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

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 - OCLV Mountain Carbon, internal storage, tapered head tube, Knock Block 2.0, internal guided routing, downtube guard, magnesium rocker link, Mino Link, ABP, Boost148, 120 mm travel

Fork - RockShox Pike Ultimate, DebonAir spring, Charger 3 RC2 damper, 44 mm offset, Boost110, Maxle Stealth, 130 mm travel

Shock - RockShox Deluxe Ultimate RCT, 185 mm x 50 mm

Wheel front - Bontrager Line Pro 30, OCLV Mountain Carbon, Tubeless-Ready, 6-bolt, Boost110, 15 mm thru-axle

Wheel rear - Bontrager Line Pro 30, OCLV Mountain Carbon, Tubeless Ready, Rapid Drive 108, 6-bolt, SRAM XD driver, Boost148, 12 mm thru-axle

Tyre - Bontrager XR4 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready, Inner Strength sidewalls, aramid bead, 120 tpi, 29.x2.40"

Tyre part - Bontrager TLR sealant, 180 ml/6 oz

Shifter - SRAM Eagle AXS, wireless, 12 speed

Rear derailleur - SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS

Crank - SRAM XX1 Eagle, DUB, 30T alloy ring, 55 mm chainline

Bottom bracket - SRAM DUB MTB Wide, 73 m, BSA threaded

Cassette - SRAM Eagle XG-1299, 10-52, 12-speed

Chain - SRAM XX1 Eagle, 12-speed

Saddle - Bontrager Arvada, austenite rails, 138 mm width

Seatpost -RockShox Reverb AXS, 100 mm travel, wireless, 34.9 mm

Handlebar/stem (integrated) - Bontrager RSL Integrated handlebar/stem, OCLV Carbon, 27.5 mm handlebar rise, 820 mm width, 0-degree stem rise

Head set - Knock Block 2.0 Integrated, 72-degree radius (includes infinite-radius chip), sealed cartridge bearing, 1-1/8" top, 1.5" bottom

Brake - SRAM G2 Ultimate hydraulic disc, carbon levers

Brake rotor - SRAM HS2, 6-bolt

Battery - SRAM eTap battery pack (with charger)

Weight - Medium – 11.95 kg / 26.35 lb

Weight limit - This bike has a maximum total weight limit (combined weight of bicycle, rider and cargo) of 136 kg (300 lb).

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