Which mtb

I hope that cleared up the different types of bikes on offer and helped you to decide which mountain bike is right for you. Make your choice now my friend — what might you be? Drop me a comment below and let me know what you ride — it would be great to get some good examples of makes and models in each category.

Make sure to check out the rest of the guide. Click through to the next chapter below. Colin started mountain biking in the early s and has haphazardly, and with barely increasing skill, dragged his bike around the majority of Scotland's trail centres since then. Colin has oodles of hard earned experience in how NOT to do things - listen, be warned and don't repeat his mistakes More about Colin Subscribe on iTunes.

Subscribe on Stitcher. Every time I help someone search for a new bike, I end up coming back to Giant for their competitive pricing and solid reputation. In our experience, Liv products meet the same standard of quality we expect from Giant and can be a great option for everyone from beginners to experienced female riders. What we don't: One of the most expensive brands out there.

Founded in and currently based in Golden, Colorado, this now-rider-owned company has a long-standing history in racing. The brand has been known to seek out younger talent and foster them into formidable riders some of the most well-known examples include John Tomac, Jared Graves, Richie Rude, Aaron Gwin, and Juliana Furtado.

Comparing just the prices of bike frames not complete bikes , Yeti typically comes in hundreds of dollars more than most other brands. What we don't: Currently only eight total models to choose from; relatively short seven-year warranty. Ibis Cycles, a boutique brand that tends to fly under the radar, is well-regarded within the MTB community for producing top-notch bikes.

Founder Scot Nicol started Ibis in his garage in and the brand was privately owned until , at which point Nicol sold it to an investment company. Less than two years later, Ibis went bankrupt and closed its doors. However, in , the company reemerged and launched their popular Mojo carbon full-suspension mountain bike, which remains a staple in their lineup to this day. More recently, Ibis came out with a long-travel 29er, the Ripmo and even more aggressive Ripmo AF , which can be found tearing up the enduro race scene under riders by the likes of Robin Wallner.

Ibis focuses their efforts on only eight bikes: seven full-suspension models including the made-in-the-USA Exie and one gravel grinder the Hakka MX. Location: Tempe, Arizona Popular models: Firebird and Trail What we like: DW link suspension design is efficient on the climbs yet very capable on the descents. What we don't: Expensive and some models have polarizing looks. While not steeped in history like most of the other brands on this list, relative newcomer Pivot started in has already made a name for themselves.

Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, Pivot is known for pushing out high-quality carbon bikes covering a variety of disciplines. Popular models include their long-travel 29er, the Firebird 29 , as well as the time-tested Mach 4.

Not to mention, Pivot only provides a year warranty as opposed to the lifetime warranty you get with Santa Cruz.

What we don't: Small bike lineup. Evil Bike Co. The Bellingham-based company takes a different approach to designing their rigs, heavily influenced by what the owner, Kevin Walsh, wants to ride.

And considering that Evil was born in the Pacific Northwest where steep and rough trails are the norm, it should come as no surprise that their models are heavily descent-focused. The Following was a particularly notable addition to their lineup: this 29er put Evil on the map and showed riders what larger wheels were capable of. The short-travel rig features a relatively slack head-tube angle, is fun to ride, and happily gets airborne—all foreign concepts for 29ers back in when the Following made its debut.

As mentioned above, Evil does things a bit differently. Another commonality is that both companies recently updated their warranty policies from three years to lifetime. Location: Wilton, Connecticut Popular models: Trail and Scalpel What we like: Not afraid to do things a bit different; lightweight aluminum frames.

What we don't: The quirkiness can be polarizing. Known for their unique approach to building and designing bicycles, Connecticut-based Cannondale has never been afraid to try new things. Some of their more noteworthy and polarizing designs over the years have been the one-sided Lefty fork and unique Headshok unit, both of which replaced standard suspension forks on some models.

These help prevent the chain from falling off on rough terrain. Many manufacturers will now start fitting tyres and wheels that can be used without an inner tube. These tubeless systems can reduce punctures and save weight. This is the magic amount of money where full suspension bikes with reasonably lightweight frames and well-controlled, adjustable shocks start to become available. At this sort of money, all bikes should have well-controlled and adjustable air-sprung forks, preferably with a thru-axle design and a tapered steerer.

