This was written a couple of years ago when I was constantly getting asked by mates about what bike to get as at that time I was doing a lot of purchase led research 
The pace of development has slowed a little since circa 2020 but ultimately the info contained below is still relevant.
Thinking of a new bike? Here’s a guide to help you choose the right bike for your needs.
There is a vast amount of bullshit spouted on the internet, info below comes from first hand experience. If you haven’t bought a new bike since 2015 - 2016 then you may be in for a surprise, in a good way! Since then mountain bike design has evolved at its most radical pace since the sport began which has resulted in massive improvements over pre 2016 bikes. (I would now say that anything pre 2018 is actually pretty dated from a geometry perspective).
The most notable of these developments has been in frame design (geometry) followed by wheel sizes and suspension. Firstly, for those with a bit of time on their hands and an inclination to understand the Long, Low, Slack revolution that’s resulted in pretty much the biggest advance in mountain bike design since the sports inception and applies to all categories from cross country to down-hill, have a read of the following articles by Chris Porter. Called size matters (1,2,3 & 4), they are pretty much where it all began. If you can be bothered, it’s worth reading. You’ll need to sign up to MBR to read them but it’s free. Ignore his negative rant on 29ers, a slack head angle coupled with short fork offset on a 29er resolves the negative handling traits he mentions. He’s since done a climb down on those comments after building his own 29er now short offset forks are available. Along with Mondrakers Cesar Rojo, he can be credited with instigating massive improvements in MTB design.
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/size-matters-why-were-all-riding-bikes-that-are-too-small-321374
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/size-matters-part-2-finding-limits-geometry-sizing-323289
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/size-matters-part-3-bicycle-geometry-sucks-324160
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/size-matters-part-4-the-accidental-benefits-of-29ers340807
In summary, Long, Low Slack means replacing crazy long stems with short 35-50mm stems and adding the length removed from the stem to the frame, lowering the bottom bracket height to aid cornering stability and reducing the angle that the forks are mounted at (thus pushing the front wheel further in front of the rider) which improves both suspension performance and reduces the likelihood of going over the bars. Mountain bikes were born out of beach cruisers and when designers tried to make them more efficient for XC (cross country riding) they basically copied road bike design. DOH!
Long stems make sense for drafting in a peloton as they keep the bikes wheelbase shorter and allow you to get close to the guy in front. They are terrible for off-road stability, comfort and handling! Another recent trend as bikes have got longer is towards steeper seat tubes.
A steep seat tube angle puts you in a much more efficient peddling and climbing position. A bike with a steep seat angle of say 78 degrees will climb significantly more efficiently than one with a traditional seat angle of around 72 degrees. Another benefit is that the position of the saddle doesn’t move forwards as much when you drop it out of the way, more critical since the inception of dropper posts. A Note on Bike Sizing. In the last few years bikes have got significantly bigger. This is a good thing as most people have been and still are riding bikes that are too small.
With the advent of short seat tubes and long dropper posts there is much more flexibility in bike sizing so pay attention to manufacturers size guidelines and don’t be afraid to ‘size up’ if you are in between sizes. Trying a bike for size is always a good idea where possible. Adjusting the height, roll and width of the handlebars can have a dramatic effect on comfort and handling, particularly when descending so don’t be afraid to experiment.
Bike categories: Cross country or XC Bikes: - Dangerously unstable contraptions ridden by masochists. Joking aside, modern, dedicated XC bikes are a very specialised bike and designed primarily for XC racing. They are designed to be the fastest way for a racer to get round a relatively tame off-road course. In the real world, for anyone other than an a regularly competing XC racer they are at best a poor choice, at worst dangerous. They are however a good choice for the wannabe gravel rider who doesn’t want drop bars or suffers with back pain.
Trail Bikes:- The ultimate all-rounder and the category of mountain bike that will be suitable for most people. Hugely versatile, trail bikes are the weapon of choice for anyone who wants to ride trail centres, natural trails, all-day cross country epics and everything in between. They are a very different animal to an XC bike and most people will be faster over a typical ride on a trail bike versus and XC bike as well as being infinitely safer and more comfortable. If you took a trail bike to an XC race you may be a bit slower due to the extra weight and suspension travel. If you took an XC bike on a trail ride you would be gingerly tiptoeing down descents, less able to tackle rocky and rooty climbs and probably be more fatigued due to the battering your legs and back would take. You could race an Enduro event on a decent trail bike and even take it to the Alps for uplift riding. They are not the ideal bike for those scenarios but they could do it. You really wouldn’t want to do that with an XC bike. All mountain (AM) bikes:- Basically a trail bike built a bit tougher to handle as the name suggests, all mountain riding. Today the lines between trail bike and AM bike are rather blurred with the only differences tending to be components rather than frame design. AM bikes actually make a lot of sense in our local area as we have some pretty challenging descents and more and more technical trails being built.
