German bike terminology (Marathon, Tour, Enduro, etc)

GyatsoLa

Hi, I'm a returning mountain biker, looking to go full suspension, and the bikes I'm choosing from are mainly from some of the big German brands - Canyon, Rose, Cube, Stevens, etc.

I'm getting a bit confused looking through their websites, where they describe the uses of the bikes as XC, Marathon, Tour, All Mountain, Enduro, Downhill, etc. First and last are pretty clear, but I'm not altogether clear what they mean by the middle descriptions, eg on the Canyon website:

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/

I'm looking for a bike for long day trail riding, mainly on purpose built trails in Wales and Ireland, but also on walking trails, etc. I'd also like to be able to take it on a holiday, maybe following one of the long distance routes in the Alps. I'm assuming that, in German terminology, this means 'Marathon', or 'Tour'.

So can someone clarify this for me please?

al2098

Sounds like they have too much going on!
I like to catagorize them bikes simple.
XC for much of what your going to do, ie; long day trail riding., More money means serious light weight racing steeds.
What I call 'heavy XC' (such as an Orange 5) for red and black runs and most other things., but not going up hills very fast.
AM bikes are virtually DH bikes..
And DH.
The bikes nowadays are so good its almost a matter of choosing the colour you like.
All the different names are just small component changes like maybe a wider bar or carbon kit. Marathon and tour bikes are marketing jargon and considering the mountainbike situation in Germany, they seem to be a bit behind for all the mountains they have.

Just keep it simple and go for a sturdy 120mm bike with a decent head angle and good kit, can he go wrong?
OR
You did mention Wales.. You might consider a tougher bike with 140mm if your going to go for it.
OR
No-one has the definitive answer. Go with what you feel is right and have fun.

specializedsteve

All Mountain (AM) bikes are similar to downhill but normally have lockout on the shocks or links designed to reduce pedal bob to assist with the climbing up the hills.

diy

What they describe as cc race seems to be XC race.
Marathon seems to be XC to trail
Tour is trail
AM is AM
Enduro is AM/DH
Free ride is Down hill

GyatsoLa

Thats a little clearer, thanks everyone!