Living in Denver Colorado, the idea of mountain biking is less a “what if” idea than a “when” ultimatum. Outdoor living is mandatory. Mountain biking is less a recreational activity and more of a mandatory rite of passage. But regardless of where you reside, mountain biking should be on your bucket list.
Should you buy a mountain bike? Yes. Depending on your skill level, what you are attempting to accomplish and your price range, will illuminate what type of mountain bike you should buy. And even if you find you live in an area that is relatively flat, a mountain bike could be just what you need to get up and get out.
What Type of Terrain Fits Mountain Bike?
When you are deciding whether you should buy a mountain bike it is important to know what type of surface you will be riding across. Mountain bikes are traditionally considered “off-road” bikes. So they are especially good in less than ideal conditions. If you are thinking of taking the more scenic route, through the woods or across the desert, or yes, in the mountains, a mountain bike could be for you.
What Are Your Physical Expectations?
Are you thinking of buying a mountain bike for exercise? Or are you slightly more ambitious? Just from an exercise point of view, mountain biking is a total body workout, specifically your core and your back.
Depending on what you want to do, mountain biking can be divided into specific categories:
First terminology:
There is a color-shape rating system used to let you know the difficulty of trails. Generally, beginner slopes are between 6% and 25% and are known as green circle. Intermediate slopes are 25% and 40% and are known as blue square. Black diamond trials have the most difficult slopes they are 40% and up.
When you hear the term singletrack, it is referring to a trail that is about the width of a bike.
Doubletrack or fire road is a trail that is wide enough for four-wheeled off-road vehicles.
Cross country mountain biking
Cross country mountain biking is named for the type of land you will be riding across. Cross country courses are a mixture of rough forest paths and paths designed for only one or two bikes to get by. It also will have paths connecting to different trails and smooth fire roads.
Cross country riders usually prefer hills, twisty single paths, and the intermittent jump or rock drop.
Trail riding mountain biking
Trail riders tend to be more adventurous. They seek out the black diamond type trails, going for jumps, drops, rock gardens and berms (flat strip of land, raised bank, or terrace bordering a river or canal).
Enduro mountain biking (also called all mountain)
This is a form of mountain bike racing. The race has anywhere from 3-6 timed stages. The times stages are usually downhill varying in steepness, length and difficulty.
Enduro combines elements of all the disciplines: the physical fitness needed for cross-country racing, the mental stamina for XC-style stage races and the bike handling skills to negotiate technical gravity of singletrack.
Downhill mountain biking
According to http://www.adrenalinebeast.com/downhill-mountain-biking/ “Downhill mountain biking is very simple, find a high mountain and follow the trail down, be the fastest one, digest adrenaline.” If you are seriously considering downhill mountain biking, know it is the extreme of extreme sports. This is not something you just jump right into.
Freeride mountain biking
Freeride is similar to downhill except in freeride you are going for air. Downhill you are timed to get down the hill the fastest, freeride is all about the visual. It is about style, the tricks you perform on your way downhill and the technicality of the trial. Again freeride is not something that you are going to just buy your bike and get right into.
Dirt Jumping
It is as it sounds. Dirt jumping mountain biking is all about getting airborne. You ride over jumps made out of dirt and soil. While this is listed last, it is something you probably remember doing as a kid. Only then you really didn’t have a name to it.
Are There Actual Health Benefits for Mountain Biking?
As you noticed there are many different types of mountain biking that will lend you an excellent workout. But wait…there is more. There are actual physical benefits you can get from mountain biking. According to travelbughealth.com these benefits include:
- Improved heart health: Mountain biking uses large muscle groups. This causes an increase in your heart’s fitness by 3-7%.
- Less stress on your joints: Mountain biking is a low impact sport putting less stress on your joints.
- Decreased risk of diseases: Researchers at the University of North Carolina found that people who cycle for 30 minutes, 5 days a week take half as many sick days off work compared to those who don’t.
- Another study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology reported that women who exercised regularly, including cycling to work, reduced their incidence of breast cancer.
- Reduced stress and improved mood: When you ride your mountain bike your body releases natural endorphins. Exercising also increases serotonin a neurotransmitter in the brain which helps prevent depression and anxiety.
