Clarification

spannerchucker

Can anyone please explain to me the difference between, a 'trail bike, an all mountain bike, and enduro bike and a big mountain bike'? Is there a difference or is it just another marketing ploy. I ask as I currently ride mostly cross country due to where I live but am looking for a new bike with a mind to doing some of the trails like Afan and want something that will be capable of taking a bit more punishment than my current bike. I thought I'd narrowed my shortlist down and looked at the Lapierre site and just got confused again. Any insights would be welcome.
Cheers,
Andy.

Noclue

Whats your current bike? it may actually be fine, many of my friends ride all the Afan trails on short travel (100mm) hardtails.

spannerchucker

Hi, I'm on a Jamis Dakota Sport which is a hardtail and I'm very happy with but I want to get a full sus bike too.

popstar

Ehh, full-sus definately will take some beating out, but then you gonna loose a lot of purity too. Zesty's are a fine choice, they can either perform nearly as a HT, or if set at plusher lvl you won't notice hard hits from rocks, stones etc. Shame on me, I don't go back to HT these days. Found that my ex-Rockhopper didn't climb as well as Zesty on technical terrain, but then ... all riders have their own opinions.

nickfrog

Marketing BS. The industry would be in dire straits if everyone realised how very good at everything a well sorted HT is, especially in the very flat riding environement found in most of the UK.
The industry needs to convince as many people as possible that they must have a long travel FS even if they only ride on smooth trails at 5/10th.

bike-a-swan

I've decided there should be a new system for delimiting these types- I propose:

XC- anything that you would expect to enter into a proper race with very fit people on carbon hardtails without immediate death or humiliation. Also, it isn't an XC bike if the same manufacturer has a more xc bike in their range. I.e. the sc superlight isn't an xc bike because it is superseded by the blur xc carbon.

AM- should be rideable down a proper downhill course (not necessarily over freeride stuff), but you should be able to pedal it uphill too, to the extent you could actually take it on a ride.

Trail bike is anything between these two.

Bigger bikes than this are already pretty well sorted into categories in my opinion.

I've tried to avoid dividing by travel, as I think these categories are less distinct now than they were a few years ago. Tyre size might be a better indicator!

Any thoughts?

supersonic

UK is not very flat lol. Some very undulating areas, even if they aren't as high as some other places.

While the market has gone overboard with these terms, with a lot of crossover, we need different bikes for different people and terrains.

nickfrog

supersonic wrote:

UK is not very flat lol.

Last time I checked it was pretty flat compared to places where FS might make more sense like the Alps. , I agree that it's undulating though, which makes it HT heaven for me !

spannerchucker

This seems to have triggered a good healthy debate, not my original intention but still good to hear people's thoughts on the the subject. I already have my 'purity' in the shape of a hard tail but would like some 'impurity' now, it's good for the soul! Seriously though, I've already made the decision to get a FS, not as a replacement, more of an addition to the stable giving me the choice dependant on ride, terrain and even what mood I'm in on a particular day. So,to try and be a little more specific, on the Lapierre website you have the choice of 'All Mountain' or 'Big Mountain' which confuses me. Maybe I should take a closer look at the spec on the bikes like the Spicy and Zesty and go from there, although I've found similar confusion with crossover in the Specialised range as well as others. I guess the basic question then, is, is there a difference between the categories or can I assume that 'Enduro, All Mountain and Big Mountain' are pretty much one and the same? I look forward to your thoughts.

supersonic

nickfrog wrote:

supersonic wrote:

UK is not very flat lol.

Last time I checked it was pretty flat compared to places where FS might make more sense like the Alps. , I agree that it's undulating though, which makes it HT heaven for me !

Hmmm, I disagree, long big mountains are no more or less a reason for FS than very rocky undulating ones. You can still gain and lose several thousand feet on a long ride in the UK.

It depends exactly where you ride I suppose

cee

nickfrog wrote:

supersonic wrote:

UK is not very flat lol.

Last time I checked it was pretty flat compared to places where FS might make more sense like the Alps. , I agree that it's undulating though, which makes it HT heaven for me !

in fairness....your tag says you are in sussex, which IS pretty flat. SS is in yorkshire...not so flat, and us lucky enough to live in gods country have it even better!

for instance...the highest point in sussex is Black Down at 280metres. Man...in edinburgh theres Arthurs Seat. A hill in the city centre thats only 40metres shorter than that! and 15minutes ride from my front door, I am in a little group of hills known as the Pentlands..has at least 5 peaks over 500 metres.

Sure we don't have alpine length descents (unless you go up north to the big moontins where these descents DO exist...if you can be a$$ed to carry your bike to the top of a munro.)

So yes...sussex is flat, other parts of the UK...not so much.

supersonic

Sheffield has a hill in the boundaries at 548m - nice climb up to that one lol. Real hilly city, and the peaks while nowhere near as high as those in Scotland can be pretty evil.

kona_matt

Noclue wrote:

Whats your current bike? it may actually be fine, many of my friends ride all the Afan trails on short travel (100mm) hardtails.

i've ridden afan and other trail centres on a 100mm hardtail and loved it. maybe try taking your current bike out there to get a feel for what you might like to get next. personally i quite fancy a longer travel hardtail over full sus.

nickfrog

cee wrote:

So yes...sussex is flat, other parts of the UK...not so much.

Maybe that's why I originally wrote "most parts" of the UK ?

Fair comment though, maybe i should venture up North or West a bit more !

supersonic

I'd hate to live in Norfolk lol.

kona_matt

supersonic wrote:

I'd hate to live in Norfolk lol.

Now that really is flat

supersonic

Need full suss for all the turnips though.

mrfmilo

Sussex is pretty sh*te for riding! Apart from long XC rides, there's nothing here....

(Whereabouts are you in Sussex Nickfrog?)

spannerchucker

Cee, your location says Edinburgh and then you say 'for those of us lucky enough to live in god's country....' Mmmm I suppose we all think we live in god's country, unless it's Norfolk of course. Only joking before someone takes offence. Spain is pretty good at the moment although I've never seen rain like we had this year and I'm from the Welsh valleys! This thread has gone way off track though, it now seems to be 'Is the UK lumpy or not?' thread. I know they say Wales would be bigger than England if it was flattened out!

Snelly

mrfmilo wrote:

Sussex is pretty sh*te for riding! Apart from long XC rides, there's nothing here....

(Whereabouts are you in Sussex Nickfrog?)

I am in Sussex and can't agree that it's sh*te for riding. There is some superb singletrack in the South Downs and climbs that are testing with descents that are exhilirating.

nickfrog

mrfmilo wrote:

Sussex is pretty sh*te for riding! Apart from long XC rides, there's nothing here....

(Whereabouts are you in Sussex Nickfrog?)

Worthing. I am 15 minutes ride away from Cissbury Ring, Chantonbury ring, Steyning etc...
Brilliant riding around where I am if you know the right single tracks and bits of DH.

Snelly

nickfrog wrote:

mrfmilo wrote:

Sussex is pretty sh*te for riding! Apart from long XC rides, there's nothing here....

(Whereabouts are you in Sussex Nickfrog?)

Worthing. I am 15 minutes ride away from Cissbury Ring, Chantonbury ring, Steyning etc...
Brilliant riding around where I am if you know the right single tracks and bits of DH.

Agreed. You just need the right local knowledge or to know the right people.

I am in Findon village. Great riding near me if you know where to look.