Free-ride, all mountain, and cross country.?

Question

I'm looking for a bike to take from work and back daily. I am also interested in a bike that I can take to the trails. I am a beginner. I know that I want a mountain bike, and I am interested in full suspension. I would like a bike that has a more aggresive stance versus me siting up right. Freeride bikes have more interesting looks, but I'm not sure that's what I need. Can some one tell me what I should be looking at in terms of the different styles of bikes. Also, I'm five nine, what size frame should I be looking at? Thanks for the help. P.S. WHat is freeride anyway?

Answer 1

Hey Dev,

-Reading your question, I would reccommend either an All-Mountian or Cross-country mountian bike. I ride DH and Freeride bikes and you definitely do not want a DH bike to commute to work unless you live on top of a Mountain and ride down the Mountain to work. Then chair lift back to your home at the end of the day. (That would be Awesome!)

-An All-Mountain Mountian bike would have the more aggressive stance and upright riding position. The All-Mountian would have 4 to 5 inches of travel front and rear. Some have 6 inch travel forks in the front and 6 in the rear. The All-Mountain has larger more aggressive tires and beefier suspension than a cross country bike, so if you want to take a few drops or jumps on your favorite trail you won't have to worry about bent or tacoed rims. With the new rear and front shock technology like stable platform tech. you won't have to worry about pedal induced bobbing or your rear shock sucking up your pedal power.

-Cross country bikes are similar to all mountian bikes,but have less suspension travel and are a few pounds lighter. The XC bike has lighter wheels, smaller tires, more of a laid out rider position, etc. Some have lock outs on the front and rear to keep the shocks from moving, so you essentially have a hardtail on the street or singletrack.

-Freeride bikes fall in between Downhill and All-Mountain bikes. They are essentially lighter DH bikes with either double chainrings/bash guard with a front derailer on the front or a single chain guide like on a DH bike. Freeride bikes are made for going off drops, gaps, jumps just like a DH but you can also pedal the bike up trails and again are lighter than a DH bike.

-I would go to a few bike shops that sell different brands of bikes. Check out brands like Specialized, TREK, Giant, Santa Cruz, Kona etc. There are so many brands it will make your head spin. Here is a great website that has tons of reveiws of Mountian Bikes. parts, trail etc.:
http://www.mtbr.com/
As for size for you. Again it depends on the brand of bike you purchase. Each brand and model of bike has a different geometry. For example you might fit a medium Specialized Enduro, but you would need a large Kona Coiler. You need to go out and try each bike for yourself. Lastly, if you plan to ride off-road, purchase a full suspension, you will be SORRY if you get a hardtail. The bikes I described are just an overview of the bikes, because bikes vary in geometry, components etc. OK, my fingers are tired. Just my 2 cents. Hope this helps. = )

Answer 2

Freeride means doing drops, stunts, jumps and crazy fun stuff. But it means to have more guts than brain :P Nah, not necesary, but you must like to reach high level of adrenaline. Look at The Collective, Roam or Cranked DVDs to get a feel for what freeride is. Most of the riding they do on those videos is freeriding.

Well, regarding body position, freeride bikes are designed so the riders go in a more upward body position so you can move the bike easier, while cross country (XC) bikes are designed for a more stretched position so they can ride faster and peddal better.

All mountain is a new coined up term in the bike industry, and several companies use different terms for slightly the same thing. All mountain bikes, or trail rides, are bikes that are meant to go up and down the mountain, and are tougher than XC bikes, and lighter than FR.

Geometry wise, there are different changes between all this bikes. It's not just the amount of travel, but on the angles and geometry. XC bikes are made to go fast but also on easier terrain, while freeride bikes are meant to go big, do jumps, drop off or bomb through rock gardens.

All type of riding leans toward longer travel. So, a few years a go, a trailbike had too much travel when they had 5" of travel, while now there are several options with 6". One of the reasons for this is shock technology. It means that you could have a controlled bobbing with longer travel, but also smoother riding.

I wouldn't say that only full suspension bikes are for freeriding or all mountain. There are some hardtails that are designed for all mountain, and some also for freeriding.

When looking for a bike, consider that different bike builders design their bikes with a different geometry. Some go for longer top tube length, and others for shorter. There is no 'perfect' geometry, just try several, and see how they fit you.

I'm not sure about you needing a full suspension. I guess it comes as to what you mean by taking to the trails. If you don't want to do drops, or ride through rock infested trails, probably you could go for a hardtail with a nice fork. If you go for a full suspension, a freeride bike will probably kill you on the road climbs.

Test ride as many bikes as you can. Most probably you won't be able to tests the mountain bikes where it matters the most, which is on the dirt, but at least you can get a feel for how they fit....




Also, it depends on your budget. I could say go to Ventana or Titus and have them make a custom designed bike for your body, but that would mean a frame that would start around 2,300 or more us dollars, and then when you build it up, the sky is the limit. And most probably, you won't need a custom designed bike, anyway.

Answer 3

If you're main interest is commuting you should be looking at a hard-tail with front lock out. A full suspension Will soak up all sorts of energy on a commute, and though it will be a smooth ride, it won't be very efficient and will leave you more tired than a bike with no rear suspension. The same goes for a front suspension, but the lock out will make the fork rigid so you don't waste your energy with the front of the bike bouncing around. You'll appreciate this when coming home after a long day at work, catching your 5th stop light in a row, and having the bike suck up every ounce of energy you put into the pedals. No, go for the hard tail with the fork lock out.

There are three types of full suspension (FS ) rigs; cross country, free ride, and downhill. All are made for strict off-road use.
cross country - lighter, less suspension travel. shorter wheel base. Made for just as it implies, cross-country riding.
freeride - a bit heavier, longer wheel base, more suspension travel. Can be used on cross-country style terrain, but is more suited to technical downhill runs and very rocky terrain, has gearing to go uphill, but hurts when you try.
downhill - made for going down hill. period. It's quite heavy, has bullet proof wheels, and gearing for going down fast, has no gears for going up. Very long wheelbase, big suspension travel. Very stable at high speed over technical terrain.

What I'm recommending is a cross-country hard-tail, no rear suspension. Rear suspension is a maintenance nightmare, so unless you're mechanically inclined, have time and tools, get a hard tail. Once you get into this cycling thing, if you really want a strict off-road vehicle, go for the FS. But, for a general purpose commuter that you can have fun with on the weekends, Pick some thing like the Giant Rincon:

http://www.giantbicycles.com/en-US/bikes/mountain/10/28393/

but what ever you pick, make sure the fork has the lock out. This is highly recommended for commuting.

As cheap as this bike is, you can afford a second set of wheels. One for commuting with slick high pressure tires - which I highly recommend - and a set of knobbies for heading off road.

At 5'9" you'll be looking at the 18" size.

Answer 4

I have a short answer to your question. If you would want to use your mountainbike for both commute and trail riding, get a cross country full suspension bike with 4inches of travel.Preferably with stable platform shock so you wont need lock-outs.I would recommend the Specialized epic with Inertia shock (google specialized bicycles for the website) and a Fox terraLogic fork.The stable platfom valving makes the bike very efficient to pedal ad is almost locked-out (no bobbing) when you ride in in smooth terrain.
Freeride means trailriding in any trailconditions esp gnarly and difficult terrain.