XC Mountain Bike vs Trail Bike : Which One For What You Ride? Una mountain bike de XC está pensada para ofrecer la versatilidad que demandan los bikers que las montan. The XC mountain bike handlebars are probably going to be between 720 mm and 760 mm wide. The two main types of mountain bikes are cross country mountain bikes and Trail bikes, but what’s the real difference between them and which should you be using?  In this article I give you a bunch of tips for how to decide which bike is right for you. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; When you place your order with Blue Sky Cycling you can count on same day shipping of in stock items. I am leaning towards the Nail Trail but feel that with the Yari it would be too much bike for someone who's still a beginner. Is the mountain bike only going to be used on mild paths and roads? Cross country bikes can either have a medium suspension of up to 4 inches of travel or no rear suspension at all (which is a. Enduro bikes are built with larger fuel tanks, which gives them a greater advantage over trail bikes because of the need to fuel up a lot less and go far distances with fewer breaks in-between. The trend in trail bikes has been to shorten chainstays (The length between the rear axle and the seat tube) and lengthen top tubes. While the trail bikes can take a corner quite aggressively with more grip, the cross country is able to maneuver sharper corners with more agility. Aggressive enduro and trail bikes have sharper head tube angle (65-68 degrees), which makes the fork more parallel to the ground. Trail bikes add more suspension, more gravity oriented components (like chunkier tires for better traction and bigger brake rotors), and more relaxed geometry than their XC brethren to make them more capable on all kinds of terrain. The trails bike. This is a great size to look for. If you're concerned about high prices, don't be. Top tubes may be shorter which also allows for sharper handling. Physical features of the bikes such as the length of the stems, the width of the handlebars, the braking system, the suspension travel, and tires are normally taken into consideration when identifying these types of mountain bikes. The Merida again takes the win with a 75.5° seat tube angle, but still falls short when compared to the latest enduro bikes. Whichever you choose, just make sure you choose the right mountain bike size so you can truly enjoy it.  Remember to prepare and bring with you the essentials so you enjoy mountain biking safely. Clearly there’s a lot of ambiguity in this topic. A lot of people usually find it hard to identify the correct mountain bike for them. On the other extreme, you will find the downhill racing mountain bikes. If you are going to use the mountain bike on a variety of both mild surfaces but also rougher trails, then you’ll want a trail bike with front and rear lockouts for the suspension.  With this, you can limit the travel so that on smooth surfaces you can waste less energy by limiting the vertical movements of the bike.  On smooth surfaces, you want a less cushiony ride. If any items fail to meet your expectations, you have up to 365-days to make a return. Go fast, go really fast. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For real fast cross-country mountain bikes, the comfort of the rear suspension has been eliminated to boost pedaling efficiency. Cross country bikes need to be light in order to achieve top speed.  Because of this, many cross country bikes are made of carbon fiber which has low weight and high strength if the buyer can afford the carbon fiber cost.  If not, aluminum is the next most likely choice. BlueSkyCycling.com is the only place for your online bicycle parts buying experience. Finally, e-mountain bikes are on extreme heavy end of the spectrum—their batteries and complex motors push them near 50 pounds. not so stable or forgiving on the steeps or technical features like log overs or rock gardens. For example, cross country mountain bikes are slower on the descent and faster on climbs and flat surfaces. Is the mountain bike going to be used on downhill trails with rough technical terrain? Everybody starting in mountain bikes just pictures the one mountain bike used for everything.  You could use a hardtail bike like the one above for both cross-country (XC) and trail riding, but it would a a rough ride taking a trail in a bike with no rear suspension. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. The rear suspension may have a lockout to limit travel suspension either partially or totally.  A total travel limit would let the bike act like a hardtail which has no rear suspension. Since cross-country mountain bikes are quite twitchy on the downhill ride, a powerful braking system will only make things worse. On the other hand, the short suspension travel on a cross-country bike forces it to have a narrower head angle which makes a cross country bike more twitchy when riding on steep down hills. The average 27.5″ enduro bike has a bottom bracket that is 4mm higher than the average 27.5″ trail bike. Trail bikes are the Swiss army knives of mountain biking and are both great climbers and capable descenders. Click to check out how to set up a mountain bike. We carry an extensive variety of cycling shoes, gloves, mountain and road bike tires, helmets, disc brakes, protective gear, pedals, and much more. Only a few years ago, travel was a bike defining characteristic, but that's no longer the case. Bars will typically be wider than those found on an XC bike, with the stem also shorter, aiding in handling on technical trails. A short stem keeps the rider's posture laid more backward for better stability during steep downhill riding. Thank you! XC bike tires are skinnier than trail bikes to lower the rolling resistance and thus makes the bikes go faster. The transfer stages usually must be completed within a time-limit, but are not part of the accumulated time. Con: Smaller gas tank, have to fill up more often. Trail bikes have a large brake rotor for a more powerful breaking experience while cross-country bikes have smaller brake rotors. Trail bike – more fun, more versatile. The Head angle - Due to a longer suspension travel in the front, trail bikes also have a wider head angle which is good for down hill riding. Usually the front suspension is an air spring. Since the cross country bikes are built for maximum speed and agility, a narrow handlebar enables the rider to get a feel of what the front wheel is doing. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; If you look at an enduro mountain bike, you’ll notice it is very very similiar to a trail bike except it has a longer wheelbase due to a different head angle.  