A beginner's guide to buying a mountain bike

1. What sort of bike should you get? If you are a beginning off-road rider, you should be looking at a bike with front suspension only (called a hardtail), or even a rigid bike (with no susension fork). A good quality full suspension bike is too expensive to be a beginner bike. If you want the bike mainly for riding on paved surfaces a rigid bike is a better bet.
The frame

The frame is the heart of a mountain bike, and you want to make sure you get a good one. If the bike comes with mediocre parts on it you can replace them, but once you replace the frame it's a different bike. When looking for a not-too-expensive mountain bike, remember that boring is good. If the bike is too fancy and radical looking, especially if it's inexpensive, it's probably not a good bike. Unless you're going for a full-suspension bike, the traditional diamond frame is the best (as in the Rockhopper below). Any frame design other than this will be more heavy or weaker. The only exceptions in this price range are bikes made by Haro or GT, and these bikes only have small variations on the diamond frame.

Specialized Rockhopper

If you're not sure exactly what a diamond frame is, let's look at a bike that doesn't have one, the Specialized Enduro below. This bike has rear suspension (the cylindrical bit where the seatstays meet the frame is the rear shock) thus it requires a different geometry to accommodate the shock and the movement of the back part of the bike. You will often see somewhat odd-looking frame designs in fullsuspension bikes, but they are rarely useful in hardtails or rigid bikes. (Don't drool too much over this bike. It is unfortunately well out of the price range of this article.)

Specialized Enduro

Many mountain bikes today have a sloping top tube (clearly seen in the Rockhopper). This is a good thing, as it gives you more crotch clearance for the same size of bike. Crotch clearance is the distance between the top tube and your crotch when you are standing over the bike in your bike shoes. It is important because you often crash when riding off-road, and it's good to have a bike that stays out of your way when you come off unexpectedly.
To bounce or not to bounce

Since real rear suspension (as of the Specialized Enduro above) is out of the price range of this article, we'll only consider two kinds of suspension: a suspension fork, and a suspension seat post. First I'll discuss the fork. Should you get bike with a suspension fork? I think the answer is pretty short and simple: if your main use of the bike is for riding on rough off-road, then get a suspension fork, unless your budget is really low. A good suspension fork is a real boon to off-road riding. Not only does it make the ride more comfortable, but it can greatly improve your control over the bike. For example, if you're coming down a

hill and there's a small branch diagonally across the path, the suspension fork can help you get over it safely, while with a rigid fork, your front wheel has more of a tendency to by shunted aside by the branch, leaving you in a heap on the trail. Since most mountain bikes come with suspension forks, this is the easy option. However, if you have very little money (say you want to spend less than 300 quid, including everything you'll need, like lock and lights), a rigid bike is best, even for riding off-road. For example, a Specialized HardRock Rigid is better suited to offroad riding than most bikes for that price, even ones with a suspension fork. The reason is that most suspension forks on bikes that cheap are really not very good, and while they add a bit of comfort for your off-road riding, they lack the rigidity and damping that allows you to maintain the best control over your bike through the rough stuff. In addition, the frame and other components will be of lower quality to allow for the cost of the suspension fork, and they may not be up to real off-roading. If your budget really is that low, getting a HardRock Rigid would get you riding off-road on a good bike straight off, and then when you've saved up more money you can add a nice suspension fork. However, many people buy mountain bikes for general purpose riding, not for hard-core off-road riding. MTBs are durable, adaptable machines that can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including riding to work, touring, and just getting out into the countryside for a pleasant spin on a sunny day. If your main use of the bike is not off-road riding, you would be better off getting a rigid (not suspension) fork. Even if your planned use of the bike includes a bit of off-road riding, such as riding on fairly smooth unpaved surfaced (cinder-surfaced bike trails, forest roads), a rigid bike would be best. This is because suspension forks are more expensive, heavier, more likely to go wrong, and more attractive to thieves than rigid forks. In addition, if you stand up to pedal you can lose a fair bit of your energy in bobbing the fork up and down. On rough trails, the suspension fork is so effective at smoothing out the trail bumps that it offsets all these drawbacks, but roads are smooth enough that the fatter tires you get on a MTB provides enough cusioning for all-day comfort in the saddle. This is true even if you get fairly thin (1.5"), smooth, street-specific tires.