Enduro Bikes :- Tougher than trail / AM bikes, designed to handle more extreme terrain, often with more suspension travel and more downhill inspired geometry. The inception of Enduro Racing and the bikes it has spawned can be credited with transforming the MTB sport. Enduro bikes are designed to be able to both climb well and descend extreme terrain in races that can be many hours long with a lot of climbing. For much of the UK, enduro bikes are overkill however in our local area (North York moors) there is a growing network of trails for which they are ideal. Slower on the uphill than a trail bike, faster on the down. They are ideal for riders who regularly ride more challenging terrain and prioritise going downhill over climbing speed and enjoy uplift riding at bike parks. They are the ideal bike for alpine uplift riding.
Summary of the above: Geometry is king. It is what defines how a bike rides and handles and the terrain it can comfortably tackle. The above categories are pretty much defined by their geometry. If you built a super light XC bike with enduro geometry you could ride the same steep aggressive terrain on the XC bike as on the Enduro bike, it just wouldn’t be as durable. So why hasn’t anyone done that? Actually, they have. Pole bicycles in Finland and Geometron in the UK are applying that logic to their bike design and it’s making the rest of the industry slowly follow in their footsteps albeit rather slowly. If you want to jump the next 5 years of bike development, you could buy a Geometron/Nicolai Saturn 14 if you want an XC/ trail bike or a G1 if you want an enduro bike.
Things to look for in your new bike: Wheel size – 29” is the most versatile wheel size with the exception being for some extra small frames. It’s faster and more comfortable than 27.5. It is actually the wheel size Garry Fisher declared most suitable for MTB back in the early 80’s but wasn’t implemented due to cost and lack of tyres. It’s currently the best all-round option until 32” becomes available for XC……….. (joke)
Rim width’s need to be around 28 to 30mm to handle tyres of 2.35 to 2.6” width. Any narrower and the tyres fold due to lack of support, any wider and the narrower tyres end up really square on the rim.
Tyres – Tyres define how a bike rides, handles and the amount of rolling resistance or grip you have. More than anything else they will dictate how fast a bike feels when pedalling on flatter terrain or climbing. Put slick tyres on a hard tail trail bike and you have a comuter bike that will be both fast and comfy and then with a tyre change let you play in the mud at a trail centre. Their weight (and how soft the compound is) also has a big impact on how quickly the wheels accelerate so putting heavy tyres on a bike where they are not needed will make the bike feel sluggish and draggy. Conversely, slithering around in the mud on a great trail bike fitted with lightweight low profile tyres aint much fun either. The difference in weight between a light trail tyre (750g) and a downhill tyre (1500g) can mean an extra 1.5KG on your wheels plus super grippy rubber which acts like bluetac. It can take 7mph off your flat cruising speed on tarmac which is very noticeable. In an ideal world you would change your tyres at least between summer and winter, if not more regularly depending on conditions. Most people however choose a good allrounder and stick with it all year. 2.35 to 2.6 seems to be the optimum width band for mtb tyres.
Wider is not nescessarily better as the wider tyres can float and not grip so lighter riders will be better served with 2.35 to 2.5/5 with only really heavy or aggressive riders benefiting from 2.6’s Tyre clearance – 2.4 to 2.6” wide tyres seem to be the optimum size for a trail/enduro bike. Make sure the frame has clearance for at least a 2.4” tyre plus room to shed mud. Some frames produced by brands based in dry climates have very little mud clearance.
Dropper post – Arguably the best thing to happen to mountain bikes since the suspension fork (they are actually appearing on road bikes now too and some world cup roadies are using them for descents) Ideally you want to be able to run a 150mm or greater travel dropper to allow you to get the saddle out of the way and be able to move around more on descents.
