While you are likely fully aware that mountain bikes are a completely different thing than road bikes, you may not have known that there are different mountain biking disciplines too. Knowing which one of these best describes your style can come in handy for more than one reason.
There are five main mountain biking disciplines. These five disciplines are: cross country, all mountain, downhill, dirt jumping, and freeriding. Almost all of these mountain biking disciplines can be divided up into more categories, and some of them have some overlap in between, but these are the main 5 disciplines of mountain biking.
It is good to know not only what these disciplines are, but also what the differences are between them. This information can play a large part in what mountain bike you decide to get and how to find the trails that you would be most interested in riding.
All About Cross Country Mountain Biking
Cross country is by far the most popular out of the different mountain biking disciplines, and it is also one of the ones that you are most likely to hear about. Often if you hear someone refer to mountain biking without saying which kind then this is the one they are talking about. Sometimes you will hear cross country biking referred to as trail riding or XC riding instead of cross country, but these are all pretty much the same thing.
This discipline is so popular that it even has mountain bikes that are specifically made for being ridden on cross country trails. These bikes are made to handle the wear and tear of all kinds of terrain and to be sturdy and durable no matter what you throw its way.
This kind of mountain biking is all about riding through trails that have all kinds of different terrains. These trails go uphill and downhill and can be relatively straight or wind all over the place. Cross country usually does not involve any major obstacles, instead having smaller challenges and is instead hugely focused on endurance and spending hours at a time on the trails.
There are even cross country races that can provide an opportunity for mountain bikers in this discipline to get together and to compete against each other. These races can be huge events with cross country bikers coming from all over the states to participate in them.
Some cross country trails are more difficult than others, with the simpler ones being perfect for beginners who are new to mountain biking. Since there is very little danger to riding these trails, it is perfectly safe to ride them by yourself, or you can ride them in groups if you prefer.
Often these trails will even branch off so that in the same place there is both an easy trail and a more difficult one. This makes it convenient for gradually getting to the harder stuff and it can also be nice for families where different members have different levels of skills since it allows them to all go to the same trails.
Finally, if you are doing night riding, then this is just the sort of trail that you will want to ride on. Some people put night riding in a category all its own but, other than the fact that you are ridding at night instead of during the day, the trails you use are the same. However, there is no doubt that riding the exact same trail during the day and then again at night can be two totally different experiences.
All About All Mountain Mountain Biking
As its name implies, the all mountain discipline of mountain biking is focused solely on biking on mountainsides. Sometimes this even involves riding your bike around in mountainous terrain without having a trail to guide you as you either head from one point to another or just weave around to explore the area on your bike.
While this discipline does not really have its own unique kind of mountain bike – unless you count Enduro bikes which are also used for cross country – most of the more durable cross country mountain bikes will work well for this since they are made to handle the different types of terrain.
These trails tend to have lots of drops, jumps, technical climbs, and can even be right on the edge of a cliff at times. There is no doubt that this discipline is difficult to learn, but succeeding on one of these trails can feel more rewarding since there is more of challenge to it.
When it comes to competitions, there are not very many for this discipline. This is perhaps at least in part because trying to race around on the side of a mountain is not something that you really want to do. While the more experienced you get with all mountain riding the faster you will be able to go, speeding through the trail is a good way to get yourself hurt here. This is even if that part of the mountain has a trail at all.
This discipline should be learnt only after you are quite comfortable and confident on your mountain bike and is not really one for beginners to start with. These trails will take skill, good control, and a certain amount of fearlessness to be able to ride.
Because there is a lot more danger here than there is when ridding cross country, you should never ride on these trails alone. This is especially true if you are riding on a part of a mountain where there are no trails, since if something were to happen to you it would take a very long time for someone to find you even if they knew what mountain you were on.
All About Downhill Mountain Biking
The term downhill mountain biking is pretty self-explanatory too. This mountain biking discipline involves going downhill, preferably as fast as you possibly can. There is no doubt that there is a certain rush that comes with the scenery speeding past you in a blur, and this rush is what downhill mountain biking is all about.
Like cross country mountain biking, downhill mountain biking sometimes has mountain bikes that are made specifically for this discipline, though there is not as much of a variety in them. These bikes are built mainly for speed, but also have some durability too.
One very unique feature that belongs solely to this mountain biking discipline is that is even sometimes has lifts like ski lifts that take you up so that you can ride down the trail. In places without a lift you will often simply walk up a trail with your bike to get to the starting spot of the downhill trail.
This discipline requires a cool head and fast reflexes in order to avoid or jump over the obstacles. You also need to have a good amount of control on your bike since many downhill biking trails have gnarly root sections and rock gardens, with long falls/jumps being the norm.
Some of the more difficult downhill riding involves going off-trail and simply seeing how fast you can get to the bottom of a hill. It is not at all uncommon for friends to all start at the top and then see who can get to the bottom first, and there are some places where this is a regular thing to do.
