Choosing A Mountain Bike

How To Choose A Mountain Bike That More Fits Withor cable disc brakes, both are very good and light,
Your Needsmost of the other MTB parts, of course will be
How to choose a mountain bike depends on what youShimano and as usual get the best you can afford.
are going to do with it, if all you want your newThere are many combinations of hubs and rims to
mountain bike for is going for a nice leisurely ride onmake up your wheels; hubs from Shimano and rims
the canal path or a ride in the woods with the dog, wellform Mavic are the usual mix. Then you have to
you wont need a full suspension downhill machine withchoose which suspension forks to put on you bike, you
4 inch travel on the forks and a fully articulated rearmay not get a choice, depending on which bike you
end with damping and rebound control.buy, the main ones are Suntour, Marzocchi, Manitou,
Where to Start From.Fox, RockShox and RST, buy any of these and you
If you do want to go for an easy ride in the park youwont go far wrong.
don't need to spend too much, if you think you will doTop Bikes, Top Money.
any off-road riding then big tread tires maybe all youIf you want what the professionals ride you will have
need, but if you think you might try some rough stuffto pay a lot of money a professional MTB. As with
then you will need suspension. Gears will probably beroad bike at the top of the range, you can specify
Shimano, brakes must be V-brakes, but could bewhat you want to build up your dream bike. Top bikes
made by a few different manufacturers, all the rest offrames to spend your money on could be Klien, Scott,
the MTB components will depend on how much youRocky Mountain, Gary Fisher, Santa Cruz and K2;
can spend. If you go to your local bike shop or bigthese are some of the most sought after bike frames
sports store and see what they've got to offer, thenin the world and would be the envy of your friends.
buy it or have look on the Internet and maybe you'llProbably the best forks to put on your frame would
find the same thing at a better price.be RockShox SID's these are light and do all the things
The Next Step Up.you need with control of all functions, there are many
So maybe you want to be a bit more adventurous,other to also to consider, look at how much travel they
more off-road, more forest tracks and dry boulderhave and the rebound and damping systems. Gears
river beds, then you'll need something a little lighter, withagain will be either SRAM or Shimano Rapid fire, XT
suspension forks. All this will cost you more money, butor XTR, more money could be spent on carbon or
will be worth it for the extra enjoyment and adventure.very light alloy cranks, the brakes should be hydraulic
With a better mountain bike it will have a sportierdiscs from Hayes, Pace or Magura or stick to the
handling and because it is lighter, it will be easier totrusted V-bakes. Wheels from Shimano or Mavic or
struggle up the hills before you come flying down thesome fancy carbon wheels, but remember they will
other side. The components will again be Shimano andhave to take a lot of punishment, so maybe better to
the quality will depend on how much money you cango for reliability over light weight expense. Carbon
spend. V-brakes and Rapid-fire gear shifters, alonghandle bars, stem and seat pin and a light weight race
with Shimano chain set, bottom bracket and headset.saddle and Time or Shimano SPD clipless pedals, then
Handle bars, stem and seat pin should be alloy andyour choice of tires will depend on what terrain and
along with a comfortable saddle you'll be set to take toground conditions you are going to ride on.
the hills.And Downhilling?
More Money, More Bike.Downhill bikes are very different, more like a cross
The next rung up on the mountain bike ladder wouldcountry motor bike, but without the engine, low center
be good enough to race on. There are many toof gravity and a lot of travel on the suspension on the
choose from, get on the net and surf the bikeforks and the rear end, disc brakes, wide rims and fat
manufacturers sites and all the shop sites along withtires, gears are only at the back as usually a single
the magazines for juicy photos of the bikes. The topchain set is used. Unless your going to do a lot of
manufacturers in this price range, I would say are: -downhill racing then there isn't much point in buying one
Trek, Giant, Specialized and Cannondale, theseas you have to get up the hill first before you can
companies make the nicest frames with the bestcome down and as light weight is not an issue with
mountain bike parts available at the price, gears will bedownhill bikes, they are very heavy to get up hill with
either Shimano or SRAM, brakes could be V-brakesout the use of a tow rope or a ski lift.