Drive train – Most frames are now single chain ring specific. 12 speed single ring drive trains are the norm. Personally I think Shimano systems are more durable than SRAM, they are certainly better to work on but I’m rather pedantic. There's nothing wrong with 11speed drivetrains either and they are significantly cheaper. If you find your ideal bike and it’s fitted with SRAM don’t let it put you off, especially if you don’t do you own maintenance.
Internal cable routing – Looks clean but is trickier to work on and the cables can rattle inside the frame. Don’t get too hung up about internal or external cable routing though.
Forks – As wheels have got bigger, head angles slacker and front suspension travel increased, forks have had to increase in stiffness to cope. Old skinny forks flex which prevents the forks from moving through their travel smoothly. In other words, they don’t work very well on modern bikes. The minimum spec fork you want on a 29er trail bike is either an RS Pike or a Fox 34. If you are a heavier rider or looking at a bike with front travel exceeding 140mm then either an RS Lyric or fox 36 is more appropriate.
For enduro bikes, Fox 38’s and RS Zeb are now the most appropriate options. I suspect in the near future double crown forks will start to appear on enduro bikes and longer travel E bikes.
Brakes – As bikes have got more capable, speeds have increased. Modern bikes need bigger brakes. Bigger rotors allow smoother braking with less on/off feel and much better control in slippy conditions. Bizzarly MTB’s have copied moto brakes in often running a bigger rotor on the front despite it being the rear that gets the most abuse on long descents. 200/203mm rotors front and rear are ideal for local riding. Go bigger on the rear if you need to for Alpine riding.
Some myths debunked A slack head angle is only suitable for downhill bikes – A slack head angle improves the bikes ability to roll over obstacles on the flat as well as on steeper terrain. The latest XC bikes are now running head angles that were seen on enduro bikes a few years ago and manufacturers are slackening head angles by around half a degree per year. Head angles on trail bikes are now circa 65 degrees on average but will probably end up around 63 degrees in another few years. Below 62 degrees steering feels floppy and sluggish. A long bike won’t handle well – A longer bike may well feel more nimble because your weight is positioned more neutrally between the wheels allowing a better and more comfortable riding position. This allows you to lean the bike over further with greater stability and traction. They are more forgiving. Once you have tried and got used to a longer bike, it’s unlikely you will want to go back!
Wider bars are better – Not necessarily. If your bars are too wide it will lock your shoulders and hinder your ability to move around on the bike and so result in a loss of agility. There are not many pro enduro riders below 6ft running bars over 760mm wide. Most people will find their ideal width between 740 and 800mm. 10mm of adjustment can have a noticeable effect on handling.
29ers handle like a barge – A load of twaddle espoused by people who either haven’t ridden a good one or are trying to sell a bike that doesn’t have 29” wheels. When they first came out there were issues with tyre availability and rim strength for heavier riders but those issues were only relevant circa 2010-2012. Every XC racer and nearly all downhill racers now run 29ers as they roll over terrain better than smaller wheels and cover ground faster. If they didn’t go round corners, downhill racers wouldn’t use them!
Weight is really important – Nowhere near as much as it used to be. Tyre choice and a steep seat angle have a much bigger impact on a bike’s efficiency and climbing capability than an extra kilo of weight.
You need rear suspension to ride extreme terrain – The purpose of suspension is to provide greater traction, when climbing, on the flat and descending. Comfort is just a by-product. A bikes geometry defines the terrain it is suitable for, suspension just allows you to ride that terrain faster. For example, a well sorted hardtail with the latest long low slack geometry will probably feel more composed on steep terrain at moderate speeds than a pre - 2015 enduro bike with 150mm of rear travel for most people. If you spend a lot of time riding tarmac and fire roads with the odd technical downhill then a modern hardtail trail bike may be a good option. They tend to be more fatiguing on longer off-road rides though and will not climb as well when off road due to the reduction in rear wheel traction compared to a full suspension frame designed for similar terrain. There is a reason world cup XC race bikes are full suspension!
A coil shock is really plush but inefficient so great for downhill but not suitable on a trail bike – Not necessarily. If done correctly, a coil shock can provide superior small bump sensitivity over an air shock which results in significantly more traction. As a result you can run a higher rear tyre pressure than you could with an air shock yet still achieve the same level of traction but with a noticeable reduction in rolling resistance resulting in a faster bike overall. There aren’t many bike companies who have got this fully sorted though (Geometron have by using spherical bushings and excellent shock tunes) so air shocks are still the norm in the trail bike category at the moment.
