If you're concerned about high prices, don't be. The front suspension is heavy-duty to handle the stress of jumps and rough terrain. 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. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; The stems that are seen on the XC mountain bike handlebars are short as well. Join the list to receive special offers, closeouts, and more! 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. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; When you place your order with Blue Sky Cycling you can count on same day shipping of in stock items. 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. We carry an extensive variety of cycling shoes, gloves, mountain and road bike tires, helmets, disc brakes, protective gear, pedals, and much more. The cross country bike is lighter and quicker in acceleration and steering while the trail bikes are heavier and optimized for descends. Trek makes both cross country bikes and trail bikes to fit your needs.  They are expensive, but top of the line. An XC race bike pretending to be a trail bike is not as rewarding a proposition as an enduro bike pared down to its adrenaline essentials. Considering this, trail bikes and enduro bikes have very similar bottom bracket heights once a rider is aboard. Chainstays are 433mm long, and the wheelbase is … The long stem positions the rider in a posture that pushes the rider's body further forward for enhanced grip on flat terrain, and maximum acceleration. Since cross-country mountain bikes are quite twitchy on the downhill ride, a powerful braking system will only make things worse. Thank you! Aggressive enduro and trail bikes have sharper head tube angle (65-68 degrees), which makes the fork more parallel to the ground. Shimano XT Vs XTR Trail Pedals Comparison Now we have established an overview of what each of the pedals offer, let’s dive deeper into the specific pedals that Shimano offers. Although choosing a bike may all depend on your riding style, the terrain you will be riding on and who you will be riding with, getting the right bike that fits your style is tricky. One good way I’ve found is to actually look at some pictures and such for both xc and trail bikes and see which you just feel inside is right for you. 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. Trail bikes are a bit heavier than XC styles, but their moderate suspension travel makes them lighter than all-mountain and downhill rides (downhill and park are the heaviest among this trio). amzn_assoc_title = "MTB Essentials I Personally Recommend When Biking"; Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more…, © 2020 Blue Sky Cycling. 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. It helps the rider not to be thrown around when going through rock gardens. 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. A shorter travel of suspension enhances a quick uphill sprint. You want to go ride with your buddies or fancy racing the odd enduro then a trails bike could be the mountain bike for you. 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. The Benefits of using flat pedals when riding your Mountain Bike. 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. This is a question I get quite often.  Can you turn a XC mountain bike into a Trail bike or vice-versa? We apologize for the inconvenience. XC bikes and trail bikes have different geometry, saddle position, and suspension (though you can limit the trail bike suspension to be a little better on only smooth surfaces). I want to have something that still inspires a bit of confidence in the descent, but that is reactive and fun to ride on flat trails as well. The XC mountain bike handlebars are probably going to be between 720 mm and 760 mm wide. The Handlebars - The cross country mountain bike has a narrow handlebar. 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. Recent history has seen the proliferation of exceptionally capable bikes which can be winched back to the top of a hill time and time again, but what happens if rather than making downhill bikes climb better, you make an XC bike… Editor's Choice 2019. Due to an increase in order volume, shipments may be delayed. The transfer stages usually must be completed within a time-limit, but are not part of the accumulated time. TRAIL BIKES. Similarly, more skilled riders or those coming from mountain bike backgrounds can find true joy in rediscovering old trails on a less-capable bike. some pictures from the World Cup Stellenbosch in South Africa, post on 10 reasons to love downhill trail riding, Recommended Mountain Bike Gear: My favorite items, Best Action Camera For Mountain Bike Riding, Medium suspension travel of up to 4 inches for mild trails. 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. Finally, e-mountain bikes are on extreme heavy end of the spectrum—their batteries and complex motors push them near 50 pounds. 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… Enduro in its most basic definition is a type of mountain bike racing where the downhills are timed, and the uphills are mandatory but not timed. Clearly there’s a lot of ambiguity in this topic. 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. BlueSkyCycling.com is the only place for your online bicycle parts buying experience. The Stem length - The cross country mountain bike features a longer stem length of approximately 90mm - 100mm. basically they are built for racing on groomed trails. Most of the cross-country bikes have 29 inch wheels and tires under 2.2 inches in width. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Alongside our Best in Test and best buyers tips, we also discovered what is probably the biggest revolution in the mountain bike segment for 2020! Go fast, go really fast. A full-on XC bike would probably be too much, I'm not racing or at least not at the moment..! No matter which you choose, you’re going to be a bit away from civilization and you’ll want to be sure you have a backpack stuffed with all of the goodies like a repair kit to be sure you can get back if anything breaks. amzn_assoc_asins = "B00MTE6PU4,B009G9YY1M,B01HGSLB6K,B073HYXJPY"; The tires can be either 27.5 or 29 inches although 29 inches is getting more common. XC Mountain Bike Handlebars. The front suspension travel can be up to 10 inches. The contenders 1) Orbea OIZ M20 TR (3,900 EUR). The trail mountain bike and the cross-country mounting bike are quite identical and can easily be confused at first glance. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "mbe07-20"; 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. XC Mountain Bike Stems. 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. I will be compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon. Yeti SB100 GX | $5,000. Typical bikes are hardtails & full suspensions around 100-120mm. XC bikes will be a little blander. 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. Trail bikes have a large brake rotor for a more powerful breaking experience while cross-country bikes have smaller brake rotors. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The XC World Championships were due to take place in Albstadt this past weekend and right at the sharp end of the favourites list were likely to be … Because Cross Country and Trail bikes are designed to be used differently, there are differences in the design and parts used.  It all comes back to what the bike is meant to handle. Is the mountain bike only going to be used on mild paths and roads? 03-28-2017 #2. justwan naride. The trail bikes do break faster and more precisely. For real fast cross-country mountain bikes, the comfort of the rear suspension has been eliminated to boost pedaling efficiency. 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. Usually the front suspension is an air spring. Bars will typically be wider than those found on an XC bike, with the stem also shorter, aiding in handling on technical trails. On one extreme you will find the cross-country racing mountain bikes. If any items fail to meet your expectations, you have up to 365-days to make a return. XC Mountain Bike vs Trail Bike : Which One For What You Ride? xc has steeper angles, shorter wheelbase, less travel (if any) built for weight savings, acceleration and climbing. A wide handlebar on trail bikes gives the rider enough leverage to maneuver technical terrain. The trend in trail bikes has been to shorten chainstays (The length between the rear axle and the seat tube) and lengthen top tubes. 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. 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. Desde estrechos senderos a amplios caminos, desde esfuerzos cortos a largas travesías. In this group test, we review 15 of the most exciting models of the season. The shorter travel leads to a more rigid ride and getting more power to the ground. 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. Is the mountain bike going to be used on downhill trails with rough technical terrain? An enduro race is similar but only the downhills are timed. Is the mountain bike going to be used on a wide variety of terrains. The Yeti SB130 is a ripping trail bike that may just be the ultimate daily driver. 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. The Brake Rotor - A trail bike has a relatively large brake rotor compared to the cross country bike. If you have any questions please feel free to leave us a comment. CUBE Bikes AMS 100 C:68 TM 29 . With all these features in mind, you can easily tell the two types of mountain bikes apart. On the other extreme, you will find the downhill racing mountain bikes. and as a result all of these bikes can climb quite well. 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. This provides more stability, but it … 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. Remember, you can find the hottest mountain bike parts, accessories and clothing at discount prices here at BlueSkyCycling.com. If there’s a … The Suspension Travel - A cross country mountain bike has a shorter travel of suspension than the trail bike. 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. The average 27.5″ enduro bike has a bottom bracket that is 4mm higher than the average 27.5″ trail bike. If the bike is only going to be used on rough terrain for the thrill, then a trail bike is going to be your best bet. 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. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; 21 of My Favorite Mountain Bike Accessories, Most Comfortable Bike Seats to Ease the Pain. Shimano Deore M6000 disc brake. This allows for sharper handling. 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. 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