Daring Marin: the Muirwoods, a rigid steel MTB!

Decent-quality rigid MTBs can be hard to find. Many people seem to feel that suspension must be better than no suspension, even for road riding, and so avoid MTBs with rigid forks. However, good bikes are out there (some manufacturers call them "Urban bikes"), and I urge you to make the effort to find them. At time of writing, Marin make the Muirwoods, Specialized do the HardRock Rigid, and Ridgeback do a series of bikes called "Switch". These are super choices for general purpose riding. A suspension seatpost is another form of suspension that sometimes crops up on some bikes of this price range. They usually come on bikes meant for town use, or on "comfort bikes" meant for slow riding on flat roads, rather than on bikes aimed at real off-road riding. I feel that a suspension seatport is of use either on or offroad. If you hit a pothole on the road, the main place you feel it is in your backside, and a suspension seatpost can help smooth it out. Off-road, it can help smooth out minor trail bumps, allowing you to stay in the saddle for more situations, which can reduce fatigue. It will be of little help on big bumps, which is why proper rear suspension is useful on a bike used for rough off-road. There are some drawbacks to suspension seatposts, and they are the same as for suspension forks: suspension seatposts are more expensive, heavier, and more likely to go wrong that ordinary ones. However, they are much simpler than suspension forks, and they have much less travel, so the difference in price and reliability isn't so great as with suspension forks.

Do you need disk brakes?

Kona Caldera with disk brakes

Disk brakes are popping up on more and more bikes nowdays, and a few bikes in the price range considered by this article have them. Generally, they are included only on bikes meant for real off-road riding. The main advantages of disk brakes are that they work much better in the wet (especially off-road, since mud can interfere with your braking even more than plain water) and that your rims don't wear down as a result of brake pads rubbing them, so they last alot longer. The rim wear issue ends up being the deciding factor for some people: if you ride in areas with gritty soil, you can wear through rims quite quickly. The disadvantages are that they weigh and cost alot more than rim brakes, add appeal for thieves, and make getting your wheels off the bike a bit more difficult. If you're planning to use your bike mainly for road riding, don't even consider them. They are of most use off-road if you often ride when it's wet, so you'll take full advantage of the reduced rim wear and better wet-weather performance. I would suggest that a beginner would probably be better off without them, because not having them will mean that your bike can have a better frame and components for the same amount of money. You won't really know if you need them until you've been riding awhile and know what sorts of situations you'll be riding in. However, it can pay to buy a bike that's disk-brake ready: it should have disk mounts on the frame, and preferably diskready hubs. Then if you want to upgrade to disk brakes it's a fairly painless process, and not all that expensive, as you'll only pay for the disk brakes themselves.

2. How to recognize a quality bike

You have a limited budget, and you want to get the best bike you can for the money. If you're not sure what to look for, you could be mislead by features that seem to make the bike better, but in fact really don't count for much. Here's what to check out in your bike search.
The frame

As before, we start with the frame. You should be trying to get the best frame you can, within reason. There's no need to spend 500 quid on a frame alone, but you definitely shouldn't be contemplating getting a cheap frame, just so that you can have an (equally cheap) suspension fork on it. Most mountain bikes are made of steel or aluminum. There are two main sorts of steel: high-tensile, and chromoly. High-tensile, aka hi-ten, is pretty much garbage. Don't buy a bike that has any part made of hi-ten steel, whether in the main frame or in the fork. Although there are different sorts of alumimun, there's not much to distinguish them at this price range. Nowadays aluminum frames predominate for the price range we are talking about. This is mainly the result of pressure from the bike buying public. I have been told by bike shop owners that MTB customers much prefer alu bikes over steel, and this is why most manufactorers have abandoned steel for mid-level bikes and above. However alu doesn't have any clear advantage over steel. It can be made perhaps a bit lighter, which is an advantage for top end off-road racing bikes, but is pretty much irrelevant for the midrange bikes we're talking about here. I think that steel has gotten a bad reputation because of high-tensile steel. People remember how lousy their first, cheap, hi-ten bike was, and think that that poor quality is true of all steel bikes. This is not at all the case, and a few daring manufacturers (notably Marin) continue to offer high-quality bike frames made from steel. For both steel and alu, swaged or butted tubing, which has thinner walls in the middle (for lightness) and thicker walls at the ends (for strength) is better than straight-gauge tubing (which is same thickness throughout). One thing you should look for on your frame is the ability to attach things to it. It should have rack/mudguard mounts at the rear dropouts, and rack mounts on the seat stays. You may think this is not needed, that you'll never want to use a rack or full mudguards on your bike, but your needs may change over time. For example, if you get really into off-road cycling you may decide to buy a full-suspension bike, and this one will be relegated to riding to work, or for touring, in which case a rack and mudguards are pretty much essential.

