Before You Buy a Mountain Bike - A Buyers Guide

A. The answer is an unequivocal maybe. Women's specific mountain bikes are designed to fit a majority of women but cannot be designed to fit all women. You should try to test ride both women's specific mountain bikes as well as non-women specific bikes and decide for yourself which designs fit your body best.
The majority of women specific designs are designed around a body that is smaller, lighter weight, and has a shorter torso and arms than the body the rest of the bikes are designed around. If this is you than you may find better a fit with a woman's specific design. Otherwise, chances are a non-woman's specific design may be just fine.

For some women it simply boils down to size. There are a few companies now that offer extra small and extra extra small size frames, some are women's specific while others are not.

I try to support brands that offer a good selection of women's specific or women sized mountain bike designs.

In addition, I support brands that offer both high end and low end women specific or women sized designs.

A. There are now about five main catagories of mountain bikes and suspension travel. Some bikes certainly blend the borders but most can be fit into the catagories listed below. We'll start from the bottom and go up.

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Cross country mountain bikes usually have less than about 4.5 inches of suspension travel. These bikes are built for efficiency, low weight, and self propelled speed. While they can handle most trails, they do not suck up the rough stuff as well as longer travel bikes.

So, if you want to win a cross country race, get to the top of the hill first, or if you ride on realatively smooth trails these bikes are for you.

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All Mountain and/or Trail Bikes usually have about 4 to 6 inches of suspension travel. These bikes are built for more agressive terrain than cross country bikes but generally are slightly heavier.

They aren't exactly cross country race bikes, but they are perfect for agressive trail riding as well as long epic rides.

If you are looking for an all around mountain bike that can take you almost anywhere without busting a lung, these bikes are for you.

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Freeride bikes usually have about 6 to 8 inches or more of suspension travel. These bikes are built for abuse. Big drops, jumps, and other stunts are where these bikes shine. While most of them are still designed to get you up the hill as well, you will notice the extra weight.

If you want to spend most of your time in rough terrain, big drops, jumps, and manmade stunts, and you don't care how long it takes to get you there, these bikes are for you. These are also great bikes for riding the lifts at your local mountain bike park.

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Downhill bikes usually have about 7 to 10 inches of travel. These bikes will suck up almost anything you throw at them, but pedaling up a hill can be quite a challenge. Downhill bikes are designed for high speed and highly technical downhill racing and little else.

A. There are two quick and dirty answers to the disc brake or rim brake question:

One, If you want better, more consistent brake performance in all conditions and don't really care if it weighs a little more or costs a little more, choose disc brakes over rim brakes.

Two, if you want the lightest set-up you can have, and are willing to accept small variances in brake performance, or if a low price is really important, choose rim brakes over disc brakes.

In a little more detail. Mountain bike rim brakes have gone through several design changes over the years. They started with the original cantilever brakes, went through the dark U-Brake years, and are now known as V-Brakes. V-Brakes work well in most conditions.

Rim brakes have some drawbacks. They require straight un-damaged rims to perform their best.

Rim brakes perform poorly in wet or muddy conditions. Over time, Rim brakes can wear right through the side of your rim literally causing the side of the rim to blow off (I've seen this happen and its not pretty.).

Disc brakes have been around for a long time in cars but weren't seriously used on bikes until the mid to late 90's. There were definitely some issues with some of the earlier models but the disc brakes of today, cable actuated or hydraulic, perform quite well.

The performance of disc brakes is considerably better than rim brakes. Especially in wet or muddy conditions. Disc brakes usually require less force to apply and aren't effected by rim/wheel condition.

The biggest downside to disc brakes is the added weight. By the time you add everything in, including front and rear brakes and the added weight of the disc specific hubs, you end up with around 150 to 350 grams additional weight to the whole bike. This weight number greatly depends on the wheels, rims, hubs, and disc brake system you choose.

Cost is certainly an issue as well. Disk brake systems are usually more expensive compared to rim brakes. Mechanical or cable actuated disc brakes are a closer match but will still cost a little more. Hydraulic disc brake systems can cost significantly more.

To switch from one system to the other you will in most cases not only have to buy the new set of brakes but you will have to buy a new wheelset as well. Disc rims usually cannot be used with rim brakes and the standard hubs that are used with rim brake wheels usually cannot be used with discs.

A. I will start this by stating I have had a nearly 100% positive experience installing and testing tubeless tires. But just to confuse things, I will also have to state that I can't say the same for the rest of my mountain bike test crew's tubeless tire experience.

Why all the confusion? Well, in our case it is from different rims, tires, and tubeless tire systems as well as different riding styles and terrain. In the end, I do recommend tubeless tires to anyone who wants higher performance and less flats but doesn't mind a little extra installation trouble and maintenance.

Going to tubeless tires will improve your bikes performance. This is especially true for riders who have to run higher pressures to prevent pinch flats.

I recommend using an internal tire sealant such as Stan's No-Tubes for a more robust system and less flats.

I still recommend this even if you have tubeless specific rims.

If you use a tubeless kit to convert your standard tube/tire system into a tubeless tire system make sure your tire, rim, and kit are compatible. Check the web site of the tubeless kit manufacturer for compatibility.

You can use non-tubeless tires if you use an internal sealant but don't use super-light tires with thin sidewalls. Thicker sidewalls provide better cornering performance and if you ride in terrain with sharp rocks they provide better protection from sidewall cuts and tears.

You will still need to carry an extra tube and pump. All tubeless tire systems let you put a tube in if you get a flat and you can't get your tire to seal up again.

If you try to lower your tire pressure too much you will be more likely to damage your rim when you hit rocks and you may feel the tire roll under during hard cornering. When this gets really bad you can burp air out and end up with a flat, unsealed tire.

Pay attention to and follow the installation instructions carefully. Take the necessary time to get compatible products and to install them correctly.

A properly installed tubeless tire system is capable of handling any condition and riding style. I have raced both cross-country and downhill with tubeless tires.

Further Discussion

From the performance standpoint, tubeless tires are hard to beat. Tubeless tires don't pinch flat so they let you run lower tire pressures. Lower tire pressure is the best way to improve a tires contact with the ground and with that comes better bike performance. That said, tire pressure is one of the most influential adjustments you can make to your bikes performance.

Tubeless tire supporters claim that rolling friction is reduced in a tubeless tire. While I can't say I noticed either way, I do think they have some valid arguments to support this.

Using an internal sealant is well worth the little added weight. Tubeless tires still get flats from thorns and other punctures. It is in most cases more difficult to fix a flat in a tubeless tire than a standard tire.

Compatibility is a big issue. Choose the wrong tires or rims and you will end up blowing your tires right off the rim either during installation or on the trail.

While it is tempting to go with the lightest tires you can find it is more important to get a tire that will perform well and won't end up forcing you to put a tube in later. No amount of sealant will plug a good cut or tear in a tire sidewall.

Setting proper bike seat height for your size is an important part of every bike setup. Proper seat height adjustment helps ensure joint health, pedaling efficiency, and comfort while riding your bike. It helps to know where your body likes to be while pedaling and to use this position when you pedal for any significant period of time on any bike.

A.To find the right seat height position you need to sit on your bike with your feet on the pedals. Position one pedal at the very bottom of it's stroke. Your seat height should be adjusted so that in this position your knee is bent at around a 25 to 30 degree angle. It's that simple. It is important to note that this applies to pedaling situations only. There are a lot of situations on a mountain bike and other off road cycles that you should have a lower seat position for safety as well as improved agility. I always use a seat post quick release so I can adjust my seat height according to the riding conditions. It is helpful to mark the seat post where it enters the frame at the positions you like to use for quicker adjustment