Would my bike be considered a freeride or downhill bike?

Question

I have a K2 Attack/Crush and I want to know what type of mountain bike it is.

Answer 1

No, this is more of a cross-country or all mountain bike.  That really depends on the upgrades that have been made to it.  The original fork on the Attack offers only about 100 mm of travel (just sort of 4 in.), whereas a true-blue downhill or freeride bike is equipped with a 170 - 200 mm travel fork.  Also, the rear shock looks suited for lighter duty drops, bumps, and other obstacles.  Most good rear shocks on "gravity" bikes can handle 450+ lbs. of force (bigger drops, hitting big bumps at high speeds, etc...)  One more thing, while your bike has a solid frame that's great for XC and AM type riding, it probably isn't meant for high speed descents and big drops.  Big mountain downhill bikes are beefed up and look like they can take a hit, check one out.

Don't get me wrong, you have a sweet bike that will show you a good time, and it's not like you can't point it downhill.  But it is best suited for flat, uphill, or not so dramatically sloped downhill type terrain.  So get out there and have fun!

Answer 2

Yep, ncbabbitt is right on.....it's a cross-country bike.  It's not made at all for anything remotely considered "freeride" or "downhill"....just moderate xc trails with tech sections.  No drops, jumps, or rock gardens.  

You really can't make the bike into something that it isn't....sorry.  If you were to put longer travel forks on it, you'd risk snapping the head tube from the bike and getting injured in an UGLY crash (there's no way for a snapped head to result in anything but an ugly crash, even at slow speeds).   The frame just isn't designed for the stresses that rough riding and long travel forks give....there is no reinforcement in that junction, and the tubing just wasn't chosen to handle that kind of riding.  There's also the issue of geometry to think about, but that's a whole 'nuther subject....just understand that if you were to risk life and limb by putting  long legs on that bike, it would handle like *c**p* and you'd be sorry you spent the money on the fork.

Like he said, it's still a good and fun bike, just use it within it's intended range.  If you want a more burly rig, look into a 6" travel all-mountain bike.....no need to go full-on dh/fr unless you're really going to get into that kind of riding.  It's an entirely different world and you'll need to get a bike specifically for that.

Hope this helps out some.    :o)