Trail bike

All-rounder malli

what is a trail bike?

an all mountain bike?

supersonic

AM is a term coined by Spesh for a 6 inch travel bike that weighs 30lbs or less that can handle very light DH, but is still ok for XC.

A trail bike is basically an slightly longer travel, slacker XC bike that will do minor drops and jumps but not as much as the AM bikes, So usually lighter.

Lots of overlap too.

JamesBrckmn

what's an orange 5 then?
trail or AM?

MacAndCheese

JamesBrckmn wrote:

what's an orange 5 then?
trail or AM?

I'd say trail as it's still under 30lbs, even though it has a very similar ammount of travel to my wolfridge which I would classify as AM.

Anonymous

It's a "mountain bike"

I find it hilarious that people have bought about the names AM, or Trail to mean just, well, "Mountain bike"

supersonic

Aye, but a 65mm race hardtail is a bit different from a 10 inch travel huck monster ;-)

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

Aye, but a 65mm race hardtail is a bit different from a 10 inch travel huck monster ;-)

I never said I disagreed with XC, or DH ends of the spectrum, but beyond that specializm (is that a word?) we have "mountain bikes". See what I mean?

MacAndCheese

I guess the idea is to make easier to tell different types of bike apart so you can select correctly to suit your style of riding, but in fact it has just made it a little bit more confusing as no one can really seem to define each type. So it's back to square one and you just have to look at each bike on it's individual merits. Ppeople are always to keen to pigeon hole stuff anyways.

supersonic

I think a little differentiation between some types and styles is needed. Maybe not as much as there is, but just enough to get people in the right ball park. too many people riding Orange 5s on the trans pennine trail hehehe.

nicklouse

you then have to ask what is a trail?

well it depends who you talk to.

a 6 pack is a trail.

forget the names and look at the build.

and if you dont know than ask with what you plan to use it for,

lets take tha Brodie last night.

that was an abortion a AM frame and shock with a very heavy SC FR/DH fork on the fromt

Now as a frame and shock with a lighter 160/110 fork on it it would have been a sweet AM base to build up from.

there are to may kids making bastards out there.

_Ferret_

Here's what the German magazines say and it's all to do with how much travel the bike has:

0-80mm - XC bike
80-100mm - Marathon bike
100-120mm - Trail bike
120-140mm - All mountain bike
140-160mm - Enduro bike
160-180mm - Freeride bike
180mm + - Downhill bike

Personally I think that's all crap and agree with yeehaamcgee - it's a mountain bike!

The lines are being blurred anyway - freeride bikes are getting less travel while all mountain bikes are getting more. It's all marketing hype..

supersonic

Thing is people are walking into shops wanting mountain bikes, and coming away with 6 inch travel machines just to ride in the local woods and paths with few obstacles. Poor shop maybe (but certainly happens online too), but a bit of background reading and they would easily see they would be better suited by a XC bike.

Of course there is overlap, but it is about getting people into the right ball park. Too many riders seem overbiked to me.

nicklouse

_Ferret_

140-160mm - Enduro bike

too much travel for an enduro bike. 100-120 IE just a bit more than an XC bike.

_Ferret_

The idea is right. Give people a few catagories to pick from - but I think it's got a little out of hand.
Many people are "overbiked" but I would hope most do a little research and visit a few bike shops before they make a decision - of coarse, a freeride bike with big burly tyres and a beefy look about it simply looks cooler than an XC bike, regardless of whether people need it or not. You have to admit, our sport is getting hit by the fashion bug a little and this affects peoples buying decisions...

_Ferret_

nicklouse wrote:

_Ferret_

140-160mm - Enduro bike

too much travel for an enduro bike. 100-120 IE just a bit more than an XC bike.

I thought Enduro races were things like Mega Avalanche - I wouldn't tackle that on a bike with 100mm travel. In fact the guys who win it race with bikes with 160mm+...

delcol

Too many riders seem overbiked to me.

agreed,, whats wrong with a trusty hardtail, for most riding in uk..

delcol

thats d/h enduro..

i thought enduro was things like 12 hr races or 24 hours, or 50km pluss

supersonic

Money plays a big part too - more expensive bikes will be lighter, allowing long travel machines to be better on uphills.

Where are my stabilisers?

It does seem to be a bit of a mine field with all the different types of mountain bike. To me, DH bikes are totally in another category, likewise, jump bikes and light XC bikes - IMO, they are a built for a specific purpose.

Anything in between is a bit more hazy - The longer the travel, the more extreme the riding potential. But these longer travel bikes aren't required for a lot of peoples riding style.

