J. V
CAN someone explain the differences of the bikes?
what is a XC bike?
.............a FReeride bike?
.....DH.....?
... AM?
Answer
Mountain bikes used to be all-around bikes and can be ridden anywhere and in any condition. But advances in technology and in the manufacturing process has afforded the specialization of mountainbikes for the intended purpose that a biker has for his bike. That's why nowadays, the different kinds of mountainbikes can be a bit confusing esp for a first time buyer trying to determine which bike to get.
Mountainbikes are defined by their intended purpose.
Trailbikes.
A trailbike is the best choice for a vast majority of riders.This category allows the rider to ride in various conditions around the mountain,may it be trails,climbs,jumps/drops (3 feet or less) and descents. The design of trailbikes give emphasis on pedaling efficiency,versatility,durability and comfort.These bikes are built to handle agressive and technical riding and can travel at higher speeds in rough terrain compared to what cross country bikes can handle.Weight range is around 25 to 32 pounds and the component spec favors durability than lightweight. Suspension travel ranges from 4 to 6.5 inches and some hardtails also fall in this category.Trailbikes capture the original spirit of mountainbiking,that is being able to ride and explore or "get lost" on purpose by using only one bike. An All-Mountain bike falls under the category of trailbikes and it is setup to provide the best compromise to handle everything, anywhere.
XC=Cross Country.
Cross country bikes are set up to be very lightweight esp for racing. It is designed for pedaling and climbing efficiency.XC bikes can handle moderately technical terrain and cannot handle jumps and drops bigger than the occassional bunny hoping.These bikes border on being fragile and will not withstand repeated flat landings and solid impacts into trail obstacles. Weight range is 19-27 pounds and suspension range is 3-4.5 inches of wheel travel and most lightweight hardtails (no rear suspension,around 4" front suspension travel) fall under this category. XC bikes are best for endurance racing and races in "groomed" trails.
FR=FreeRide or Black Diamond.
Black Diamond is the trail marking used at bike resorts to signify the most difficult runs usually for experts only. Black Diamond or FR bikes used to be a cross between Trailbikes & Downhill bikes and set up with strong frames with strong but heavy components to handle the beating of descending down extreme terrain, doing jumps,big drops and insane stunts. Nowadays,blackdiamond bikes no longer try to be both trailbike and downhill bike,and their design focuses on stability and maneuverability in the extreme trails they are intended to be ridden. Suspension ranges from 6.5 to 8.5 inches of wheel travel altought some come in burly-built hardtails. The headtube angles are slacker (than that of trail bikes) for descending stability but wheelbase is shorter (than in DH bikes) for better handling in tight technical trails. Front forks used for FR bikes are commonly triple clamp/dual crown but some use long-stroke single crown forks. Weight range is 30 to 50 pounds. These bikes can handle the maximum abuse that a rider's body can withstand without damage.FR bikes are built to be strong but they are not breakable.Also,they are expensive and the FR rider must also factor replacement cost of components.
DH=Downhill
DH bikes are designed to harness the force of gravity to be able to descent down the mountain at high speeds. DH bikes used to be bikes that can be pressed for FR and All-Mountain riding,but DH racing has made these bikes very specialized for the purpose of goind down the mountain in the fastest time possible.Technology and advanced manufacturing processes have made it possible to build lighter DH bikes.Lighter DH bikes have increased acceleration and momentum and make it easier to maneuver/handle in technical descents. The components are lighter but rather expendable because in DH racing the rider's team can replace broken and worn components at the bottom of the course, in effect,it give DH racers the "breakit,replace it" attitude that the average mountainbiker cannot afford. This erodes the usefullness of DH bikes because if you beat your DH bike up, you cant expect to win racers. Weight range is 35-45 pounds while suspension range is around 8-9.5 inches of wheel travel.
AM=All-Mountain.
(Described above in the Trailbike category)
PS: You asked about XC,FR,DH and AM only so I wont include description of the other two categories (Urban/Dirt Jump bikes and Mountaincross/Dual-Slalom bikes)
Mountain bikes used to be all-around bikes and can be ridden anywhere and in any condition. But advances in technology and in the manufacturing process has afforded the specialization of mountainbikes for the intended purpose that a biker has for his bike. That's why nowadays, the different kinds of mountainbikes can be a bit confusing esp for a first time buyer trying to determine which bike to get.
Mountainbikes are defined by their intended purpose.
Trailbikes.
A trailbike is the best choice for a vast majority of riders.This category allows the rider to ride in various conditions around the mountain,may it be trails,climbs,jumps/drops (3 feet or less) and descents. The design of trailbikes give emphasis on pedaling efficiency,versatility,durability and comfort.These bikes are built to handle agressive and technical riding and can travel at higher speeds in rough terrain compared to what cross country bikes can handle.Weight range is around 25 to 32 pounds and the component spec favors durability than lightweight. Suspension travel ranges from 4 to 6.5 inches and some hardtails also fall in this category.Trailbikes capture the original spirit of mountainbiking,that is being able to ride and explore or "get lost" on purpose by using only one bike. An All-Mountain bike falls under the category of trailbikes and it is setup to provide the best compromise to handle everything, anywhere.
XC=Cross Country.