- Increased brain power: Researchers at Illinois University found that a 5% improvement in cardio-respiratory fitness from cycling led to an improvement of up to 15% on mental tests.
- Improved balance and coordination: Staying steady on a mountain bike strengthens neural pathways and reinforces muscle memory.
- Whole body workout: Cycling builds strong legs, thighs and calves. But you are also strengthening your core and abdominal muscles. And the climbing and adjusting strengthens your upper body. Complete body workout no trainer needed.
- Sleep better: Riding decreases cortisol, a hormone that keeps you awake. Mountain biking exposes you to daylight which not only increases your body’s production of vitamin D but helps you to maintain the body’s natural circadian sleep/wake cycle.
- Enjoy nature: Japanese researchers have shown that being out in nature improves relaxation and reduces stress.
Now all you need is the actual bike. Mountain bikes come in different shapes and sizes; it is important to get the one that is best suited for you.
Different Types of Mountain Bikes
While there are bikes that are specific to each riding category (we will get to that) the bikes are grouped in three different categories:
Before we get into different types of mountain bikes, lets define some terms:
Fork: a bicycle fork is the part of the bicycle that holds the front wheel.
Rigid: If you are just starting out in mountain biking do not get a mountain bike that is categorized as rigid. This type of bike will have no suspension on the front or rear fork.
Hardtail: A mountain bike that is categorized as hardtail, has suspension shocks on the front fork but not the rear. They have better handling than entry-level full suspension bikes.
Best bike for entry level riders and an added bonus they are usually affordable.
Full Suspension: Just like the name implies they have full suspension on both the front and the rear.
Full suspension bikes are more expensive. These bikes are generally not for the mountain bike newbie.
The mountain bike is further broken down into the type of riding you will be doing:
1. Downhill or Park: These are full-suspension, heavier bikes. They are very big and very heavy. If you are even contemplating riding uphill, you should look elsewhere.
Downhill bikes can take a lot of punishment. There isn’t much climbing in downhill courses. There are high speeds and obstacles that need to be avoided if you want to stay on the bike. So downhill bikes have frames that are made from either steel, titanium or carbon fiber. These frames also have a design which puts the rider further back. The frames are always full suspension with travel for the back wheel to reduce impact and shock.
The wheels are usually 26-inch instead of 29-inches. The tires are usually at a lower pressure to keep traction and absorb impact, and don’t forget the puncture-resistant cover.
COST: Downhill mountain bikes are not cheap. Expect to spend between $2000 to the cost of a kidney, depending on how serious you are.
2. Enduro/All Mountain: Enduro is considered the “everyman” mountain bike category. That depends on who your everyman is, endure competitions are long as you will climb and descend for hours at a time.
So the enduro bike will have to withstand this discipline. These bikes will have wider tires and have more travel in the front suspension. The wider wheels, usually 29 inches work for their stability.
Most if not all enduro bikes have full suspension making the endurance part of enduro slightly more comfortable. Mid-travel full suspension bikes are dominant. Enduro bikes are durable, but lighter and stiffer than downhill bikes because too much weight and too much give makes climbing hard.
A necessity for enduro bikes is a dropper post. Dropper posts are telescoping seatposts. The dropper posts function by a handlebar mounted switch that allows the post to drop out of the way at the press of a button.
According to QBP.com, enduro helped inspire the creation of clutch derailleurs, the single biggest technological advancement in derailleurs in decades. Downhill bikes have used chain guide systems to keep the chain on the ring and to protect it from whatever. On an enduro bike, the added weight of a chain guide system is a bad.
Clutch derailleurs almost entirely eliminate chain slap.
Cost: Enduro bikes can range from $4000 to $10,000.
3. Trail: According to freethepowder.com, trail bikes are the most popular mountain bikes. They are also the hardest bikes to define. Generally speaking, they are lighter, have mid-range front fork travel and the shape of the bike is styled for comfort over performance.
The reason for the difficulty in defining a trail bike, is that it is your go to bike in for all conditions. So because of that the bike should be versatile. Look for a bike with:
Frame: The frame is the most important part of any mountain bike. But for trail bikes there is no concrete identity on which all trail frames are based.