Another thing that's a good idea to look for, if you think that it's likely that you'll really get into off-road riding, are disk brake mounts, both on the main frame and on the fork. These provide better stopping in the wet and eliminate worn out rims through braking, and thus are a good upgrade for the serious off-road rider. If your frame is aluminum (as most MTBs are nowadays) it should have a replaceable derailluer hanger. Crashes often knock the derailluer out of place, and aluminum doesn't tolerate being bent back into shape (it is likely to break if bent back, while bending back a derailluer hanger on a steel bike is not a problem).
Suspension fork

If you've decided that you want a suspension fork, you'll want to know which ones to look for. Generally, sad to say, the more expensive the forks are, the better they are. The more expensive ones are stiffer, easier to maintain, and more "plush" (absorbing bumps of all sizes better). There's quite a variety of fork materials and internal construction, and it's changing all the time. I haven't kept up with the changes, having gotten a suspension fork that I really like! Often MTB magazines run a buyers' guide to forks, so it's best to get this info from them.
Wheels

While the frame is the heart of the bike, the wheels are what makes is a bicycle! Most MTB wheels look similar, but when you get into the details, you'll find the difference between wheels that will fall apart after one month, vs. ones that will keep spinning happily until you finally wear out the rims through braking. Rims. The rim is the outer metal hoop of your wheel. They are made of aluminum. (At least, all the ones in this price range should be. For very expensive bikes you can get ones made of carbon fiber, and for exceedingly cheap bikes they are made out of steel, which is to be avoided at all costs!) Alu is light and provides a good surface for brake blocks to bite into, and they shed water quickly when wet to give you good braking shortly after the brakes pads meet the metal. In cross section, the rim will usually be something like a U shape: the tire attaches to the prongs of the U. The bottom part of the U is often flat on MTB rims, but can be curved, sometimes even almost pointed, like the bottom of a V. Generally, the more curved or pointed the inner part of the rim is, the more strength it will have, but it will also be heavier. One thing that's not so easy to see is that better rims will have an additional bit of metal across the bottom of the U. (Rims with this bit of bracing are called box section if they have a flat part at the bottom of the U, and are called aero section if the bottom part is more V shaped, and are called open section if they lack this bracing.) This bracing greatly adds to the strength of the rim, so much so that it's not a good idea to buy rims without this extra bracing, even for road use. To find out if the rim has this extra bracing, you must take the tire off. If the bed of the rim has wide circular holes in it, then it will be a box or aero section rim. If instead

you can see, underneath the rim tape, small lumps, these are the heads of the spokes attached directly to the rim, and it is an open-section rim. The braking surface of the rim should be plain metal, no colors or anodizing or anything like that. Colored braking surfaces badly affect braking. (The exception is for ceramic rims, which do have a coating on the braking surface, but you won't find these on bikes in this price range.) Some manufacturers put little grooves in the braking surface. This improves braking until the edges of the grooves wear off, but then is the same as for any other rim. I wouldn't pay extra for it. Colors on rims are fine as long as they aren't on the braking surface. Spokes. Generally, MTBs have 32 spokes per wheel. More is not needed (except for perhaps downhill racing or loading touring off-road), and fewer makes for a somewhat weaker wheel for not much weight savings (although some racers do consider this weight savings significant and get wheels with fewer spokes). Spokes should be stainless steel. (Some fancy wheel have spokes are made of aluminum or other materials, but these offer very little benefits over ordinary steel spokes, and they cost alot more and are much harder to replace if you break one.) The best spokes are double butted, which means thinner in the middle than on the end. Butted spokes make for a lighter but stronger wheel (stronger because they stretch slightly when subjected to brief but large impacts, thus absorbing the hit, rather than giving in and buckling the rim). Black spokes are OK, as long as they are still stainless. The best spoking pattern is the traditional three-cross, as on the Kona Blast below. You can get radial spoking on some MTBs, but this is for looks only: it puts much more strain on the hubs for no benefit.

