Mountain Bikes

If I were considering a new mountain bike, I’d think about a few things.

• Your budget is a thing, and I respect your budget. That said, I ask you to consider this: bicycles are durable goods. They last a long time. If you use it and enjoy it, your cost per ride is quite low, even if you spend a lot of money on the bike. I ask people to think about what they want to do, not what they can do right now. Then I suggest that they buy the bike that can do the future things. This is not so Pedal can sell you a more expensive bike. It’s so that you can buy one appropriate bike instead of a starter bike and then an appropriate bike. It’s your call! But that’s our thinking.
• Suspension. Most folks choose between a hardtail (only front suspension) or a full-suspension bike. The former is generally less expensive, perhaps even significantly so. Hardtail bikes are also generally lighter. Full suspension bikes make mountain biking easier and allow you to ride more miles with less abuse on your body. People tend to say, “You don’t need a full-suspension bike.” True. Do you even need a bike at all? This is not to say that you can’t have a great time on a hardtail, but there is magic in a nice full-suspension bike that is not available in even the finest hardtail. And, yes, there are more specialty bikes like fully rigid bikes and single speeds and all that. And, also yes, they can be fun as heck. But they’re just too darn… out there… for a generalized rambling like this.
• Frame material. I think you’ve gotta contextualize this with everything else that you want. It might be hard to find an aluminum frame decked out with a killer drivetrain and other higher-end parts. That absolutely does not mean that aluminum bikes are bunk. They are awesome, but most manufacturers don’t equip their aluminum frames with all the hot goodies, largely because the people who want the hot goodies also want a carbon frame. Aluminum is great. Carbon allows for lighter weight and maybe fancier manufacturing techniques. Said differently, there are carbon bikes with features that cannot be duplicated in aluminum. Just to wrap this up, when you look at all the other features of the bike you want, odds are that frame material will not be much of a decision.
• Kind of mountain bike. This is totally a thing. Our industry loves to slice things into small slices, and such is the way with mountain bikes. The kind of riding we do most of the time (nearly all of the time) in Western Michigan is referred to as Cross Country. We don’t have a ton of elevation change. We don’t have a lot of “features” on the trails. We don’t have big descents. For better and worse, Cross Country is “fast.” It’s also awesome. The next step up the ladder is Trail. Trail bikes are maybe less great at going fast and typically weigh a bit more, but they feel confident and secure on the downhills and technical bits. After that we get into things like Enduro, All Mountain and Downhill. Most bikes we sell at Pedal are Cross Country, but Trail bikes are indeed a thing. This sort of fine slicing is more relevant as we start to talk about more expensive bikes.
• Spring. Especially with less-expensive bikes, there’s a big difference between springs in the fork (front suspension). You can choose a fork with a regular steel spring or one with an air spring. A steel-spring fork is less expensive, heavier and has a pretty limited range of adjustability. Air-spring forks (generally called air forks) are either more expensive or WAY more expensive, lighter and more adjustable. If your budget allows, I’d say air fork.
• Drivetrain. This used to be a big deal. You’d want this rear derailleur and this front derailleur and these brakes and….. sheesh. Most bike components are pretty darn great these days. I think you want a 1x drivetrain if you can afford it. That’s one ring in the front and however-many in the back. Those all tend to work pretty well. Most all of the hydraulic brakes are good. Are mechanical brakes bad? They are not. They lack the outright power and modulation of hydraulic brakes, and maybe those things don’t matter to you.
• Tubeless capability. I think this one is pretty important. Tubeless allows you to run lower pressure (equals more traction) and also prevents many flats, BUT (that’s a big but) a bit of extra maintenance is required. Personally, I’d want a bike with tubeless-ready rims, but I can understand situations in which this feature doesn’t matter.
• Lighter wheels make a bike feel more spry and zoomy. Full stop.

Mountain biking is way fun on any bike, but it’s most fun on a bike that works for you. We are here to help.