Mountain Bikes (MTBs)
The basics of a mountain bike are:
- tough frame
- good brakes
- lots of gears
- knobbly tyres
The riding position is fairly upright to give you good vision and to balance your weight evenly over both wheels.
With the development of different types of equipment for different types of terrain, modern mountain bikes fall into four main types of category; Cross Country (XC), Freeride, Downhill (DH) and All Mountain.
Cross Country (XC)
is the most common form of mountain bike that most people will buy. It is ideal for riding off road, especially climbing, and for commuting. XC bikes are typically 'hardtail' and have no rear suspension but come almost always with front suspension. This adds extra control with comfort when riding rough terrain. They are generally lighter than the other types of MTBs. Although designed for off road use these bikes do have some limitations in extreme conditions. In terms of price XC bikes are the most practical and affordable for the new mountain biker.
Good XC bikes start from around £250, the sky being the limit at the top end. Examples are: Specialized Stumpjumpers, Specialized FSR XCs, Giant Trance and Anthem, Kona Hei Hei.
Top end Cross Country bikes are full suspension bikes and are used for competitions as well as leisure riding, offering additional speed, comfort and control compared to front-only suspension.
Freeriding/All mountain
 - MTB Full Suspension.jpg "Giant 2008 - Reign X1 (coil) - MTB Full Suspension")
has become very popular over the last few years with people wanting to explore places they couldn't easily ride on hardtails. Freeride bikes typically have medium to long travel suspension, front and rear, to provide maximum comfort and control when tackling large bumps and jumps. Freeride bikes are normally given a lot of abuse by people looking for new places to ride. Unfortunately the extra suspension, added frame strength and chunkier tyres on these bikes does add weight. The cost of Freeride bikes can be as much as a used car but you are buying a lot of technology on a bike like this, prices start around £1000, for example: Giant Reign, Kona Coilair Supreme.
Downhill mountain biking
has become a high profile professional level sport with races all over the world. The idea of a downhill race is to get from the top of a hill to the bottom in the fastest possible time. Due to the speed, forces and terrain downhill bikes have to have long travel (huge suspension) with solid frames, solid components and very powerful brakes. Again downhill bikes do cost a lot of money but you do get a lot of bike. Prices from around £1100, for example Giant Glory DH, Commencal Flame, Specialized Bighit FSR 1, Kona Stinky, Commencal Supreme DH.
Buying a mountain bike
For an in-depth description about the ins and outs of the various mountain bike components read this TredzTalk guide to buying a mountain bike.