Kona Blast

The wheel needs to be properly tensioned in order to stay together. If the spokes are not tight enough, they will rattle loose as you ride, and then spokes will start to

break since the few spokes that have remained tighter are taking most of the strain. The best way to check for properly tensioned wheels is to pluck the spokes. For the front wheel, they should have an even pitch. For the back, the right side (the side with the gears on it) should have a much higher pitch than the left side. This is because the right side spokes are shorter and have a higher tension than the left side spokes. However, the right side spokes should all have the same tension (hence the same pitch), and all the left side spokes should have the same pitch, but it will be lower than the right side, and usually lower than the front spokes as well. Hubs. Hubs go around, so the best thing to look for is good bearings that let them go around with as little resistance as possible, and good seals to keep them going that way. You can spin the wheels of a bike you're thinking of buying to see how freely they spin. One simple test is to attach a spoke wrench to a spoke at the rim. If the wheels slowly drifts down so that the wrench is at the bottom, it's got good bearings (note that it may not be completely at the bottom, as the valve weighs more than other parts of the tube, and the rim join also weighs more). If the wheel doesn't move at all, it's not as good, but still may be plenty fine when you're riding it. Ask your bike shop if you're uncertain about rim quality. As I mentioned in the previous section (What sort of bike should you get?), if you think that you may get seriously into off-road riding, it's worth buying a bike that has disk-ready hubs, so upgrading to disk brakes will be easier and cheaper. Tires and tubes. I suppose I ought to say something about tubeless tires. They are fairly new on the scene, and not many bikes come with them (certainly none in this price range). I have never used them, so I can't comment on them from a personal perspective. Right now, they look to me like something that doesn't have any clear advantages over the conventional approach, except for racers who are concerned about every last gram. (For example, if you get a bad puncture you'll have to put a tube in anyway.) But in a few years time they may have proven their worth so much that finding a MTB with normal tires will be as difficult as finding a MTB with rigid forks! Back to normal tires. They come in a huge variety of tread patterns, widths, compounds, etc. For on-road use you want a smooth tire, with width between 1.25" and 2". For off-road use, the choice is bewildering. Generally, narrower tires are better in the mud (there's less area for the mud to cling to), but wider tires have more cushioning and grip. Thus the best tire for you depends on your riding conditions. Some tires have a Kevlar bead (the bead is the thing on the very edge of the tire that keeps it on the rim) rather than a steel one. These reduce the weight of the tire with no drawbacks other than being a bit more expensive, so are a good idea if you want to prevent your bike weighing too much. Tubes are mainly distinguished by the valve type (presta or schraeder) and width. For width, get them to match your tires. I prefer presta (aka French valve) to schraeder (aka car tire valve) as I find them easier to pump up. There's not much to

say about tube materials, other than that I have always gotten along well with plain black rubber ones of normal thickness.
Components

You should look carefully at the components on the bike. These are things like brakes, brake levers, shift levers and derailleurs (also known as gears). Generally, the higher spec components last longer and are easier to maintain than the lower ones. They are also more expensive. Getting a good frame should be your priority, but quality of components can help you choose between bikes that have similar frames. The transmition (shift levers and derailleurs) are usually made by Shimano, so it's useful to know the grades of Shimano components. From highest to lowest, they are XTR Deore XT Deore LX Deore Alivio Acera Shimano Alivio logo Altus Tourney You should be looking at getting something at the Alivio range or better. Often manufacturers mix and match components groups. For example a bike could come with an Alivio front derailleur and a Deore rear derailleur. This is sensible, as it puts the better components where they are most needed and keeps the cost down by putting in somewhat cheaper components where less is demanded of the part. Some bikes now come with SRAM transmition components, which are also good. Generally, the larger the number in the Gripshift component's name, the better quality the component will be (for example, 9.0 is better than 7.0). SRAM are best known for their twist shifters. There are two main varieties of SRAM shifters: the ESP (1:1) system which requires their own rear derailleur, and 2:1 system, which works with Shimano rear derailleurs. The Shimano-compatible system relies on the rear derailleur moving about 2mm for every 1mm of cable pulled, while the ESP system has the rear derailleur moving about 1mm for every 1mm of cable. Of these two I much prefer the ESP system, as I find it too easy to shift more gears than I indended to with the 2:1 system. Shifters come in two main styles: twist shifters or lever shifters. It used to be that SRAM made the twist shifters, and Shimano made the trigger shifters, but now SRAM make some trigger shifters and vice versa. Most people prefer one or the other, but you won't know which one you like until you've tried them. Try to test-

