Classifying Mountain Bikes Based on Design
The two-wheel, manually-driven transport called mountain bikes have been around since the late 1960s. A mountain bicycle, also called an all terrain bicycle (ATB), is designed to run on dirt trails and unpaved roads and is more sturdily built than regular bicycles. The tires of this bike are knobby and thick to provide more traction.
The designs of mountain bikes vary depending on the type of challenge or mountain biking discipline. In cross country cycling, the bike used has a small amount of suspension, usually ranging from 80 to 100 mm on the front and rear. Cross country bikes are very light, sometimes weighing only 20 to 30 lbs. Lightweight materials are used in the construction of such bikes and air shocks commonly provide the suspension.
There are also those that are called Enduro or All Mountain bikes. These are much heavier than the cross country rides, weighing 30 to 35 lbs and are equipped with higher suspension travel. Enduro bikes are designed to ride up and ride down mountains. Another type of bike design is the freeride. This type has a higher suspension travel than the Enduro and is designed to cross distances and take on downhill trails. Freeride bicycles weigh between 30 to 50 lbs.
Another type is the downhill bike. These bicycles are quite heavy, weighing around 40 to 50 lbs. These are suitable for riding downhill trails and race roads. The suspension of a downhill bicycle is built to sag at least three inches to provide utmost traction through bumpy intersections and corners. The head angle of this type of bicycle can be as slack as 64 degrees. Meanwhile, trial mountain bicycles are built specifically for bicycle trials. This type of bike usually has no suspension at all and is equipped with only one gear. In terms of function, trial bikes are more like an oversized BMX than a common mountain bicycle.
Dirt Jumping or Urban and Street bikes are those that usually have three to six inches of front suspension. They don’t have rear suspension but have one to nine gears. The tires of Urban and Street are either fast-rolling or slick. Single speed bicycles, on the other hand, have only one gear. Single speeds are fully rigid and steel-framed.
The last design type is the 4X racing. These have full suspension with three to four inches of travel or hardtails. They have strong frames and feature a chainguide on the front and gears on the back. The head angles are slack, the chainstays are short and the bottom brackets are low to provide good corner movement and acceleration.
Bicycles are for those who love the simplicity of using the human strength to travel. Mountain bikes, on the other hand, are for those seeking a more challenging way of using the human limbs. Be it on mountain tracks, downhill roads or dirt trails, these bikes can offer the appropriate design to suit the user’s purpose.
