You need a new mountain bike—now what? Bike shop employees will often start by asking about your preferred riding style and terrain choices in order to help assess if you would be best suited on a cross country, trail, all-mountain, or downhill bike. As you determine your preferred riding style, you can better decide not only what type of bike is right for you, but also the specific features that will optimize confidence, fun, and performance on the trail. This guide will help you become more familiar with various types of mountain bikes and how they vary with regard to suspension, geometry design, seat tube angle, head tube angle, wheel and tire size and weight. When you get to the shop, you’ll be prepared to find a bike that will induce maximum stoke!
One important factor to consider is how much suspension you need. Suspension systems allow your bike to soften the impact of bumps, roots, drops, and other rough terrain through shock absorbers. “Rigid” bikes have no suspension, and are the least comfortable. Mountain bikes with suspension only in the front are called “hardtails,” while those with suspension in the front and back are “dual-suspension” or “full-suspension” bikes. In general, full-suspension bikes offer a more comfortable ride over varied terrain, but are heavier and more expensive than rigid and hardtail bikes. The term “travel” refers to the maximum distance suspension can move before it is fully compressed. Bikes with more travel are able to handle steeper, more technical downhill terrain, but are usually less efficient at climbing. Bikes with less travel are easier to ride uphill and for long distances, but don’t absorb or soften the impact as much.
Types of Mountain Bikes:
Cross Country (XC) Bikes are the most efficient at climbing and covering lots of ground (think epic backcountry rides)! They are lightweight and offer low-range travel (90 - 120 mm). Cross-country bikes can either be hardtails or full-suspension bikes. Hardtails give you better efficiency in your pedaling power, allowing you to climb faster, while cross-country bikes with rear travel allow more control and are more comfortable on technical terrain.
Trail Bikes are the most well-rounded bikes—they can do it all! Trail bikes typically have mid-range travel (120 - 140 mm), and strike a balance between efficient climbs and thrilling descents that still allow for those fun jumps and drops. These bikes have come a long way in recent years, making them even more capable and really stretching trail-bike boundaries—flirting with the technical lines of all-mountain/enduro bikes and the great climbing abilities of a cross-country bike!
All-Mountain / Enduro Bikes are extremely capable on the downhill segments of your ride. They have higher-range of travel (150 -170 mm) to handle bigger drops and jumps. More suspension and slacker geometry comes with some lost climbing efficiency; however, the bike industry continues to improve the climbing ability of all-mountain/enduro bikes. The new flip-chip feature allows you to customize your bike’s geometry. You can switch from a low-and-slack setting for descending to a steeper-and-higher mode for climbing—truly an incredible advancement in bike technology!
Downhill Mountain Bikes are optimized for technical descents, and are often ridden in bike parks and chairlift resorts. They have longer wheel bases and extremely slack geometries, and head tube angles ideal for white-knuckle descents. They typically have 170 - 200 mm of travel, with a dual-crown fork in the front. Downhill bikes can handle steep descents, rough terrain, and large drops, but will exhaust your curse-word lexicon on uphill sections.
Your preferred style of riding may warrant a cross-country bike or downhill rig. However, if you’re not sure what to get, we typically recommend a trail or all-mountain bike as a best-of-all-worlds compromise. Trail and all-mountain bikes are great for accommodating varying terrain and riding styles, whereas cross-country and downhill bikes are pretty specific to their respective niches.
Other Crossover Bike Types
The discussion above focused on more common styles of mountain bikes, but one thing we love about the mountain-bike community is that we’re always asking questions like, “How can we bike more often? How can we ride further? How can we include more friends? How can we extend the riding season? How can we fill that space in the garage that looks like it is severely lacking a bike?” Recent years have brought the addition of electric mountain bikes, fat bikes, gravel bikes, and cyclocross bikes.
Electric Mountain Bikes use electric motors to help you go faster and farther, as well as to help you pedal up difficult hills. One of the greatest advantages to e-mountain bikes is that they allow more riders to access the sport we love -- hooray for inclusivity! These bikes are more expensive than others due to their complexity. They are also heavier, less agile on the trail, and can be hard to handle without electrical support. Check local guidelines to ensure they’re allowed on trails near you.
Fat Bikes: These bikes are named for their oversized tires that can run very low tire pressures, and are generally specific for either sand or snow. Fat bikes are occasionally used on dirt trails; however, they are not as efficient as traditional mountain bikes. Large tires and low pressure allow more tire contact, friction, and stability in sand or snow, but require more energy to propel the bike forward. They are also heavier bikes. Fat bikes are sometimes used for bikepacking or touring expeditions because they have lots of room to mount gear bags and can navigate varying terrain. They are typically rigid-frame bikes (no suspension) or hardtails.
Gravel Bikes are designed more like road bikes, but with wider tires to tackle a variety of surfaces, including off-road surfaces. You will sometimes see these bikes on mountain-bike trails, as they can handle dirt terrain with limited technical features. These are also popular bikes for bikepacking and touring because they are efficient, have room for mounted gear bags, and can handle dirt and gravel roads or paths. Cyclocross bikes are very similar to gravel bikes; however, the geometry differs to allow for more clearance in handling rocks, steps, or roots.
Fat bikes and gravel bikes are great crossover bikes that can be a lot of fun; however, if your main interest is in mountain biking (and you only want to make one purchase for now), we recommend an actual mountain bike. You can always rent another type!
Women Specific Bikes vs. Unisex Bikes:
A question for the ages is whether we need mountain bikes that are tailored specifically for women. Ten years ago, it was difficult to find an aggressive women’s specific bike, we were often met with squirrely pink or purple offerings. Fortunately, the industry has evolved and now provides quality mountain bikes tailored to women with both women’s specific and unisex bikes. Liv and Juliana are two well known women-focused mountain bike companies. Liv’s mountain bikes are optimized for narrower shoulders, shorter arms, and shorter crotch heights. They even created a 29-inch-wheel mountain bike that fits small riders exceptionally well - small and x-small frames.
This doesn’t mean that women have to purchase women’s specific bikes. Overall, bike companies without women’s lines have increased the variety of frame sizes and geometry designs available in order to accommodate all different sizes of riders, regardless of gender. In fact, many women have led the movement to focus on unisex bikes accommodating different bodies rather than being gender focused.
Most of the Women in the Mountains coaches and support team ride and prefer unisex bikes. You might find a women’s bike that is perfect for you, but being open to a unisex bike will likely give you more variety with regard to frame design, geometry, suspension, and colors. Most importantly, make sure you find a bike that is a great fit for you. A properly fitting bike is crucial for performance, efficiency, handling, maneuverability, confidence, and enjoyment on the trail. There are things that can be customized for a better fit, including saddle adjustments, handlebars widths, and stem lengths. Just be absolutely sure from the get-go that your bike’s frame size is correct for your size and height!