I admit, I'm overbiked, however, I'd rather be overbiked than underbiked. Also, I'm constantly trying to build up my riding skills, so that I can pull off better moves, worthy of my bike!

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about what "tag" the bike has, just look at the spec. When choosing my bike, I went for the so called "All mountain" upgrade purely for the stronger wheelset - I'm quite heavy, strength was more of a priority for me than lightweight components.

Dr S

Agreed lots of over biked people about, bikes have got phenomenally capable over the years. Having spent years riding a rigid steel ht with 71/73 angles and 21" bars buying a modern bike was surprising difficult.. .

I can't help feeling that most of the challenge of the terrain in the UK just doesn't require more than a little travel at each end. Surely theres little challenge in most stuff with half a foot of travel soaking up the surface?

Any recommendations for a nice enduro bike (12hr solo / kielder 100 / merida marathon) would be nice

I'm thinking maybe an RZ 120...

supersonic

Hehe.

But to be serious, a Mongoose Canaan team is worth a look:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b2s1p1501

I thought the price was a misprint - look at the kit!

lawman

its all aload of crap tbh

i think bike should be dictated by more things than just travel, ie weight geometry etc. a scott spark has 100 mm of travel but then so does a meta 4x so does that make it an xc bike??? no it doesnt. i wish manufacturers would stop all this marketing bs and just make the bloody bikes :roll:

supersonic

Not all are dictated by just travel - the meta is 4x is, well, a 4x bike!

bdog101

Yeah im one of the confused people, as i dont want to get the wrong bike type and break the blooming thing on a drop off!!

covelove

yeah but as Dr S noted a few posts back that generally bikes are very capable. take glentress for example, many of the riders there are on AM or well specced XC bikes but theres not much reason that folks shouldnt go round on an old marin single speed rigid bike (my mate does) as long as you know you and your bikes limits, and with most bikes being capable you can do most things! IMO

bones3027

I totally agree with everyones comments and being new to MTB's I di lot of research before buying because there was to much marketing pump around, But lets be fair SS (only because I've seen your ride) did you buy the Zaskar carbon because it it was functional for your needs or was it because you like GT's and it looks sexy. Im guessing partly the later and the same goes for so many people. No one would do Glentress on an old raleigh activator now would they. so as much as we may say people are over biked the end of the day if someone wants to spend £3k just to ride canal paths the all the best to them. Im more than happy with my £500 hardtail and I love it (ok i have upgraded some bits but only because it needed it)

supersonic

The former. It was the cheapest carbon frame I could get from a UK seller at the time, and wasn't designed just to be an XC race bike. It can take a longer fork, is tough but still relatively light.

bones3027

Ok i retract the last statement but looks are a big factor i was almost sold a £2k bike for my first purchase by some mad lbs guy partly because it looked sweet but was saved buy a friend who new what type of riding i would be doing. and yes that mongoose looks very tasty! :shock:

supersonic

Of course, it still looks fecking fantastic!

hyperman

i hate it when people say the word "overbiked", just because there not on a trail that in your opinon doesn't need 6" of travel, how do know that they don't ride on a trail that does need that much travel? and they may only have one bike? i listened to everyone's advise on what sort of bike i should get for the sort of riding i would be doing, and i bought a 100mm travel hardtail. what a mistake that was, an £1100 mistake, the thing is whilst i thought that i would only be riding light trails, canal paths etc..it turns out after nearly 20 years out of the saddle i'm a bit of a jumping, gnarly trail riding, down hill monster!! who'd have known? so my advise would be to anyone looking at all these different catagories is to try out a bike from each catagory if you can, because you don't really know what sort of riding you'll be doing untill you get out there, personally i'd rather be overbiked 90% of the time than underbiked 10% of the time....

welshkev

hyperman wrote:

i hate it when people say the word "overbiked", just because there not on a trail that in your opinon doesn't need 6" of travel, how do know that they don't ride on a trail that does need that much travel? and they may only have one bike? i listened to everyone's advise on what sort of bike i should get for the sort of riding i would be doing, and i bought a 100mm travel hardtail. what a mistake that was, an £1100 mistake, the thing is whilst i thought that i would only be riding light trails, canal paths etc..it turns out after nearly 20 years out of the saddle i'm a bit of a jumping, gnarly trail riding, down hill monster!! who'd have known? so my advise would be to anyone looking at all these different catagories is to try out a bike from each catagory if you can, because you don't really know what sort of riding you'll be doing untill you get out there, personally i'd rather be overbiked 90% of the time than underbiked 10% of the time....

i sometimes commute on my 140mm full susser does that make me over biked?