Finding Specialized Mountain Bike

Many times people participating in specific disciplines of cycling will buy a specialized mountain bike, designed for the discipline. While cross-country, enduro and freerider are the most common disciplines for mountain biking, over the years variations have arisen given greater need for a more specialized mountain bike to meet the demands of the cyclist. To help meet the specialized needs, various suspensions are used to help the rider maintain control throughout the course on which they are riding.

Typically, mountain bikes have wider tires with typical 26-inch wheels. Although on some of the more specialized mountain bikes, a 29-inch tire is used to help achieve better speed. Suspension from fully rigid, on which no suspension is used, to hardtail suspension which may of some give in on the front form, but nothing in the back and softtail which uses no additional suspension methods except for additional flex in the frame. There are also bikes with full suspension, which have a softer ride with suspension in the front and back, along with flexibility built into the frame.

Cross-country mountain bikes typically have lighter frames and while they may have full suspension, it is typically pneumatic on the front and rear to save on weight. The idea behind a specialized mountain bike for cross-country is more for its ability to climb hills and mountains than in an aggressive approach to downhill racing. Due to their lightweight construction, a specialized mountain bike for cross-country will not usually stand up to jumping and other rides on harder trails.

Freerider bikes care less about weight than suspension as many times riders use a lift available at a ski resort during the off season or walk their bikes up a mountain before beginning a rapid descent. With this specialized mountain bike typically having full suspension they can take on the many jumps associated with this discipline of mountain biking. Some of the strongest specialized mountain bike seen is used for urban and street riding and dirt jumping. Usually they have several inches of front end suspension and none on the back end and tires are typically slicker 24-inch and 26-inch diameter. Many riders will have up to nine gears on this type of bike while others will choose none. Other types of discipline involve single speed specialized mountain bike riding along with downhill, mountain cross and trials. Bikes used in trial are either stock or modified and are the lightest of the specialized mountain bikes, weighting between 15 and 25 pounds for better maneuverability.

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