Cross country bikes are set up to be very lightweight esp for racing. It is designed for pedaling and climbing efficiency.XC bikes can handle moderately technical terrain and cannot handle jumps and drops bigger than the occassional bunny hoping.These bikes border on being fragile and will not withstand repeated flat landings and solid impacts into trail obstacles. Weight range is 19-27 pounds and suspension range is 3-4.5 inches of wheel travel and most lightweight hardtails (no rear suspension,around 4" front suspension travel) fall under this category. XC bikes are best for endurance racing and races in "groomed" trails.
FR=FreeRide or Black Diamond.
Black Diamond is the trail marking used at bike resorts to signify the most difficult runs usually for experts only. Black Diamond or FR bikes used to be a cross between Trailbikes & Downhill bikes and set up with strong frames with strong but heavy components to handle the beating of descending down extreme terrain, doing jumps,big drops and insane stunts. Nowadays,blackdiamond bikes no longer try to be both trailbike and downhill bike,and their design focuses on stability and maneuverability in the extreme trails they are intended to be ridden. Suspension ranges from 6.5 to 8.5 inches of wheel travel altought some come in burly-built hardtails. The headtube angles are slacker (than that of trail bikes) for descending stability but wheelbase is shorter (than in DH bikes) for better handling in tight technical trails. Front forks used for FR bikes are commonly triple clamp/dual crown but some use long-stroke single crown forks. Weight range is 30 to 50 pounds. These bikes can handle the maximum abuse that a rider's body can withstand without damage.FR bikes are built to be strong but they are not breakable.Also,they are expensive and the FR rider must also factor replacement cost of components.
DH=Downhill
DH bikes are designed to harness the force of gravity to be able to descent down the mountain at high speeds. DH bikes used to be bikes that can be pressed for FR and All-Mountain riding,but DH racing has made these bikes very specialized for the purpose of goind down the mountain in the fastest time possible.Technology and advanced manufacturing processes have made it possible to build lighter DH bikes.Lighter DH bikes have increased acceleration and momentum and make it easier to maneuver/handle in technical descents. The components are lighter but rather expendable because in DH racing the rider's team can replace broken and worn components at the bottom of the course, in effect,it give DH racers the "breakit,replace it" attitude that the average mountainbiker cannot afford. This erodes the usefullness of DH bikes because if you beat your DH bike up, you cant expect to win racers. Weight range is 35-45 pounds while suspension range is around 8-9.5 inches of wheel travel.
AM=All-Mountain.
(Described above in the Trailbike category)
PS: You asked about XC,FR,DH and AM only so I wont include description of the other two categories (Urban/Dirt Jump bikes and Mountaincross/Dual-Slalom bikes)
GT Outpost Trail Bike, Shifter No Work?
SCT
I'm have been recently getting into biking. Used to do it as a kid. Grew up, got a car... But I've been into photography, parks are on my list and they have trails. I'll be damned to walk for miles on end. Along with that, my friends are in this exercise phase. I've been looking into getting a bike from WalMart for maybe up to $150 or so. But I have a bike on hand which my dad somehow acquired a long time ago.
It's a GT Outpost Trail, I think 26". It's a little dirty, beyond dead tires... I rode it around to see if the shifters work but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. But then I never riden a bicycle with multiple gears so it could be my errors. The shifters looks to be straightforward, one lever to upshift, one to downshift (both lever on the right of the handlebars) while the other (on the left of the handlebars) changes the big gear. The left shifter doesn't do anything, the right shifter is only able to shift between 1st and 2nd.
All the gears and other parts say Shimano Altus on them.
So, help would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I'll be buying a new bike from walmart tomorrow.
Thank you in advance!!!
Answer
I found the bike (for year info) here:
http://www.mtbr.com/cat/older-categories-bikes/bike/gt/outpost-trail/prd_348855_91crx.aspx
It is from 1996 or 97. So, my guess is that the cables have rusted in place.
You have two options:
1. get new cables and install them yourself or have them installed. You can get replacement cables at Walmart for about $10. and do the install yourself in a hour or so. Or take it to a Local bike shop and they will do it and it might be about $50 more or less.
2. Second choice is to trade it in at your local bike shop or just buy another bike.
Here are the reasons to do # 1 or #2:
How mechanically inclined are you? Think you can do it if shown how? How much money can you spend/waste to get it repaired or to buy new?
Here are sites to show you how to do the repair and adjustment:
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html#cable ( click on cables and on cable replacement)
and here:
http://www.howtofixbikes.ca/2009/02/how-to-repair-bicycle-articles.html
Has a good article on how to buy a bike too.
I found the bike (for year info) here:
http://www.mtbr.com/cat/older-categories-bikes/bike/gt/outpost-trail/prd_348855_91crx.aspx
It is from 1996 or 97. So, my guess is that the cables have rusted in place.
You have two options:
1. get new cables and install them yourself or have them installed. You can get replacement cables at Walmart for about $10. and do the install yourself in a hour or so. Or take it to a Local bike shop and they will do it and it might be about $50 more or less.
2. Second choice is to trade it in at your local bike shop or just buy another bike.
Here are the reasons to do # 1 or #2:
How mechanically inclined are you? Think you can do it if shown how? How much money can you spend/waste to get it repaired or to buy new?
Here are sites to show you how to do the repair and adjustment:
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html#cable ( click on cables and on cable replacement)
and here:
http://www.howtofixbikes.ca/2009/02/how-to-repair-bicycle-articles.html
Has a good article on how to buy a bike too.
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