Since downhill riding is so popular, it is no wonder that downhill racing is fairly common. These races are not as big as the ones that the cross country discipline can sometimes have, but they can still be fun events to go to.
While it might seem easy to go downhill, it is actually something that can be quite challenging. This is because everything will come at you so much faster that it will give you far less time to react to it. For this reason it is not necessarily for beginners, though it is something that it is fairly easy to work your way towards with a bit of practice.
When you are downhill mountain biking, it is really good idea to have a friend along. However, there should be a set distance between the people biking if at all possible.
This is because if your friend were to lose control of their bike in front of you it is a much more serious thing when going downhill. Not only will you likely be unable to stop yourself, but the fact that your momentum is already going downhill will make you far more likely to keep going for quite a ways before coming to a stop, even if you ditch your bike.
All About Dirt Jumping Mountain Biking
This mountain biking discipline is the only one of the five that is not done on some kind of trail. For this reason many people of the other disciplines of mountain biking often do not even think of dirt jumping as mountain biking at all, instead categorizing it with one of the other kinds of biking.
Since there are no trails to ride in this discipline, instead it is done in what are called dirt parks. These parks are usually not too hard to find, though there are far fewer of them than there are mountain biking trails.
Dirt jumping has its own kind of mountain bike and these are made for doing jumps and handling tough landings without falling apart. This is good to know because the dirt jumping mountain bike discipline is all about doing jumps and tricks in the air which makes this discipline perfect for daredevils.
In each dirt part there are a wide range of ramps and jumps at various heights and at various angles. Usually the steeper ramps are for the more experienced dirt jumpers and give more “air time” than the smaller ramps. Once you master the basics of doing some simple jumping, then you can add more and more tricks to your jumps, seeing how many you can do before you hit the ground.
Dirt jumping not only involves riding on dirt, but it also tends to involve getting dirt on you too. This is especially true if rain has made the dirt park turn into more mud than dirt. This being the case, it is necessary to clean your bike after literally every ride and to clean yourself off as well.
For this reason dirt jumping is not an option that is generally chosen by people who dislike getting muddy. You should also only try this discipline if you are willing to spend a lot of time cleaning your bike up on a regular basis.
Though there are not many competitions for this mountain biking discipline, there are a few. These allow you to watch them much more closely than a cross country race where you tend to only be able to see the competitors off at the beginning to often go and wait at the end. These competitions are also not about speed and instead are scored on the number and the difficulty of the jumps that they can do along with the tricks done while the competitors are airborne.
The dirt jumping discipline of mountain biking is another great option for riding by yourself, or you can have as many people you want with you all spread out over the dirt park. These can sometimes even be lit up at night or well into the evening, depending on where they are and who owns them.
All About Freeriding Mountain Biking
Freeriding is one of the lesser known mountain biking disciplines and is in many ways a combination of a few of the other kinds of mountain biking disciplines. While it uses many of the same trails as cross country or all mountain ones, it also adds in some of the tricks and jumps of dirt jumping.
However, that is not to say that freeriding has nothing about it that is unique. It is the freeriding cross country trails that have added features to them. These can be wooden ramps, twists, or even beams and are usually referred to as technical features since they are usually not simple enough for beginners to ride.
Sometimes freeriding can also be called trial riding which is when it involves more things like boulders and railings during the ride. There is also something that is referred to as a pump track. A pump track is a trail that is made up of continuous ups and downs with no flat areas to pedal through. This tests your skill of how well you can use the momentum of one downhill to make it up the next hill and it sometimes gives you an opportunity for a jump or two if you want to.
Since it is a combination of other disciplines, freeriding does not have its own mountain bike, but any one of the others can usually work for it depending on what you plan on doing more of when you are freeriding. Most of the time cross country bikes or Enduro mountain bikes are used.
The main thing that freeriding is all about is doing technical things with your bike. This requires a fair amount of skill and a large amount of balance on your mountain bike, though there are some of the technical features that are tolerably easy for beginners to get started with.
There are not really any freeriding competitions like there are for the other disciplines, however it is something that can be fun to do alone or with your friends. It is easy to keep track of your progress and can be quite rewarding as you are able to work your way up to the more difficult things.
Conclusion
All in all, cross country mountain biking is probably the best one out of the five mountain biking disciplines that you should start off with if you are new to bicycles or want to start off nice and easy. If more than one of these disciplines appeals to you then that is no problem! Many mountain bikers do more than one kind of mountain biking, though most have their preferences and very few participate in all five disciplines.
Cross country or Enduro mountain bikes will work for most of these disciplines to some degree, though downhill riding and dirt jumping are much better suited to their own bikes. Downhill riding in particular will be far more comfortable on a downhill mountain bike because the seats on these are placed at a different angle to account for the continual downward slope for example.
With all these options for mountain biking there is no way for anyone to have time to get bored. If you are tired of one kind you can simply dabble in one of the other kinds and get to see for yourself all the tiny differences between them. No matter what mountain biking discipline you pick you are sure to get plenty of fresh air in the outdoors!