Suspension lock outs - Modern suspension platforms are way more advanced than systems seen on bikes even a couple of years ago. Therefore, unless you are Nino Schurter chasing fractions of seconds on a stage, on bar lockout switches are unnecessary clutter which will probably result in you forgetting to open the suspension when you need to. Nearly all shocks have a climb switch which is only really needed when on the road or really long, flat forest trails. It’s simply better to leave suspension open and active when off road for both comfort and traction purposes, especially on steep techy climbs.
Carbon is better – There are pros and cons to both carbon and alloy frames but the advantages carbon has over alloy in a mountain bike frame is negligible compared to the significant compliance advantages it offers road bike frames. Carbon frames tend to be marginally lighter than alloy frames for a given discipline BUT when they are constructed to be as durable as alloy for trail and enduro bikes there is not much in it. Remember, a bike is the sum of it’s parts and those components add up to the vast majority of its weight, not the frame. It’s on the components where weight savings are made. A carbon frame will only save a few hundred grams over an equivalent alloy frame. Carbon frames tend to be more prone to cracking, de lamination of alloy inserts and can have more flexible rear triangles. There is greater potential for terminal damage to the frame if integral headsets and press-fit bottom brackets are either not correctly installed or allowed to wear excessively. Not good on a mountain bike. Carbon frames are cheaper and easier to produce in large quantities and can also be more aesthetically pleasing than an alloy frame which is why big manufacturers do it. Alloy frames tend to be more durable, have threaded bottom brackets and non integral headsets. There are different grades of both alloy and carbon frames so it’s not really fair to compare one manufacturers high end carbon frame with their budget alloy version and especially not complete bikes as the high end carbon bike will usually have better and lighter components compared to a lower spec alloy version. Carbon offers little advantage over an equivalent spec alloy frame or bike for the rider. In summary, don’t get too hung up on insisting on carbon. There are some great carbon bikes out there, Pivot being one of the best carbon manufacturers but just as equally there are some great alloy bikes. There are also some great steel bikes but they are not mainstream.
That’s all folks, hopefully my years of nerdy research, generous expenditure, accidents and trial an error will be useful to someone! I could add twice as much info to this but suspect most of you having got this far have more than had enough!
The pace of development has slowed a little since circa 2020 but ultimately the info contained below is still relevant.Thinking of a new bike? Here’s a guide to help you choose the right bike for your needs.
There is a vast amount of bullshit spouted on the internet, info below comes from first hand experience. If you haven’t bought a new bike since 2015 - 2016 then you may be in for a surprise, in a good way! Since then mountain bike design has evolved at its most radical pace since the sport began which has resulted in massive improvements over pre 2016 bikes. (I would now say that anything pre 2018 is actually pretty dated from a geometry perspective).
The most notable of these developments has been in frame design (geometry) followed by wheel sizes and suspension. Firstly, for those with a bit of time on their hands and an inclination to understand the Long, Low, Slack revolution that’s resulted in pretty much the biggest advance in mountain bike design since the sports inception and applies to all categories from cross country to down-hill, have a read of the following articles by Chris Porter. Called size matters (1,2,3 & 4), they are pretty much where it all began. If you can be bothered, it’s worth reading. You’ll need to sign up to MBR to read them but it’s free. Ignore his negative rant on 29ers, a slack head angle coupled with short fork offset on a 29er resolves the negative handling traits he mentions. He’s since done a climb down on those comments after building his own 29er now short offset forks are available. Along with Mondrakers Cesar Rojo, he can be credited with instigating massive improvements in MTB design.
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/size-matters-why-were-all-riding-bikes-that-are-too-small-321374
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/size-matters-part-2-finding-limits-geometry-sizing-323289
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/size-matters-part-3-bicycle-geometry-sucks-324160
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/size-matters-part-4-the-accidental-benefits-of-29ers340807
In summary, Long, Low Slack means replacing crazy long stems with short 35-50mm stems and adding the length removed from the stem to the frame, lowering the bottom bracket height to aid cornering stability and reducing the angle that the forks are mounted at (thus pushing the front wheel further in front of the rider) which improves both suspension performance and reduces the likelihood of going over the bars. Mountain bikes were born out of beach cruisers and when designers tried to make them more efficient for XC (cross country riding) they basically copied road bike design. DOH!
