Buying a Mountain Bike.（买一辆山地车。）.pdf

Buying a Mountain Bike. Buying a mountain-bike can be exciting but intimidating (especially your first mountain-bike). Before you can decide what bike is right for you, you need to decide what sort of riding youre likely to be using it for (this is sometimes different to what youd like to be riding) and how much money you have to spend (its not right for you if its not within your budget). Ill start with fairly generic bike styles and get more specific from there: Styles of Mountain-Bikes. Cross Country (XC): This is what most of us are looking for. Its a bike that isnt too heavy to pedal uphill, its comfortable to ride on the flat and it handles OK when you point it down. It will have perhaps 3-4 inches (75-100mm) of suspension in the forks at the front and up to 4 inches of suspension in the rear (or none). Its a good all-rounder and a good place to start for your first mountain-bike. All Mountain (AM): The AM bike is a relatively new genre of mountain-bike. It evolved from the XC bike as riders wanted more suspension and a bike that was capable of handling rougher terrain. Its likely to be heavier than a true XC bike (because its stronger) and perhaps a bit more laid-back in terms of body-position (youll feel a bit more upright). The AM bikes generally have 4 to 6 inches of travel front and rear suspension. Freeride (FR): Freeride bikes are an interesting combination of strength and generous amount of suspension without eliminating the ability to pedal uphill (theyre not fun to pedal uphill, but certainly more fun than pushing). Theyre designed for pedalling to the