Does XC mean cross-country biking?

Question

What exactly does the term XC or cross-country biking mean?

What other types of biking/ riding are there? Please tell what these different types are and how each one is different. (I know only of road, mountain and downhill biking)

Answer 1

You're right on XC, it's cross country riding. It means bikes that are light, not too much travel in the suspension, usually hardtails (only front suspension), the terrain is smooth, and basically, it means both wheels on the ground at all times ;)

All mountain, or trailbikes, usually, this is a new term for riding where the terrain is more difficult, lots of climbing and downhills, bikes are tougher to withstand rocks, ruts and roots, usually the bikes are full suspension, the travel goes from 4" to 6", more sturdy, the angles are slacker and speed is not important.

Freeriding, is for jumps, stunts on dirt, bikes are very sturdy, heavy, geometry is slacker, top tubes are shorter so the bikes are more easily manouvered in the air, full suspension bikes from 6" to 9" of travel.

Downhill is riding downhill as fast as possible, bikes are very strong, travel is also above 6", up to 10", longer wheelbase to make them more stable.

For Freeriding and Downhilling a full face helmet is a must, usually they get to the top of the mountain by trucks or ski-lifts, and get picked up at the bottom.

Road biking is using very light bikes (even lighter than XC), no suspension, and just a completely different riding.

If you really want to see some great videos of DH and Freeride, check out 'The Collective' or 'Roam', they're very, very good.

Answer 2

XC = Cross Country Mountain Biking.

Answer 3

uhh, chya.
cross-country (XC) biking is racing offroad. the idea is to have a light bike with low travel to go the fastest on the trail.

All mountian - a step up from XC, around 4-6 inches of suspension travel. some small drops, good sized jumps, and technical trails define this group

Freeriding- a step up from all mountain, more suspension travel, bigger drops and jump, speed, and a heavier bike.

Downhill- more suspension than a monster truck, ur basically riding a tank at this point. 40ft drops, 30ft gaps, and screaming down a mountain at 60mph is were downhillers hangout.

Dirt jumping/Urban - self explanitroy. usually a hardtail bike with most likely a single chainring and up to 9 speed rear. very light and a small suspension fork.

road - we got that covered.

you can break it down much more than this, but those are the basic catergories that i can think of.

Answer 4

Biking Meaning

Answer 5

More or less, yes. XC is considered to be the "fast" form of racing mountain bikes, and usually involves hardtails or bikes with 4" of travel or less.

This is where it gets silly, because there used to be "rigid" bikes with no suspension, "hardtails" that only had front suspension, and of course the ubiquitous full suspension bikes (no explaination needed).

Now you have XC hardtails, "dirt jump" bikes with smaller frames and simple front suspension, "urban assault" bikes that look like dirt jump bikes with more suspension travel and tires more suited to pavement, XC full suspension with 4" of suspension travel or less, "trail" bikes with 5-6" of travel, "freeride" bikes with 6"-8" of travel, and pure downhill (DH) bikes with 7"-9" of travel or more and HIGHLY tunable suspension (i.e. adjustable preload, high & low speed compression and rebound damping and platform valving).

If you're trying to choose between them, go with the type of riding you DO instead of what looks "cool" on TV. If you live in the Colorado foothills, a freeride bike will be too heavy to haul up a 4-mile technical climb; a hardtail of XC full suspension will do better. Conversely, in Arizona you will want to go with full suspension rather than a hardtail, since most trails are quite rocky. If you're a displaced BMXer, get a dirt jump bike and have fun around the city.

Answer 6

ther are many types of bke classes as you stated and xc is crosscountry
road is drop handlebars and thin wheels 19-25MM
mountain is straight bars and chunky wheels 25-38MM
downhill is similar to xc but with suspension for the faster terrain
hybrid combines road and mountain so cross bars and slightly thicker tyres than road 23-25MM
bmx is your stunt type bikes that children start on but some adults still competition on.
trials seem to be a derivative of bmx but no seat as its for moving across obstacles

Answer 7

XC is short for "cross country." But, it isn't necessarily limited to biking.

Answer 8

K get out your pen there's a few ....Road,cycle-cross,velodrome(wood track),time trail,cross country,freeride,urban,downhill,moto,dual slalom,freestyle,vert,dirt jump,trials and I'm sure I'm missin a couple but I'm sure the others will fill in the blanks.