Long stems make sense for drafting in a peloton as they keep the bikes wheelbase shorter and allow you to get close to the guy in front. They are terrible for off-road stability, comfort and handling! Another recent trend as bikes have got longer is towards steeper seat tubes.
A steep seat tube angle puts you in a much more efficient peddling and climbing position. A bike with a steep seat angle of say 78 degrees will climb significantly more efficiently than one with a traditional seat angle of around 72 degrees. Another benefit is that the position of the saddle doesn’t move forwards as much when you drop it out of the way, more critical since the inception of dropper posts. A Note on Bike Sizing. In the last few years bikes have got significantly bigger. This is a good thing as most people have been and still are riding bikes that are too small.
With the advent of short seat tubes and long dropper posts there is much more flexibility in bike sizing so pay attention to manufacturers size guidelines and don’t be afraid to ‘size up’ if you are in between sizes. Trying a bike for size is always a good idea where possible. Adjusting the height, roll and width of the handlebars can have a dramatic effect on comfort and handling, particularly when descending so don’t be afraid to experiment.
Bike categories: Cross country or XC Bikes: - Dangerously unstable contraptions ridden by masochists. Joking aside, modern, dedicated XC bikes are a very specialised bike and designed primarily for XC racing. They are designed to be the fastest way for a racer to get round a relatively tame off-road course. In the real world, for anyone other than an a regularly competing XC racer they are at best a poor choice, at worst dangerous. They are however a good choice for the wannabe gravel rider who doesn’t want drop bars or suffers with back pain.
Trail Bikes:- The ultimate all-rounder and the category of mountain bike that will be suitable for most people. Hugely versatile, trail bikes are the weapon of choice for anyone who wants to ride trail centres, natural trails, all-day cross country epics and everything in between. They are a very different animal to an XC bike and most people will be faster over a typical ride on a trail bike versus and XC bike as well as being infinitely safer and more comfortable. If you took a trail bike to an XC race you may be a bit slower due to the extra weight and suspension travel. If you took an XC bike on a trail ride you would be gingerly tiptoeing down descents, less able to tackle rocky and rooty climbs and probably be more fatigued due to the battering your legs and back would take. You could race an Enduro event on a decent trail bike and even take it to the Alps for uplift riding. They are not the ideal bike for those scenarios but they could do it. You really wouldn’t want to do that with an XC bike. All mountain (AM) bikes:- Basically a trail bike built a bit tougher to handle as the name suggests, all mountain riding. Today the lines between trail bike and AM bike are rather blurred with the only differences tending to be components rather than frame design. AM bikes actually make a lot of sense in our local area as we have some pretty challenging descents and more and more technical trails being built.
Enduro Bikes :- Tougher than trail / AM bikes, designed to handle more extreme terrain, often with more suspension travel and more downhill inspired geometry. The inception of Enduro Racing and the bikes it has spawned can be credited with transforming the MTB sport. Enduro bikes are designed to be able to both climb well and descend extreme terrain in races that can be many hours long with a lot of climbing. For much of the UK, enduro bikes are overkill however in our local area (North York moors) there is a growing network of trails for which they are ideal. Slower on the uphill than a trail bike, faster on the down. They are ideal for riders who regularly ride more challenging terrain and prioritise going downhill over climbing speed and enjoy uplift riding at bike parks. They are the ideal bike for alpine uplift riding.
Summary of the above: Geometry is king. It is what defines how a bike rides and handles and the terrain it can comfortably tackle. The above categories are pretty much defined by their geometry. If you built a super light XC bike with enduro geometry you could ride the same steep aggressive terrain on the XC bike as on the Enduro bike, it just wouldn’t be as durable. So why hasn’t anyone done that? Actually, they have. Pole bicycles in Finland and Geometron in the UK are applying that logic to their bike design and it’s making the rest of the industry slowly follow in their footsteps albeit rather slowly. If you want to jump the next 5 years of bike development, you could buy a Geometron/Nicolai Saturn 14 if you want an XC/ trail bike or a G1 if you want an enduro bike.
Things to look for in your new bike: Wheel size – 29” is the most versatile wheel size with the exception being for some extra small frames. It’s faster and more comfortable than 27.5. It is actually the wheel size Garry Fisher declared most suitable for MTB back in the early 80’s but wasn’t implemented due to cost and lack of tyres. It’s currently the best all-round option until 32” becomes available for XC……….. (joke)
Rim width’s need to be around 28 to 30mm to handle tyres of 2.35 to 2.6” width. Any narrower and the tyres fold due to lack of support, any wider and the narrower tyres end up really square on the rim.
