YOUR FIRST MOUNTAIN BIKE
A proper mountain bike is essential for mountain biking. Using the wrong bike for the situation can make your bike difficult to handle or even be painful. When you first visit a bike shop you’ll notice there are a lot of different types and manufacturers, just like cars really. And just like cars they have different purposes and different price class ranges. The purpose of the bike is usually more important than the price. You wouldn’t take an expensive sports car to go off-roading, right?
CHOOSE YOUR RIDING STYLE
There are many disciplines within the sport of mountain biking. Some focus on long rides through the countryside, while others use gravity to race down the slopes of a mountain within only a few minutes. It is vital to know the differences between these disciplines to determine what type of riding you’ll be doing and what equipment you’ll need. The descriptions below will familiarise you with the most common mountain bike disciplines.
Cross Country & Trail Riding
Cross country, often abbreviated to XC, is the most common form of mountain biking. Mainly because it can be done almost anywhere in the world. XC trails can consist of a combination of paved roads, singletracks and off-road sections. Depending on where you are, the trail might have big ascents and descents, but mountainous or hilly terrain is not a requirement (the Netherlands is famous for being flat, yet it offers over a hundred XC mountain bike trails). A trail can take anywhere from less than an hour to a full day of riding and you should expect lots of pedalling.
Cross country is the best discipline to start learning mountain biking for several reasons:
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Trails vary from beginner to expert, thus allowing for a gradual learning curve.
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It is low cost; bikes are (or rather can be) cheap and you only need minimal equipment.
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You’ll probably have cross country trails close to your home.
If you ever come across the term trail riding, just know that it is used very broadly and can refer to cross country as well as all-mountain. The biggest difference, in comparison to cross country, is that trail riding focuses more on singletracks and technical obstacles, such as ‘drops’ and ‘rock gardens’.
All-Mountain & Enduro
All-Mountain, or AM, has its description in the name. This discipline focuses on riding in the mountains with big ascents and steep descents. Along the trail you’ll find jumps, drops and other obstacles you’d expect from a mountain. All-mountain means long tours in the mountains with technical challenges.
Enduro refers to a type of mountain bike racing. In the race, participants will be pedalling up hills, but only the downhill sections are timed. The type of terrain and challenges you encounter during the race are very similar to all-mountain. Enduro is starting to replace the term all-mountain within the mountain bike community, so you might notice it is also used to refer to a type of trail or bike and not just the race.
Downhill & Free Riding
Got interested in mountain biking because of those sick jumps and incredible speeds you saw on social media? That’s downhill mountain biking. Downhill (DH) is all about letting gravity do the work. Either a shuttle bus or a cable car will take you and your bike up the mountain from where you’ll pick your line and make the descent. You’ll go down at a high speed encountering numerous technical obstacles and tight corners. There is barely any pedalling and the ride down usually only lasts a few minutes. Don't be mistaken though, it is a very demanding discipline.
This type of mountain biking is often done at a bike park. While there can be trails for absolute beginners, it is wise to check beforehand as even experienced riders sometimes get injured on downhill trails. To gain confidence on these trails, you might want to book some lessons or hire a local guide the first time you visit a bike park.
Free riding is similar to downhill mountain biking, but focuses more on tricks and technical obstacles, such as a narrow plank raised above the ground. Free riding also refers to riding natural terrain without a set trail, the rider has the freedom to find their own path down. In races points are awarded for creativity rather than speed.
FINDING A SUITABLE MOUNTAIN BIKE
As you might imagine, cross country demands different equipment and different skills than downhill mountain biking. For example a bike with high suspension will be better at absorbing big impacts, like drops or big rocks, but also reduce the pedal efficiency, which is a bad thing when you have to pedal for hours. Thus, the amount of suspension you want depends on the type of terrain you’ll be riding. A mountain bike has many more parts that affect the handling of the bike, but to make things more comprehensible we’ll look at the broad categories first.
Cross country bike: Designed to go fast on relatively smooth terrain.
Trail bike: Can handle rougher terrain than cross country bikes.
Enduro / All-mountain bike: Suitable for riding in mountainous terrain and designed to handle downhill sections, but still capable at pedalling uphill.
Downhill bike: Purposed very specifically for downhill. Pedalling it uphill is very hard, which is why you usually take it up with a shuttle bus or cable car.
Electric mountain bike (e-mtb): Any type of mountain bike, with the exception of downhill bikes, can come in an electric variant. E-mtb’s make difficult uphill terrain and long distances a lot easier and less exhausting. However, the electric motor increases the weight of the bike significantly, making it more difficult to handle at slow speeds.
Fat bike: Fat bikes are specifically designed to ride on very difficult terrain such as snow or sand dunes. The fat bike has its advantages on these types of surfaces, but a lot of disadvantages off of it due to its heavy weight. Unless you plan to ride exclusively on loose sand or snow it’s better to use a regular mountain bike.
The above is a simplified explanation to the differences between the various types of bikes. Manufacturers often use this categorization to indicate the purpose of the bike, which makes it easier for you to find the right bike for your preferred discipline. However, that doesn’t mean an all-mountain bike can’t ride cross country trails. It does mean it will be less efficient at it. A more precise way to identify what type of riding a bike is suitable for and how it handles is to look at its specific components, which we’ll cover in the next section.
BUYING YOUR FIRST MOUNTAIN BIKE
The first thing you should know when buying a mountain bike is what type of riding you’ll be doing. As we already discussed, a beginner will most likely start with cross country and trail riding. The second thing to keep in mind is that it's probably better for your first mountain bike to be affordable and suitable for beginner trails. As you’ll start riding and gain experience you’ll know whether you want to invest more money in your ride and if so, with time, you’ll understand what bike and bike components you’ll prefer. Keep in mind that a decent entry level mountain bike will cost between €400 and €800.
So now that you have basic knowledge about mountain bike categories, let's take a look at what your first mountain bike might look like:
As you can see an entry level mountain bike will cost you between €400 and €800. These types of bikes are a great way to get into mountain biking without spending a fortune. Once you’re skilled enough to ride some more challenging trails, and catch the “mountain bike virus” you might feel the need to upgrade your bike and its components. Fortunately there is a large market for second hand bikes, so selling your old bike shouldn’t be a problem. Mountain biking is not always a cheap hobby, but it is loads of fun!