Saturday, August 1, 2009

Mens Mountain Bikes - Which Style Is For You?

By Carson Longiotti

Since the development of mountain biking in the 70s, there has been an increase in the number of companies offering specialist mens mountain bikes. There are several styles of mountain bike, each suitable for different styles of riding, so before you choose a bike you need to decide on your preferred style of riding.

Mens mountain bikes are generally made using lightweight materials, and they have advanced brakes, gears and suspension systems. They can be divided into four categories based on the suspension systems.

These are Fully Rigid, a frame with a rigid fork and either fixed rear suspension, or no suspension. Hard tail, a frame with front suspension but no rear suspension. Soft tail, a frame with a small amount of rear suspension, activated by the flex of the frame instead of pivots. And Dual or Full suspension, a front suspension fork and rear suspension with a rear shock.

There are also many different styles of mountain bikes available. Of these the most popular include Cross Country (XC), All Mountain (AM), Trail Bikes and Freeride bikes.

Cross Country (XC) mountain bikes are usually lightweight and only have a small amount of front and/or rear suspension. They are intended to use on climbs and have quick turning abilities.

Trail bikes are a combination of Cross Country and All Mountain bikes. They are excellent bikes for combining elements from all styles of mountain biking.

All Mountain style bikes offer good suspension and they are aimed at ascending moderate inclines and descending steep downhills. This style of bikes are ideal for any level of rider, whether child or adult.

Freeride Bikes are similar to downhill bikes. They are built to focus on strength rather than weight. They have good suspension and are built from strong, heavy material. They are extremely good for riding technically downhill.

To choice which mountain bike to buy you must first choose which style of riding you prefer. Do you want to ride gentle trails, climb mountains, perform stunts, descend steep downhills, or have a go all round? There are so many good mens mountain bikes on the market that all these options are covered so you just need to find one that feels perfect for you that is within your price bracket.

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