Tyres – Tyres define how a bike rides, handles and the amount of rolling resistance or grip you have. More than anything else they will dictate how fast a bike feels when pedalling on flatter terrain or climbing. Put slick tyres on a hard tail trail bike and you have a comuter bike that will be both fast and comfy and then with a tyre change let you play in the mud at a trail centre. Their weight (and how soft the compound is) also has a big impact on how quickly the wheels accelerate so putting heavy tyres on a bike where they are not needed will make the bike feel sluggish and draggy. Conversely, slithering around in the mud on a great trail bike fitted with lightweight low profile tyres aint much fun either. The difference in weight between a light trail tyre (750g) and a downhill tyre (1500g) can mean an extra 1.5KG on your wheels plus super grippy rubber which acts like bluetac. It can take 7mph off your flat cruising speed on tarmac which is very noticeable. In an ideal world you would change your tyres at least between summer and winter, if not more regularly depending on conditions. Most people however choose a good allrounder and stick with it all year. 2.35 to 2.6 seems to be the optimum width band for mtb tyres.
Wider is not nescessarily better as the wider tyres can float and not grip so lighter riders will be better served with 2.35 to 2.5/5 with only really heavy or aggressive riders benefiting from 2.6’s Tyre clearance – 2.4 to 2.6” wide tyres seem to be the optimum size for a trail/enduro bike. Make sure the frame has clearance for at least a 2.4” tyre plus room to shed mud. Some frames produced by brands based in dry climates have very little mud clearance.
Dropper post – Arguably the best thing to happen to mountain bikes since the suspension fork (they are actually appearing on road bikes now too and some world cup roadies are using them for descents) Ideally you want to be able to run a 150mm or greater travel dropper to allow you to get the saddle out of the way and be able to move around more on descents.
Drive train – Most frames are now single chain ring specific. 12 speed single ring drive trains are the norm. Personally I think Shimano systems are more durable than SRAM, they are certainly better to work on but I’m rather pedantic. There's nothing wrong with 11speed drivetrains either and they are significantly cheaper. If you find your ideal bike and it’s fitted with SRAM don’t let it put you off, especially if you don’t do you own maintenance.
Internal cable routing – Looks clean but is trickier to work on and the cables can rattle inside the frame. Don’t get too hung up about internal or external cable routing though.
Forks – As wheels have got bigger, head angles slacker and front suspension travel increased, forks have had to increase in stiffness to cope. Old skinny forks flex which prevents the forks from moving through their travel smoothly. In other words, they don’t work very well on modern bikes. The minimum spec fork you want on a 29er trail bike is either an RS Pike or a Fox 34. If you are a heavier rider or looking at a bike with front travel exceeding 140mm then either an RS Lyric or fox 36 is more appropriate.
For enduro bikes, Fox 38’s and RS Zeb are now the most appropriate options. I suspect in the near future double crown forks will start to appear on enduro bikes and longer travel E bikes.
Brakes – As bikes have got more capable, speeds have increased. Modern bikes need bigger brakes. Bigger rotors allow smoother braking with less on/off feel and much better control in slippy conditions. Bizzarly MTB’s have copied moto brakes in often running a bigger rotor on the front despite it being the rear that gets the most abuse on long descents. 200/203mm rotors front and rear are ideal for local riding. Go bigger on the rear if you need to for Alpine riding.
Some myths debunked A slack head angle is only suitable for downhill bikes – A slack head angle improves the bikes ability to roll over obstacles on the flat as well as on steeper terrain. The latest XC bikes are now running head angles that were seen on enduro bikes a few years ago and manufacturers are slackening head angles by around half a degree per year. Head angles on trail bikes are now circa 65 degrees on average but will probably end up around 63 degrees in another few years. Below 62 degrees steering feels floppy and sluggish. A long bike won’t handle well – A longer bike may well feel more nimble because your weight is positioned more neutrally between the wheels allowing a better and more comfortable riding position. This allows you to lean the bike over further with greater stability and traction. They are more forgiving. Once you have tried and got used to a longer bike, it’s unlikely you will want to go back!
