Difference between XC and Trail bikes?
Discussion
Guys,
Am a bit confused with some of the terminology and catagories that things seem to be put in.
What's the difference between XC and Trail bikes?
Have been looking at the Rockrider 8.1 and Calibre Point .50.
The RR seems to be labelled as XC and the Calibre Trail orientated.
Apart from the slightly slacker head angle and 20mm extra fork travel on the Calibre I don't see much difference?
Am a bit confused with some of the terminology and catagories that things seem to be put in.
What's the difference between XC and Trail bikes?
Have been looking at the Rockrider 8.1 and Calibre Point .50.
The RR seems to be labelled as XC and the Calibre Trail orientated.
Apart from the slightly slacker head angle and 20mm extra fork travel on the Calibre I don't see much difference?
richardxjr said:
Marketing b
ks especially at entry level. But XC does equal less travel, steeper angles & lighter weight. You will not necessarily die if you ride an XC bike on a non XC Trail though, or vice versa.
Yeah, they're all bikes which would be okay for most types of riding, marketers just use it as shorthand for the toughness vs lightness scale. ks especially at entry level. But XC does equal less travel, steeper angles & lighter weight. You will not necessarily die if you ride an XC bike on a non XC Trail though, or vice versa.Something like
XC - Lightest - firmest suspension - sharpest handling
Trail
All Mountain
Enduro - Toughest - long travel suspension etc
In the olden days "XC" stood for Cross Country, as in Cross Country racing. I.E. riding as fast as possible along (and up!) fireroads etc, on lightweight, racey bikes with short travel and flighty geometery. Generally, these bikes are hardtails, as comfort isn't important in XC racing.
The manufacturers decided that this might put off people who didn't want to race, and just wanted to ride a bike in the woods for fun, so invented the "Trail" category of bikes. These tend to sit in the 100 to 120mm travel zone, and be a bit heavier than pure XC bikes, and often have full suspension and these days, 29 inch wheels. These bikes are brilliant as do-it-all bikes for most people who don't ride the more extreme terrain, being easy / efficient to pedal, and not to heavy.
But, increasingly, people wanted to ride larger more challenging terrain, and maybe do a bit of jumping and dropping, so the All Mountain sector was invented, pretty much starting at 130mm of travel, up to around 170mm. These bikes are stronger (and heavier) than their "trail" stablemates, and are more optimised for fast rough descending, rather than for pedalling (although they are still fine to pedal, just not as efficient as trail bikes). These bikes are slacker (less steep head angle for more stability) and longer, with a lower bottom bracket height to put the rider more in the middle of the bike for stability whilst descending.
Recently, the "Enduro" category has become popular. Named after the racing events that started in the French Alps, these bikes are really the about being the best possible descenders, whilst still being able to pedal them reasonable distances to get to those descents. As Enduro races only time the descents, these bikes are very low/long and slack, generally with at least 150mm of travel at both ends. These bikes are really a bit of an overkill in the UK, but are a lot of fun on the right trail (better in the ALPS ;-) Modern tech, like carbon frames and wheels, and "one by" drivetrains have helped to keep the total weight down, generally below 30lbs, but this tends to make these bikes expensive.
At the top of the tree sit proper Downhill and Freeride bikes, which really are not designed to be pedaled at all, and just are optimised to be as fast down a mountain as possible (downhill) or as tough and forgiving as possible for massive jumps / drops etc (freeride).
The manufacturers decided that this might put off people who didn't want to race, and just wanted to ride a bike in the woods for fun, so invented the "Trail" category of bikes. These tend to sit in the 100 to 120mm travel zone, and be a bit heavier than pure XC bikes, and often have full suspension and these days, 29 inch wheels. These bikes are brilliant as do-it-all bikes for most people who don't ride the more extreme terrain, being easy / efficient to pedal, and not to heavy.
But, increasingly, people wanted to ride larger more challenging terrain, and maybe do a bit of jumping and dropping, so the All Mountain sector was invented, pretty much starting at 130mm of travel, up to around 170mm. These bikes are stronger (and heavier) than their "trail" stablemates, and are more optimised for fast rough descending, rather than for pedalling (although they are still fine to pedal, just not as efficient as trail bikes). These bikes are slacker (less steep head angle for more stability) and longer, with a lower bottom bracket height to put the rider more in the middle of the bike for stability whilst descending.
Recently, the "Enduro" category has become popular. Named after the racing events that started in the French Alps, these bikes are really the about being the best possible descenders, whilst still being able to pedal them reasonable distances to get to those descents. As Enduro races only time the descents, these bikes are very low/long and slack, generally with at least 150mm of travel at both ends. These bikes are really a bit of an overkill in the UK, but are a lot of fun on the right trail (better in the ALPS ;-) Modern tech, like carbon frames and wheels, and "one by" drivetrains have helped to keep the total weight down, generally below 30lbs, but this tends to make these bikes expensive.
At the top of the tree sit proper Downhill and Freeride bikes, which really are not designed to be pedaled at all, and just are optimised to be as fast down a mountain as possible (downhill) or as tough and forgiving as possible for massive jumps / drops etc (freeride).
Good post MAx Torque.
Generally speaking there are a lot of people out there who have gone overboard with their bike requirements and insist you need 6+ inches of travel to do the harder trails and downhill tracks in the UK. This is largely nonsense, 4inches of travel either end and 1x10 gearing is almost enough to deal with any situation save a long steep climb.
Generally speaking there are a lot of people out there who have gone overboard with their bike requirements and insist you need 6+ inches of travel to do the harder trails and downhill tracks in the UK. This is largely nonsense, 4inches of travel either end and 1x10 gearing is almost enough to deal with any situation save a long steep climb.
aka_kerrly said:
RichB said:
So what would my 20 year old Orange P7 with 26" wheels and no suspension be classified as, other than old (although I think retro is the word) 
A classic cross country steed, very retro. Does yours have the single dog bone style rear triangle joint?Woody said:
Thanks again guys.
Spec of both bikes seems to be coil springs - thinking I would be potentially better off getting the lower spec Calibre two two andspending the remaining £250 on a set of air forks like THESE.
I'd do that and ride as is for a bit.Spec of both bikes seems to be coil springs - thinking I would be potentially better off getting the lower spec Calibre two two andspending the remaining £250 on a set of air forks like THESE.
You can pick up decent used low travel air forks off pinkbike or stw for not much. Reba would be a good upgrade. An extra 20mm travel will also slacken it a bit, just make sure steerer type and length fits!
Secondhand would still buy more bike though, eg
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-XTC-MTB-/321448872...
Prefer the two two for £360. Shimano vs Avid/Sram and enough change for an air fork, as the OP suggests.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/...
Really interesting write up here on a proper race comparing £500 v £5000 bikes
http://issuu.com/ratraceadv/docs/wmb_the_crossing_...
http://issuu.com/ratraceadv/docs/wmb_the_crossing_...
RobDickinson said:
Afik coil spring suspension is usually rated better if setup for the right weight vs air but air shocks are much more adjustable.
In "cheap" forks, it is the high friction and lack of stiffness that makes them crap, rather than the springing medium! But at least with air forks you can easily change the springing characteristic and see what that feels like, whereas with coil springs you actually need to spend some money buying a different spring and changing itrichardxjr said:
Really interesting write up here on a proper race comparing £500 v £5000 bikes
http://issuu.com/ratraceadv/docs/wmb_the_crossing_...
Interesting article - think I need to up my fitness lolhttp://issuu.com/ratraceadv/docs/wmb_the_crossing_...
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff