My Top Five Essential Tips for Buying the Right Used Mountain Bike

In price sensitive times such as these buying a used mountain bike is a great way for beginners to get into the fantastic world of mountain biking and for seasoned pros to keep participating in the sport they love. There are literally thousands of mountain bikes available so which one is right for you? My five essential tips will help you out.

Figure out what type of cyclist you aspire to be. Mountain bikes typically fall into one of the following categories: All Terrain Trail Bikes, Downhill (DH), Cross Country (XC), and Freeride.

A freeride bike is great for hard terrain such as indoors or pavement and perfect for tricks, skill, and hard terrain. Forget about freeride though if you plan to spend most of your time riding along flat terrain as they are fairly heavy bikes. Cross Country bikes (XC) are great for efficiency because of their lightweight construction. Avoid XC bikes though if you plan on riding over rough terrain where comfort is more of a requirement. For downhill racing look at Downhill bikes which are specifically made for this great aspect of mountain biking.

If you are starting out a well made All Terrain bike will be a great way to get the most out of your local trails. As you get more proficient and have experienced much of what mountain biking has to offer then that will be a great time to buy a more specialised mountain bike.

Arguably one of the most common questions is Hardtail or Full Suspension? Hardtails bikes have just rear suspension and consequently less moving parts and you can save money by buying one. However Full Suspension bikes have front and rear suspension and offer far much more comfort to the beginning cyclist by being kinder to your bottom.

Ask around at your local bike dealer or online forums to find out what mountain bike trails are local to you as this can affect what mountain bike you buy. For example, if there are no downhill trails nearby you will want to avoid Downhill bikes.

Once you have decided what type of mountain bike you want consider buying a used mountain bike. Not only will you save money and be able to buy the additional safety gear such as a bike helmet and pads, but you will also be able to buy a bike that was previously out of your price range. Finally have fun, mountain bike is a fantastically accessible sport open to all and a great way to get fit.