Wider bars are better – Not necessarily. If your bars are too wide it will lock your shoulders and hinder your ability to move around on the bike and so result in a loss of agility. There are not many pro enduro riders below 6ft running bars over 760mm wide. Most people will find their ideal width between 740 and 800mm. 10mm of adjustment can have a noticeable effect on handling.
29ers handle like a barge – A load of twaddle espoused by people who either haven’t ridden a good one or are trying to sell a bike that doesn’t have 29” wheels. When they first came out there were issues with tyre availability and rim strength for heavier riders but those issues were only relevant circa 2010-2012. Every XC racer and nearly all downhill racers now run 29ers as they roll over terrain better than smaller wheels and cover ground faster. If they didn’t go round corners, downhill racers wouldn’t use them!
Weight is really important – Nowhere near as much as it used to be. Tyre choice and a steep seat angle have a much bigger impact on a bike’s efficiency and climbing capability than an extra kilo of weight.
You need rear suspension to ride extreme terrain – The purpose of suspension is to provide greater traction, when climbing, on the flat and descending. Comfort is just a by-product. A bikes geometry defines the terrain it is suitable for, suspension just allows you to ride that terrain faster. For example, a well sorted hardtail with the latest long low slack geometry will probably feel more composed on steep terrain at moderate speeds than a pre - 2015 enduro bike with 150mm of rear travel for most people. If you spend a lot of time riding tarmac and fire roads with the odd technical downhill then a modern hardtail trail bike may be a good option. They tend to be more fatiguing on longer off-road rides though and will not climb as well when off road due to the reduction in rear wheel traction compared to a full suspension frame designed for similar terrain. There is a reason world cup XC race bikes are full suspension!
A coil shock is really plush but inefficient so great for downhill but not suitable on a trail bike – Not necessarily. If done correctly, a coil shock can provide superior small bump sensitivity over an air shock which results in significantly more traction. As a result you can run a higher rear tyre pressure than you could with an air shock yet still achieve the same level of traction but with a noticeable reduction in rolling resistance resulting in a faster bike overall. There aren’t many bike companies who have got this fully sorted though (Geometron have by using spherical bushings and excellent shock tunes) so air shocks are still the norm in the trail bike category at the moment.
Suspension lock outs - Modern suspension platforms are way more advanced than systems seen on bikes even a couple of years ago. Therefore, unless you are Nino Schurter chasing fractions of seconds on a stage, on bar lockout switches are unnecessary clutter which will probably result in you forgetting to open the suspension when you need to. Nearly all shocks have a climb switch which is only really needed when on the road or really long, flat forest trails. It’s simply better to leave suspension open and active when off road for both comfort and traction purposes, especially on steep techy climbs.
Carbon is better – There are pros and cons to both carbon and alloy frames but the advantages carbon has over alloy in a mountain bike frame is negligible compared to the significant compliance advantages it offers road bike frames. Carbon frames tend to be marginally lighter than alloy frames for a given discipline BUT when they are constructed to be as durable as alloy for trail and enduro bikes there is not much in it. Remember, a bike is the sum of it’s parts and those components add up to the vast majority of its weight, not the frame. It’s on the components where weight savings are made. A carbon frame will only save a few hundred grams over an equivalent alloy frame. Carbon frames tend to be more prone to cracking, de lamination of alloy inserts and can have more flexible rear triangles. There is greater potential for terminal damage to the frame if integral headsets and press-fit bottom brackets are either not correctly installed or allowed to wear excessively. Not good on a mountain bike. Carbon frames are cheaper and easier to produce in large quantities and can also be more aesthetically pleasing than an alloy frame which is why big manufacturers do it. Alloy frames tend to be more durable, have threaded bottom brackets and non integral headsets. There are different grades of both alloy and carbon frames so it’s not really fair to compare one manufacturers high end carbon frame with their budget alloy version and especially not complete bikes as the high end carbon bike will usually have better and lighter components compared to a lower spec alloy version. Carbon offers little advantage over an equivalent spec alloy frame or bike for the rider. In summary, don’t get too hung up on insisting on carbon. There are some great carbon bikes out there, Pivot being one of the best carbon manufacturers but just as equally there are some great alloy bikes. There are also some great steel bikes but they are not mainstream.
That’s all folks, hopefully my years of nerdy research, generous expenditure, accidents and trial an error will be useful to someone! I could add twice as much info to this but suspect most of you having got this far have more than had enough!
Best of both worlds there. 
