Difference between XC & Trail mtb?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by MemBrain, Jan 10, 2010.

  1. dicky

    dicky New Member

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  2. SeanC

    SeanC Active Member

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    No, I just posted this as an example to show that all the labeling is a bunch of nonsense. It looks like we are in agreement.
    cheers. :)
     
  3. Manny43

    Manny43 New Member

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    Maybe not on you lol!...I fail to see the similarities between on-line gaming and mountain biking, but to each his own!:-k
     
  4. Jman

    Jman Live Free, Ride Hard

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    This sport of ours has gotten so expensive that you've gotta try lots of bikes and find ONE that really suits you. I got into some pretty good debt buying a bike each time my riding style changed. Now I have five bikes and hardly ride any of them. The Heckler is a good bike that straddles the XC/Trail side of things. IMHO. A good HT is cool too! Something like the SC Chameleon where you can set it up to ride XC but hammer it like a freeride bike too!
     
  5. rojomas

    rojomas A.K.A The Oxx

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    I don't get you guys that say labling is as BS or nonsense. Labling is a way for the manufacturing company to let you know what the intended use of the bike is. Sure you can go off jumps and drops on a XC bike but don't go crying back to the bike company because the frame snapped or the wheels folded.

    IMO XC=uncomfortable, twitchy, light, fragile, for race only.

    Trail=More comfortable for hours in the saddle, more stable handling, not as light but more durable, can still be raced but not as serious about racing.
     
  6. Brandy

    Brandy New Member

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    I think I'm more confused now. #-oI'm just going to ride my hardtail until a dirty sugar daddy sweeps me off my feet and buys me a stable full of XC, Trail, AM, Freeride and Downhill bikes so I'm covered. Oh...and a 29'er too. ;)
     
  7. Lovin

    Lovin Calmer 'n you are

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    XC = Your bike
    Trail = My bike
     
  8. MemBrain

    MemBrain Bone Healer

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    so i have a fox float RP2 on my bike, how is the rear travel determined? any diagrams out there to explain the difference? can a XC bike with 4" travel be converted to 5-6" of rear travel? or does it depend on the frame? any pics?
     
  9. MemBrain

    MemBrain Bone Healer

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    can anyone help me out with this question? also, if i were to change my front fork to something with more travel will it affect the comfort of my ride? What can i change on my titus racer-x to try and convert it to somewhat of a trail bike with a lil more travel front & rear? thanks.
     
  10. rojomas

    rojomas A.K.A The Oxx

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    You didn't receive an answer because your questions are off topic. The topic is the differances between XC, Trail, and AM bikes. Not how to convert a XC bike to a trail bike. Not to sound like a d!ck but you should've started a new thread posing the question. :beer:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 19, 2010
  11. SnglTrckMnd

    SnglTrckMnd New Member

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    ..

    Is it possible to hijack your own thread? :?:
     
  12. rojomas

    rojomas A.K.A The Oxx

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    I guess not.. but it was off topic..
     
  13. Stray_Bullit

    Stray_Bullit The sustain..listen to it

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    I laugh every time I hear "aggressive trail rider." Maybe "alpha XC rider" is a better term? I like the earlier posts about don't get too hung up on the niches. So true. Find a bike, ride it till it breaks or until you can afford another one and start the ball rolling again.

    Because if you do get the addiction of ~let's just say off road~ riding bikes...(because that eliminates most of the guys that ride on the street only) you will want another bike about 2 to 3 hours after you buy your first one.

    There are so many great posts in this thread, I can't quote them all! Good stuff!

    However, I will quote this:
    You also need a Slope Style bike AND a Dirt Jumper as well to accent the DH and FR bikes.... Oh and with matching color schemes too....
     
  14. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    Breeders

    +1 on matching color schemes.
    YetiTwins1.JPG

    To the OP trying to "improve" his Racer X to longer travel - please don't. The bike is outstanding for it's purpose - hinted at in the bike's name. Want a trail-bike with 5+" of travel? Get one. Moto-Lite, FTM or move off Titus to 100s of other options (like a turquoise 575). :bang:
     
  15. leondelmonte

    leondelmonte Member

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    what you really need to do is get out and pedal on what ever you got, then based on your style of riding buy what ever works best for what you are doing, but get out and ride first on an OPS (Old Piece of Sht)
    Then go out and DEMO as many bikes as you can.
     
  16. Dacob Paine

    Dacob Paine New Member

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    As I look at my tight, nut-choking spandex and my '04 Cake 1 I wonder.... how can it be that I'm riding what is, apparently... a trail bike (gasp!)... but... but... I'm dressed like a hardtail-riding XC-loving weight weenie! Oh noooooooooes!! \\:D/

    But seriously I make fun here to just to emphasize what many of the other posters have touched upon, which is that it is just a little silly to start to divide mountain bikes into 3, 4, 5 or even more catagories. In my humble opinion my Cake which has 5 inches of rear travel is not automatically an XC bike (it's a little heavy for that, really, at a porky 28 lbs) nor is it an AM or a DH bike (it's probably not quite robust for that classification, or something... no 220mm rotors, only a measly 130mm of front travel) nor is it a true trail bike... or is it? I don't know and more importantly... I just don't care. ;)

    My point is that if I were to lend my bike, your bike or any decent mountain bike (by this I mean a bike with modern full suspension, disk brakes and decent components) to a professional mountain bike racer he or she will be able to perform equally as well on any given course. While one bike or the other can be evaluated on any number of points or merits, these are not the core of what makes a bike "right" for you.

    In essence a bike is "right" when it feels that way - either it is or it is not. When you have both a comfort level and a level of trust in your bike you can begin to really take the bike and yourself to the limits of what you both can do together. Any serious mountain biker is trusting his mechanical steed with his life every time he rides, so it is critical that you know what your particular model will do, what it won't or does not like to do, and most importantly - why.

    Mountain biking is a delicate balance of physics with inertia, rolling resistance, momentum vectors and many other factors all playing critical parts. I would advise that saddle time, along with plenty of time spent adjusting the air pressures in your current front forks and your RP2, will eventually result in two outcomes: You will get to know your bike, really know it, inside and out and you will eventually find the best ratios of pressure, damping and the like that work best for you with your bike. I've found that changing one or the other by even as little as 10 psi can make a big difference in how my bike responds over different terrain.


    ~Dacob
     

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