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

When you are starting out in a new sport such as mountain biking it can be overwhelming at first due to the shere number of different mountain bikes available. My top five tips below will help you to narrow down the choices available and buy the right mountain bike to suit your needs.

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 when starting out mountain biking is Full Suspension or Hardtail? Hardtail bikes have rear suspension only and require less maintenance and for this reason they tend to be cheaper. Full suspension bikes on the other hand have front and rear suspension which makes them far more comfortable. I recommend full suspension bikes initially as they will be much kinder to your bottom.

Consider where you love as a factor in which type of mountain bike that you buy. Buying a Downhill bike is probably not a great idea if there are no steep trails nearby. Don't be afraid to ask your local bike dealer to check what the mountain bike trails are like in your area.

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.