Which is best to buy for a beginner a Downhill or a freeride bike?

Question

Biking, Diwnhill, Freeride

Answer 1

Depend on what you want to do. If you really want to get to the hard riding and seeing freeride or downhill, you will have to decide on which to choose.

While both kind of bikes are build tough, the geometry changes. On a Downhill bike, the wheelbase will generally be longer and the bottom bracket lower to give the bike more stability.

A freeride will have a shorter wheelbase and higher bottom bracket height so the bike is more maneuverable on jumps. Also, it will be a bit easier to pedal... at least, allegedly so...

Dowhill bikes are usually bikes for lift-parks or have someone ride you to the top of a mountain and just head down.

Freeride bikes are usually for more obstacle course stuff, jumps.

If you're just starting riding, probably don't buy a FR or DH bike at first, since you probably won't know what you should look for. This kind of bikes aren't cheap, are usually more expensive than XC or trail bikes, so starting out with a > $2,500 bike might not be the best idea if you really don't know what you want to do.

There are some bikes that are trailbikes / all mountain / enduro / whatever terminology that could be good ones.

Santa Cruz Heckler or Bullit might provide a strong platform for doing general riding and stunts. I think there is a complete Heckler for around 1,800 bucks or so. Check SC website for more info. (http://santacruzbikes.com/heckler.5/).

Answer 2

Listen to Roberto. As a newbie, you don't want to jump in and just start doing downhill and freerides. You need some time on an XC bike to build up your balance and other skills. Think of it this way, on XC you're going about 10 miles an hour (let's say) and you have to deal with obstacles. A lot of people have trouble with that. If you're doing freeride or downhill those things are coming at you much faster and you better know how to deal with them. So, unless you can already trackstand, switchback, jump, drop-offs, and deal with just about any obstacle, go with an XC bike. XC bikes can take a serious beating. I'm a big fan of Gary Fisher and the Gensis geometry. You could just get a moderately priced hard tail to start off with, like the Tassajara or Wahoo (I think like $500 to $700).

Answer 3

The best all around bike is the new Specialized Enduro SL comp. Retails at $2500 is under 30 lbs has a dual crown fork, for thos big drops and kicks all around butt. I wouldnt huck your meat to early on. You'll hurt yourself really fast and learn from it. Ride safe

Answer 4

in case you're in seek of a freeride/airborne dirt and dust jumper a Yeti airborne dirt and dust jumper physique is a super purchase for $2000. in case you have chose greater value-effective i could say a Kona Shred is super for a hardtail or a Trek gas for a twin suspension