Mountain Bike Buying Guide

Mountain biking is an incredibly diverse sport. Mountain bikes now come in three main flavours. They are XC, Trail and Enduro.

XC – short for cross country, are quick race bikes. They will normally have 29” wheels and come with 100mm of suspension. If you are mainly going to be riding bridleways and natural trails in the South East of England, where our shops are, an XC bike will be the quickest and most efficient option.

Trail – these bikes are designed to be pedalled up and down hill and for use on bridleways and natural trails, but also at dedicated trail centres. They normally come with 130mm or 140mm of suspension travel and can have either 27.5” or 29” wheels, but 29” is quickly becoming the norm. Trail bikes are good all-rounders. They won’t be as fast as an XC bike on the flat but they can handle a lot more challenging terrain, and a few jumps. If you plan on taking your bike to trail centres in Wales, or to the Alps, then a trail bike may be your best option.

Enduro – enduro racing is a thing in and of itself but many people buy enduro bikes for ‘aggressive’ trail riding and uplift days at places like Bike Park Wales. This generally means challenging downhill trails with some big jumps. With around 160mm of suspension travel enduro bikes can take some big hits. They are designed to be efficient enough to pedal up hills but really come into their own when pointed downhill. You get enduro bikes in either 27.5” or 29” wheel sizes as well as mullet setups of 29 at the front and 27.5 at the back.

Men’s and women’s mountain bikes

Nearly all the mountain bikes we sell are now unisex. All of the big brands have gradually stopped doing dedicated men’s and women’s bikes over the last few years. Instead they are focussed on producing bikes in a bigger range of sizes. So, for instance, the Trek Marlin 5 is a unisex bike that now comes in sizes from XXS to XXL large. This means it will fit riders from 4’ 5” to 6’ 5” and everything in between.

Read our full mountain bike buyers guide

Price Match at Cycles uk

We understand that price is important, so we regularly price-check our competitors to make sure we have the best offers available. We recognise that we will not always be the cheapest, so if you see the same product cheaper from any of our competitors then please get in touch via the form below and we will do our best to match any reasonable advertised price.

Trek made their first bikes in 1976 in a barn in Wisconsin. Now they’re one of the biggest bike brands in the world. Trek bikes cover everything from professional-level road and mountain bike race bikes to commuters, hybrids and kids bikes. There is a strong heritage of racing at Trek and many Trek bikes have a strong race influence. They take a very scientific approach to researching bike and human performance and then make the fastest and most efficient bikes they can.

It doesn’t stop their attention and passion for cycling flows through everything they do. Since the 1990s, Trek has supported Places for Bikes. Places for Bikes is an advocacy organisation in the USA that gets more people on bikes more often! Places for Bikes ethos falls in line with the companies mission statement to:

Build only products we love. Provide incredible hospitality to our customers, and change the world by getting more people on bikes.

Frame Alpha Gold Aluminium, tapered head tube, internal derailleur and dropper post routing, rack and kickstand mount, Boost141, 5 mm QR

Fork SR Suntour XCM 32, coil spring, preload, lockout, 47 mm offset, Boost110, 15 mm thru-axle

Size: XS, 100 mm travel

Size: S, M, M/L, L, XL, XXL, 120 mm travel

Front hub Formula DC-511, 6-bolt, Boost110, 15 mm thru-axle

Rear hub Formula DC-2241, alloy, 6-bolt, Shimano 8/9/10 freehub, Boost141, 5 mm QR

Rim Alex MD35, Tubeless Ready, 32-hole, 35 mm width, Presta valve

Spokes 14 g stainless steel, black

Tyre Kenda Havok, wire bead, 30 TPI, 27.5x2.80."

Rim strip Bontrager TLR

Shifter Shimano Deore M4100, 10 speed

Rear derailleur Shimano Deore M5120, long cage

Crank FSA Alpha Drive, 28T steel ring, Boost

Size: XS, S, 170 mm length

Size: M, M/L, L, XL, XXL, 175 mm length

Bottom bracket Shimano 7420ST, 73 mm, threaded cartridge, 124.5 mm spindle

Cassette Shimano Deore M4100, 11-46, 10-speed

Chain KMC X10, 10-speed

Pedal VP-536 nylon platform

Saddle Bontrager Arvada, steel rails, 138 mm width

Seatpost TranzX JD-YSP18, 100 mm travel, internal routing, 31.6 mm

Size: XS, S, M, 361 mm length

Size: M/L, L, XL, XXL, 425 mm length

Handlebar Bontrager alloy, 31.8 mm, 15 mm rise

Size: XS, 720 mm width

Size: S, M, M/L, L, XL, XXL, 750 mm width

Grips Bontrager XR Trail Comp, nylon lock-on

Stem Bontrager alloy, 31.8 mm, Blendr-compatible, 7-degree,

Size: XS, S, M, 50 mm length

Size: M/L, L, XL, XXL, 60 mm length

Headset Semi-integrated, cartridge, 1-1/8" top, 1.5" bottom

Brake Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc

Brake rotor

Size: XS, S, M, M/L, L, XL, XXL Shimano RT26, 160 mm, 6-bolt

Size: M, M/L, L, XL, XXL Shimano RT26, 180 mm, 6-bolt

Please note: Manufacturers can sometimes change the specification of the products from time to time.