Short-travel cross-country bikes designed for long distance riding will be light enough to ride all day, while longer-travel trail bikes will be able to tackle seriously rugged descents and get you back up to the top without any issues.

Suspension units will be of a higher quality, with much more damping adjustment on offer. We would definitely expect a 1x drivetrain at this price point. Some bikes may even come with a dropper seatpost that allows the saddle to be lowered without having to stop. These are great for riding technical terrain and a definite plus for most riders.

The choice will be yours of whether you want to spring for a carbon frame with components that you upgrade as they wear, or an aluminium option with top-flight components as standard. Bikes will be very specific to their intended use, with a wide range of travel options and frame geometry, but full-suspension designs now become commonplace.

Hardtails should be equipped with top-end components including the latest speed or speed drivetrains from Shimano and SRAM. Dropper posts will be fitted to everything but the most dedicated cross-country bikes. Tyres are likely to come in specialist rubber compounds to suit their use and tubeless compatibility is a given.

Wheels will be tough yet lightweight. More carbon fibre means less weight, while components are likely to be high quality, lightweight and tough items from respected manufacturers. As well as bikes from big brands, there are numerous smaller manufacturers providing high quality, specialist machines. Suspension units will use extremely high performing and adjustable dampers, often with special low friction coatings.

Tyres will be highly adapted to the task at hand, with plenty of traction and speed. Wheels may start to use different construction methods and more exotic materials such as carbon fibre to provide low weight and strength. Specialized also has ongoing sustainability within their company and strives to protect the environment as much as possible throughout the entire creative process. From using ultra-light hardtails to using their World Championship FSR suspension in their designs, Specialized mountain bikes are truly special.

Santa Cruz mountain bikes capture the images from the company vision to be better, smarter, and even a tad bit weirder than other competitors. The California based company has been hard at work making unique and technologically advanced mountain bikes since Currently they manufacture sixteen models, with an exclusive Juliana line for women.

Santa Cruz strongly believes in the philosophy that commitment and passion are what creates the best bikes. Looking at their line, you can tell right away that they put their words into practice. While their line is a bit smaller than most they can offer full customization and provide a high quality mountain bike.

Keeping the line smaller means they can pay more attention to detail in the current bikes that they have and ensures that they do not bite off more than they can chew. The starting price tag is a bit higher than most other companies, but even their higher end bikes are more affordable than competitors.

This gives every mountain bike enthusiast a chance to ride a well-made work of machinery. Not only that, the unique choice of colors will leave their mountain bikes standing out from a crowd. Since they also cater to speed those bright colors are usually seen in a blur on the trail. Offering their line of mountain bikes in thirty countries, Trek has become a household name in the mountain biking community.

Starting in by two friends, they vowed from day one to bring high levels of quality and craftsmanship to each creation and to broaden the cyclist community by giving people a ride that filled them with joy.

Trek encourages you to conquer any trail using one of their finely tuned bikes. Trek also uses their well-known innovations on all of their bikes, not just the high end ones. This gives customers the opportunity to choose the bike that can give the best performance according to their needs. Social responsibility and sustainability are also very important factors to the Trek Corporation and since they are a world leader in using the most advanced technologies, you can feel good about a purchase from them.

Knowing adventure, technology, and high performance are key factors into the creation of their mountain bikes, cyclists look forward to riding anything from Trek. In Giant was founded with one particular goal in mind: to make the riding experience better for people all around the world. The engineers and craftsman that started Giant wanted to follow three guidelines with every bike creation: innovation, craftsmanship, and inspiration.

Giant takes pride in all of their creations and seeks to establish new levels of performance as well as comfort. This in combination with their three guidelines has allowed riders to fall in love with their mountain bikes. They were the first company to launch an affordable carbon fiber bike that could be used by the mainstream public and continue to provide high quality mountain bikes at affordable costs.

Giant offers a very wide range to choose from and with over 12, retail stores and a large online presence, Giant mountain bikes are nearly everywhere.