Mountain Bike Buyers Guide

for weekend riding, doing the odd race and maybe one ride during the week

Riding more than 3 times a week and attending races regularly, specifically cross country races or the half marathon type races. Or for serious race types that don’t mind the harsh ride and need the high spec components and the lighted bike possible.

Regularly participating in marathon race events and multi-day mountain bike races like the Cape Epic.

These full suspension bikes can be similar or the same as the social trailbikes below but are typically lighter, more race orientated with longer top tubes and shorter travel 80-100mm front and back. Suspension systems and designs vary greatly and it not quite as easy to compare bikes on a 1:1 basis. All manufacturers claim to have the best and most efficient design. Geometries on these bikes are also quite different to traditional hard tails, so traditional bike fit techniques often don’t apply. Test riding these bikes is probably the best way to get a feel for what will work for you. Test riding is more than a 50 m loop in the parking lot, it means taking it out on a the trail for a couple of hours. Good bike shops will make a plan to organise this for you, or swop bikes on a club ride or with some friends to get a feel for the bike. 

Weight is still important here especially if you are going to be doing long distances with climbs. These bikes are more expensive for what you get and the lower end bikes are specced lower than an equivalent level and cost hard tail, so you will have to pay if you want top components and lighter weight. Maintenance can be an issue with lots of moving pivots and bushings, better designs have minimised complexity and use durable sealed bearings. Higher end models have more efficient shocks that improve handling and pedaling efficiency.

For riding mostly technical trails of short to medium distances with the odd long distance race event. These are for serious riders who enjoy their riding but are not race focused. The bikes are super capable with more upright (shorter top tube) comfortable geometry.

These bikes are all about handling and capability and can do most things like climb, descend, bit of jumping and handle technical terrain These bikes are generally a bit heavier and stronger than their endurance race counter parts and offer longer travel in the 100-150mm range. In South Africa there are limited trail options for these bikes, with most of our trails being flatter and less technical compared to the average US or euro trail. Consequently this segment is a bit blurred with the endurance race bikes so they share many of their buying characteristics especially related to finding the right sizing, fit and feel. 

These are all really specialized bikes and deserve their own complete buyers guide. A growing trend in mountain biking especially internationally where ski resorts double as mountain bike parks in the summer and offer miles of down hill tracks and lifts back up to the top.