What kind of mountain bike should I get? downhill, freeride, etc?

Question

I'm not looking to do big jumps or big downhills. basically doing tight trails. I weigh 145lbs, 5'11". I have pretty good confidence in the trails, but not sure which type of bike to get. my friends were telling me to get 8" disk cable brakes and 1.5" head tube instead of 1-1/8". They also said 6+ in of travel F&R...

Answer 1

relly in this case, get whatever is cheaper since most downhill bikes can be used as freeride bikes and vice versa

also, if you're going to get a nice bike, get hydraulic disc brakes.

Answer 2

if you're not doing jumps or big hills, don't get either of the aforementioned.  you should just stick to a nice middle of the road hard tail with a nice front fork.  you really don't need a rear shock like everyone says if you're going on trails with little to no jumps.  the front fork is designed to alleviate small ruts and bumps, even larger ones with the right shock.  it's a big misconception.   even on my hard tail i could spank most riders on full suspensions.  you have a pretty light build it sounds like, and a hard tail is much lighter and easier to climb on.  look into getting a hard tail with a lock out front shock and you'll be able to scream up hills.  get the hydraulic brakes too.  you get a high end hard tail with nice components that will last forever vs. a full suspension with crappy parts that will break, be heavy, and make riding up hills miserable.  good luck!

Answer 3

mabay a all mountain bike with 6+ of travel  there pretty good for woods and jumps