Thinking of buying a mountain bike in 2019, Cycle SuperStore gives you a buyer’s guide to buying your first mountain bike
Choose Your Discipline
When choosing your bike you first need to ask yourself what discipline of mountain biking you’ll prominently do and how much you have to spend.
- Cross Country (XC); This discipline is the most popular form and features in the Olympics. Cross Country can include everything from open fire roads to narrow single tracks which will test the riders endurance and technical handling skills.
- Trail Riding; This style of riding is more technical than Cross country and usually takes place on purpose built trails. These trails usually form part of a larger complex usually called a trails center. Trails usually incorporate a mix of terrain, single track, smooth fire roads and even paved paths. Most trail centres will also offer uplifts. For a small fee, the rider will be transported to the top of the trail.
- Enduro; This is more adventurous then cross country and involves more technical routes and bigger drop offs. If you decide to enter an Enduro competition, this style of event is made up of stages and can last from anything from one day to a couple of days.-
- Downhill; This is designed for the more advanced and extreme rider who loves speed. This discipline involves sending riders down through single tracks descents which includes rock gardens and massive drops. Who ever gets down the trail (or bottom) the quickest is the winner.
Type Of Bike
The discipline you choose will decide the type of bike you choose.
- XC/ Cross Country Bike;If you see yourself using mostly greenways, tame off-road tracks or even a little road, an CX bike may suit you. They typically have only 100mm on the rear or none at all (hardtail) with only 100/120 mm of fork travel. They are lightweight, efficient and fast, but are not suitable for very aggressive riding
- Trail Bike; Trail bikes are usually full-suspension bikes with between 120-140mm of suspension travel front and rear. They are much more forgiving for mistakes than xc bikes and have more relaxed geometry. They are perfect for the likes of Ticknock, Ballinstoe and other trail centers. They can take more abuse than XC bikes and will handle rougher terrain with much more control
- Enduro; Enduro bikes usually have 150mm-170mm of suspension travel, front and rear and are capable of being ridden on almost all tracks in Ireland, no matter how rough or technical. An enduro bike often ends up being the choice of someone who wants one bike to do it all. Enduro bikes descend like downhill bikes, yet they can still come fitted with a dropper seat-post, to enable on-the fly saddle height adjustments without taking your hands off the bars. These bikes are perfectly suited to tracks and trails like Carrick, Djouce or Davagh Forrest.
- Downhill; Downhill bikes are highly specialised and have no function other than to get from the top of the hill to the bottom in the shortest time possible. They have between 200-220mm in suspension travel front and rear and have incredibly relaxed geometry with a head angle of 63 degrees and a long wheelbase. They are almost impossible to climb hills on, but are great fun to descend on suitable trails include Bree, Rostrevor, and Bike Park Ireland
Bike Size
After choosing your discipline and your type of bike, the next decision involves choosing your bike size. All mountain bike will be available in your traditional frame sizes, small, medium, large and X-large. However mountain bikes will differ in wheel size. The two most popular wheel sizes are 29″ and 27.5″.
27.5″ Wheel- This size wheel is easier to maneuver around tight and twisty trails. This size wheel is ideally suited to the smaller rider
29″ Wheel- Because of the increased size of the wheel, this wheel will roll better and carry more speed. The additional size will also offer more stability at higher speed.
Your enduro and downhill bike will traditionally have bigger wheels than your hardtail bike as the bigger wheel offers more stability.
By David Dowse & Dan O’Brien
