedaling. This bike is essentially just a modified Cross Country.

Downhill

Downhill bikes  tend to be heavier, often weighing more than 40. pounds. While they are stronger and bigger, they are still made as light as possible for racing purposes. The suspension creates traction around bumpy corners.  These are best for downhill courses and trails. The build makes them hard to use on climbs. Often equipped with hydraulic disc brakes to help stop at high speeds. Competitive downhill biking is where most bike technology is innovated as most bike manufacturers sponsor these riders in competition.

Freeride

Freeride bikes  resemble downhill bikes and can weigh as much, but pedaling on one is far easier. A freeride is a versatile bike, functioning as both a cross country and a downhill with good suspension. These bikes are used often for natural terrain stunts such as hucking (ramping) and can also be great for downhill stunts. Uphill travel is pretty limited on these.

Dirt Jumper

Dirt jumper bikes  are designed for hitting jump, street riding and slalom races. They are sometimes referred to as oversized BMX bikes  that have front suspension. These are composed with strong materials, for a sturdy build that can handle the impact of jumps. The suspension systems are a touch softer than the Cross country bike.  Tires are usually fast-rolling, slick or semi-slick.

Single-Speed

A single-speed bike  has one set gear ratio. Often, single speeds are fully rigid, steel-framed bikes. The gearing ration depends on the skill of the cyclist, the size of the bike, and the terrain being ridden. These bikes are best used on mild to moderate cross country terrain.

Mountain Cross

Mountain cross  is new style of biking that involves four cyclists racing down a BMX-like course. The bikes are mostly full suspension or hardtails and have strong frames.

Other Factors

Frame Materials: Read the breakdown in our road bikes buying guide. As with road bikes, stiffness, lightness and strength are favorable in frames. You might not expect anyone to want a stiff bike on rough terrains, but the shocks take care of comfort on full-suspension bikes, leaving the frame to deal with performance instead of wasting energy on flex (the amount the bike gives).

Size: Standing over the crossbar, you should have several inches of clearance (4-6) between your crotch and the bar. For city riding, you only need one or two inches. Sit on the saddle and put your foot on the pedal and push it as close to the ground as it gets. Your leg should be nearly straight, with a slight bend. Remember you can adjust the height of the seat, but only so much.

Components

Unless you're operating without a budget cap, it'll be tough to get all the best components at high grades of quality. But you can prioritize and go after the best model of a specific part. Concentrate on the following:

  • 'Brakes: It's not feasible to change from one brake system to another, once you have it installed. Know what type of brake you want before the purchase.
    • Disc: A metal disc is attached to the wheel hub, rotates with it and, when applied, presses against the wheel to slow it.
    • Rim: Friction pads, when applied, slow the bike by slamming against the rim of the wheel.
  • Wheels: Consult the Bike Tires buying guide.
  • Pedals: Consult the Bike Pedals buying guide.

Hot Bikes

From the editors at Bicycling Magazine:

Best XC Performance Mountain Bike

Specialized S-Works Epic Carbon 
$7100

Best All-Mountain Bike


Santa Cruz Nomad 
$3654

Best Trail Bike


Titus Moto Lite 
$2500

Best Value Full Suspension

Specialized FSR XC COMPBEST 
$1500

Best Mountain Bike $1000 or less

Jamis Dakar 
$825

From ConsumerSearch.com:

Hardtail

Specialized Rockhopper Series 

Great for Advanced Beginners

GT Avalanche 0.5 

Budget Hardtail

Schwinn Mesa 

Full-Suspension

Ibex Apogee Sport 

Full-Suspension Trail

Iron Horse MKIII Comp 

Major Manufacturers

Related Buying Guides

Bicycles

Bicycle Helmets

Bike Pumps

Stationary Bikes

Bike Racks

External Links

  • About.com: Lots of guides to mountain biking.
  • Bicycling.com: All the reviews on mountain bikes that you can imagine.
  • MTBBritain.co.uk: This convenient chart explains the strengths of different frame materials.
  • Wikipedia.org: An article on the history of mountain bikes and the types of bikes and how they are used.

International Resources

For this resource in your home country, please see:
NL: Mountain Bikes Shopgids

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