How to choose a mountain bike depends on
what you are going to do with
it, if all you want your new mountain
bike for is going for a nice leisurely
ride on the canal path or a ride
in the woods with the dog, well
you wont need a full suspension
downhill machine with 4 inch travel
on the forks and a fully articulated
rear end with damping and rebound
control.
Where to Start From.
If you do want to go for an easy
ride in the park you don’t need
to spend too much, if you think
you will do any off-road riding
then big tread tires maybe all
you need, but if you think you
might try some rough stuff then
you will need suspension. Gears
will probably be Shimano, brakes
must be V-brakes, but could be
made by a few different manufacturers,
all the rest of the MTB components
will depend on how much you can
spend. If you go to your local
bike shop or big sports store
and see what they’ve got to offer,
then buy it or have look on the
Internet and maybe you’ll find
the same thing at a better price.
The Next Step Up.
So maybe you want to be a bit
more adventurous, more off-road,
more forest tracks and dry boulder
river beds, then you’ll need something
a little lighter, with suspension
forks. All this will cost you
more money, but will be worth
it for the extra enjoyment and
adventure. With a better mountain
bike it will have a sportier handling
and because it is lighter, it
will be easier to struggle up
the hills before you come flying
down the other side. The components
will again be Shimano and the
quality will depend on how much
money you can spend. V-brakes
and Rapid-fire gear shifters,
along with Shimano chain set,
bottom bracket and headset. Handle
bars, stem and seat pin should
be alloy and along with a comfortable
saddle you’ll be set to take to
the hills.
More Money, More Bike.
The next rung up on the mountain
bike ladder would be good enough
to race on. There are many to
choose from, get on the net and
surf the bike manufacturers sites
and all the shop sites along with
the magazines for juicy photos
of the bikes. The top manufacturers
in this price range, I would say
are: - Trek, Giant, Specialized
and Cannondale, these companies
make the nicest frames with the
best mountain bike parts available
at the price, gears will be either
Shimano or SRAM, brakes could
be V-brakes or cable disc brakes,
both are very good and light,
most of the other MTB parts, of
course will be Shimano and as
usual get the best you can afford.
There are many combinations of
hubs and rims to make up your
wheels; hubs from Shimano and
rims form Mavic are the usual
mix. Then you have to choose which
suspension forks to put on you
bike, you may not get a choice,
depending on which bike you buy,
the main ones are Suntour, Marzocchi,
Manitou, Fox, RockShox and RST,
buy any of these and you wont
go far wrong.
Top Bikes, Top Money.
If you want what the professionals
ride you will have to pay a lot
of money a professional MTB. As
with road bike at the top of the
range, you can specify what you
want to build up your dream bike.
Top bikes frames to spend your
money on could be Klien, Scott,
Rocky Mountain, Gary Fisher, Santa
Cruz and K2; these are some of
the most sought after bike frames
in the world and would be the
envy of your friends. Probably
the best forks to put on your
frame would be RockShox SID’s
these are light and do all the
things you need with control of
all functions, there are many
other to also to consider, look
at how much travel they have and
the rebound and damping systems.
Gears again will be either SRAM
or Shimano Rapid fire, XT or XTR,
more money could be spent on carbon
or very light alloy cranks, the
brakes should be hydraulic discs
from Hayes, Pace or Magura or
stick to the trusted V-bakes.
Wheels from Shimano or Mavic or
some fancy carbon wheels, but
remember they will have to take
a lot of punishment, so maybe
better to go for reliability over
light weight expense. Carbon handle
bars, stem and seat pin and a
light weight race saddle and Time
or Shimano SPD clipless pedals,
then your choice of tires will
depend on what terrain and ground
conditions you are going to ride
on.
And Downhilling?
Downhill bikes are very different,
more like a cross country motor
bike, but without the engine,
low center of gravity and a lot
of travel on the suspension on
the forks and the rear end, disc
brakes, wide rims and fat tires,
gears are only at the back as
usually a single chain set is
used. Unless your going to do
a lot of downhill racing then
there isn’t much point in buying
one as you have to get up the
hill first before you can come
down and as light weight is not
an issue with downhill bikes,
they are very heavy to get up
hill with out the use of a tow
rope or a ski lift.
A.Caxton is a the Webmaster and
publisher of http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com.
A free online magazine that carries
reviews on road bikes as well
as mountain bikes. You can find
also at Andrew's cycling site
technical reviews on bicycle clothes
and heart rate monitors.