Because of this, I am lumping it in with trail bikes for the high-level purpose of this article and to not over-complicate things. Most of the cross-country bikes have 29 inch wheels and tires under 2.2 inches in width. A wide handlebar on trail bikes gives the rider enough leverage to maneuver technical terrain. Therefore, its brake rotor is much smaller and less powerful. amzn_assoc_title = "MTB Essentials I Personally Recommend When Biking"; XC/Short-Travel Bikes (< 120mm rear travel) Maxxis Forekaster 2.3” Front & Maxxis Rekon Race 2.3” Rear . If you have any questions please feel free to leave us a comment. We're seeing XC bikes with over 100mm of travel, trail bikes pushing up against 160mm of squish and enduro bikes that bottom out at 150mm. CUBE Bikes AMS 100 C:68 TM 29 . Considering this, trail bikes and enduro bikes have very similar bottom bracket heights once a rider is aboard. Sometimes a video will help to make it easier to watch a video than read all of the details, so here is a video I made just for this article. XC Mountain Bikes vs Downhill Mountain Bikes When you look at XC bikes vs tail bikes , cross country bikes have a different purpose than the downhill bikes. Considering the overall speed, the cross country bikes are far much faster than trails bikes. An enduro race is similar but only the downhills are timed. The Suspension Travel - A cross country mountain bike has a shorter travel of suspension than the trail bike. Trail bikes are the undisputed all-rounders of the bike industry. There are several areas where you can find a significant difference between the two bikes. A large brake rotor of about 140mm - 160mm is key to a more powerful braking system, which is essential when down hilling at a fast speed. A longer suspension travel provides comfort and easy crawling capabilities over obstacles. The trail mountain bike and the cross-country mounting bike are quite identical and can easily be confused at first glance. XC – Cross Country bikes have steeper head angles (69-71 degrees) which makes the fork more upright and provides sharper handling. 03-28-2017 #2. justwan naride. These should be around 60 mm or less in length. Trek makes both cross country bikes and trail bikes to fit your needs.  They are expensive, but top of the line. The tires on a cross country mountain bike are thinner relatively smoother for maximum speed compared to trail mountain bikes which have rougher and wider tires for better grip on technical terrains. Tires - A Cross-country bike has smoother tires to enhance faster rolling for maximum speed while the trail bikes feature wide and heavily threaded tires for better grip and stability on unstable grounds. This mid-travel trail slayer makes a ton of sense for a huge number of riders on a wide range of terrain. Remember, you can find the hottest mountain bike parts, accessories and clothing at discount prices here at BlueSkyCycling.com. Long stem length creates the appropriate body posture for cross country bikers while short stem lengths pull the cyclist backward for safer down hill riding on the trail. Yeti SB100 GX | $5,000. REI sells the Cannondale bikes for under $1000 which is a great XC bike. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; How to set up your mountain bike is important. Stack height is 623mm—13mm higher than the Scalpel. Or better yet, get both.  Start with cross country biking to get your skills and stamina up, and then get a trail bike as an additional bike and enjoy both worlds. Steel tubing is the most popular bike frame material.  In the case of a trail bike, it’s desirable because of it’s durability and it costs less. Desde estrechos senderos a amplios caminos, desde esfuerzos cortos a largas travesías. Tail bike front forks may include a lockout to limit suspension travel. If you enjoy tackling trails and tracks and everything in between, then this is the blog for you. Due to an increase in order volume, shipments may be delayed. Whether you're looking for bike parts for road, cross-country, downhill, freeride, or single speed, Blue Sky Cycling is your one stop shop for all your cycling needs. TRAIL BIKES. Or you can watch a quick video below that will show you the steps... You can tell the difference between them by having a closer look at the handlebars, the stem length, the suspension travel, the brake rotor, the tires, and the head angle. The trail bikes do break faster and more precisely. Please Stay safe out there! While the trail bikes can take a corner quite aggressively with more grip, the cross country is able to maneuver sharper corners with more agility. You can find all your mountain bike parts and accessories below on the Blue Sky Cycling website. For 29ers, the difference in bottom bracket heights is twice as much, with 29″ enduro bikes 8mm taller than a trail bike. Chainstays are 433mm long, and the wheelbase is … Evo.com sells the Giant trail bikes as low as $2400 which isn’t bad for 50% off. The contenders 1) Orbea OIZ M20 TR (3,900 EUR). XC Mountain Bike Handlebars. What Mountain Bike Clothing Do You Really Need? This is a question I get quite often.  Can you turn a XC mountain bike into a Trail bike or vice-versa? I am a mountain biker among other things and I enjoy writing about both topics I know but also about new things about mountain bikes that I learn. The geometry is more relaxed here making these bikes better at downhill thrills rather than the uphill slog, but in saying that the weight difference from XC to trail is minimal (depending on how much you spend of course!) XC Mountain Bike Stems. Lately there are some cross country bike races that incorporate a bit more technical terrain than is classically part of xc.  Over at singletracks.com there are some pictures from the World Cup Stellenbosch in South Africa and while it looks amazingly fun, they are still overcoming foot-tall logs and medium rocks.  So XC riding can really vary but it still won’t go up to the multi-foot drops that trail riding is known for. The tires are wider up to around 3 inches. Powered by Shopify. Likewise for trail biking, over at Liftopia.com is a great post on 10 reasons to love downhill trail riding.  As you can see, trailing riding can be a big more rugged but if big jumps and drops appeals to your adrenaline side, then trail riding might be right for you. Apart from the physical features of theses mountain bikes, they can also be identified by their capabilities, or what they can do better than the other. Trail bikes are used on forest paths, rough roads, jumps, good-size rocks, and generally anything that creates a little adrenaline.  Trail bikes are more for conquering terrain rather than the simplest and fastest routes. - a dynamic bike that is not purely XC oriented. Added travel at the front gives a bike a bit composure on the downhill without making it feel like you're steering a boat, whil… Trail bike riders sit more upright mostly because the rider needs to be very agile and shift their weight around to keep the balance of the bike. 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