Geometry and sizing: Modern trail bikes are built around a short stem and wide bars. They often compensate with a long reach. A lot of trail bikes have adjustable geometry so you can have one version for climbing and a different version for descending.
Suspension: You won’t need the impactful suspension that is required for enduro and downhill bikes.
Forks: Single crown forks are what you want. A lot of trail bikes have asymmetrical travel where the forks have greater travel than the frame and shock.
Shocks: The traditional style shock is used to save weight. The shock will most likely be air not coil, as the air shocks are lighter and more adjustable.
Wheels: Trail bikes have the biggest variety of wheels for any bike category.
Brakes: Lightweight two or four piston hydraulic disc brakes are standard.
Gears: Top end trail bikes are starting to move away for 2x, but there are still plenty of trail bikes with the extra low gears for getting up climbs easier.
Controls: Modern trail bikes are made with long reaches and should be fitted with a short stem to compensate.
Pedals: It’s personal but remember being clipped in will give you a mechanical advantage when you take those long rides.
Cost: Because there is no definition to trail bike, the cost is the same. Look for them to range from $250 to $7000.
Trail bikes will ultimately come down to buying the bike that best fits the conditions you ride most often and of course your budget.
4. Cross-country (XC): These are very light, very expensive with full suspension. This bike is built for climbing and speed for the longer rides in the backcountry. The most important variable in cross-country bikes is their low weight and smooth shifting.
Handlebars: Narrow handlebar allowing you to get a feel of what the front wheel is doing. It is also quick to steer around corners.
Stem length: Has a longer stem length. This positions you in a posture that pushes your body further forward for enhanced grip on flat terrain and maximum acceleration.
Suspension: Has a shorter travel of suspension for quick uphill sprint. For the faster cross-country mountain bikes, the comfort of the rear suspension has been eliminated to boost pedaling efficiency.
Head angle: Has a narrow head angle.
Tires: Has smoother tires to enhance faster rolling for maximum speed.
Cost: Cross country bikes can usually be had anywhere $400 to $5000.
5. Fat bikes: The bike gets its name because its tires are comically big. The width of the tires range from 3.8 inches to 5 inches (compared to 2.5 inches on most standard mountain bikes). These bikes are made for riding on snow, mud or sand basically any surface that would need the big tires for grip. This is your four-season cycling monster.
Cost: Prices range from $750 to $1500
Accessories Needed to Successfully Mountain Bike
So you know what style of riding you want, and you know what bike you want to get. You aren’t quite through, yet. Bikeradar.com has listed the “20 essentials for epic mountain bike rides” and here they are:
- At least two spare tubes, remember you will be riding through less than smooth terrain. And even if you are riding on pavement on your way to work, potholes aren’t your friend.
- A patch kit takes up little room and are necessary when you use your last tube.
- A mini tire pump is necessary because really what are spare tubes and a patch kit if you don’t have anything to get some air in there.
- Multi-tool kit, especially one with a built-in chain tool. It should also include a T25 torx, flathead and Philips screwdrivers and at least 2.5, 3,4,5,6 and 8mm Allen keys.
- Tire lever preferably a standalone one, which is better constructed than the ones that may be built in a multi-tool kit.
- Shock pump
- Chain lube
- Lip balm preferably with an SPF rating
- Sunscreen with SPF 30 or greater
- Phone and think of carrying a SPOT or similar beacon if you’re going beyond the reach of cell service
- Packable rain jacket
- First-aid kit in a waterproof package that includes bandages, gauze, disinfecting wipes, and tweezers.
- Derailleur hanger
- Master link
- Chainring bolt
- Zip-ties
- Spare spoke with nipple
- Money
- Small but bright headlight
- Tool roll or pouch
Prepare for the worst, expect the best.
What don’t you want? The health benefits, the fresh air, the competition or are you afraid of the cost? Start slow a good trail bike can be had for minimal cost compared to the benefits you are sure to derive. Stop paying that high gym fee. So should you buy a mountain bike? Heck ya!