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Pick the right frame size > |
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Buying second-hand |
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WHICH
ONE?. ... ... "
THAT'S THE BIG QUESTION " |
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~ Trail
Riding ~
All
about riding on a variety of terrains, and
guess what? it'll be what you will mostly be
riding on. The mountain bike market offers
you Hardtails & full suspension with
suspension travel from 80mm to 125mm plus. |
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~ Free
Riding ~
All
about riding steep descents, wooden frame
structures, jumps and cliff edge drop-offs.
Mountain bikes for this generally feature
big & heavy full suspension frames with at
least 150mm (6") of travel to adsorb the
heavy impacts. They are getting lighter
every year example > Cannondale Prophet /
Rush models. |
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~ Cross
Country Riding ~
All
about light weight and efficiency, it used
to be dominated by hardtail mountain bikes
but now the manufactures have designed
light-weight full suspension bike. The
nature of the full suspension X/C bike means
loads of money because of the components and
materials used. |
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~ Downhill
Riding ~
All
about socking up the big hits at warp speed.
A downhill mountain bike is in essence a
freeride bike but quite a few pounds
heavier, downhill bikes will have full
suspension travel of about 200mm and cost a
kings ransom too. |
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~ Dirt
Jumping Riding ~
All
about jumping, street riding & skate parks,
Dirt bikes are overgrown BMX's with small
tough hardtail frames with few gears and
usually a short travel suspension fork. |
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Always
go for the mountain bike with the best frame
your money can buy. So much of the bikes
life is in the frame and that is transmitted
to the ride. Heavy or low quality frames
will feel dull and uninspiring to ride.
Go shopping with cash for discounts and
extras and remember to haggle, never pay the
price on tag if you can help it.
Make sure the bike you choose is right, take
it for a test ride & get the shop to change
the odd things, you may have to pay the
extras but it will save money in the long
run.
If your bike is quipped with air sprung
systems you'll need an air pump, unless it's
supplied with one. Do get the shop to show
you how to operate the pump and set the air
setting for your weight.
Some parts on mountain bikes are
down-graded, usually the bits like hubs,
bottom brackets, headsets & front mech's so
check to see what you are getting.
Go bargain hunting around October/November
its usually the time of year when the bike
manufactures are launching the new models.
But do be weary of old stock models, they
may be selling off cheap, it could be an
issue later on finding spares.
Try to go to the mountain bike shop in the
week when you can get the sole attention of
the assistant to help you with any questions
you have. Also chances are there will be no
muppets putting you off. |
