For anyone new to the sport of mountain bicycling and looking to buy a bike, understanding the labels of the available bicycles in the market and their intended riding purposes can be a bit overwhelming initially. In an effort to address this issue, the following is a listing of some of the different mountain cycles classifications with a short description of their features and intended purposes.

CROSS COUNTRY (XC)
Since the goal of cross country (XC) mountain bicycling is centered on endurance racing, the cross country (XC) mountain cycles are built using the lightest components available. Some full-suspension XC bicycles have weights as low as 21 pounds (9.5 kg). As a result of this, the XC cycles are often less durable than other types of mountain cycles especially when used outside of their intended purposes. The suspension travel in XC mountain bikes is usually minimal having only a small amount of front and/or rear suspension (usually 65-110 mm). The idea is to only smooth out the trail conditions rather than absorb big hits. Most of the XC bicycles have only front suspension, normally referred to as hardtails and these are the types most used in XC competitions.

All Mountain (AM)
All Mountain cycles bridge the gap between cross-country and freeride bicycles and typically weigh between 30 - 35 pounds (14 - 16 kg). They usually come with a suspension of about 4 - 7 inches travel. These bikes have been assigned the ‘all mountain’ tag because of their ability to handle the different aspects and terrains of mountain biking. They are designed to handle steep descents and moderate inclines but because of their relative heavy masses, they may not be an ideal selection for all-day rides involving steep climbs.

Freeride
Freeride mountain cycles are similar to downhill cycles but their components show a greater emphasis towards strength rather than weight. These bikes typically range in weights from 30 - 45 pounds (14 - 20 kg). The other salient feature of Freeride cycles is that have ample suspension that typically have a minimum of 6 inches (150 mm) of travel. These bikes are designed to be effective on technical downhill trails. Though these bikes can be ridden uphill, they are relatively inefficient.

Down Hill
The make up of a downhill bike is essentially the exact opposite of a XC setup – the overall weight of the bikes is close to 50 pounds with extra beefy suspension which allow around 9 inches of travel. In the past few years, with the usage of lighter and more expensive alloys, the weights of downhill cycles are getting closer to the 40lbs mark (18 kg). Downhill bicycles are ideal only for riding down dedicated downhill trails and race courses because of their slack geometry angles and typically large or high gears.

About the Author:
Nicholas Martens is an avid mountain biker. He has been mountain bicycling for more than ten years. He owns a number of mountain bicycles and some of his favorites are yeti mountain bikes and mongoose bicycle.

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