ride bikes with both kinds so you'll know which type you'd like to have on your bike. If you find your dream bike, but it comes with the wrong kind of shifters, don't despair. The bike shop will often replace them with the other kind for a small fee or even free. For brakes and brake levers, Shimano, Dia Compe, Gripshift, and Avid are brands to look for. Tektro brakes, while not being top-notch, also do the job pretty well. Never buy a bike with plastic brakes. Often bike companies have their own line of parts. For example, you'll find Specialized components on Specialized bikes and CODA components on Cannondale bikes. It's sometime hard to tell how good these parts are. Often they are excellent quality and value (especially for Specialized and CODA parts), but sometimes they aren't quite a good quality as you might like. There is no general rule here, so ask someone you trust about these parts if you're worried about it.
3. Make sure it fits

It is of the utmost importance to buy a bike that fits you. If the bike doesn't fit, don't buy it, even if you find a bike that's really great at a low price. A bike that doesn't fit will annoy you every time you ride it, and will get in the way when you get out on the trails. First, I recommend that you read Peter White's excellent article on bicycle fit. Now I'll give some specific tips about getting a mountain bike that fits you well. There are two main things to consider when getting a bike that fits you. They are height of bike (usually determined by seat tube length) and length of bike (usually determined by top tube length). Bike frame sizes usually bear some relation to the length of their seat tubes (i.e., they tell you something about the height of the bike). But what is the length of the seat tube? The entire length of it, or from say the middle of the bottom bracket to the middle of the top tube? Haro bikes often have curved top tubes, does their frame size number take that into account? Are the seat tube extensions in Kona bikes included in the frame size? Different manufacturers do things differently, so don't treat the numbers as any definite indication of what bike will fit you best. You may think a frame size sounds too small or large, but what's important is how you feel when you're on it. The only thing that's certain is that given the same model of bike in the same year, a larger number will mean a larger bike. To start with, you need to ensure that you adequate crotch clearance. Generally, you should be aiming at a minimum of 3 to 4 inches. Because mountain bikes are designed to allow this sort of crotch clearance, they are generally very long for their height. Even if you aren't planning on riding your mountain bike offroad (there are

reasons to do this: mountain bikes make good touring bikes, especially for shorter people) you must allow a large amount of crotch clearance to get the appropriate saddle to handlebar distance. If you know the size of a road bike that fits you, you should be getting a mountain bike that has a "frame size" (seat tube height) of at least 2" smaller. This is only the beginning. Now you must look closely at the relative position of the handlebar with respect to the saddle. The best position for you depends on how upright you like to be when riding. Do you want a stretched-out, low-handlebars position (best for maximum speed)? Or an upright position (better for control on downhills and more comfortable for longer rides)? If you're like most of us, you'll want something in between. If you're not sure what position will suit you best, you will want to ride a few bikes around to see what you like. The main thing you should look for is feeling balanced. You shouldn't feel too stretched out. This can put too much weight on your hands, which will make your hands tired and can make the bike likely to nosedive (throwing you over the bars) going downhill and off dropoffs. On the other hand, you shouldn't be too upright, as this can lead to a feeling of being cramped (if the handlebar is too close). Also the higher center of gravity can give you less control over the bike since you can't maneuver your weight around well enough. As a general guide, most of the people I ride with are into recreational cross-country riding, and they usually have handlebars that are at the level of the saddle or a bit below. If you want to race, you may want the handlebars lower. The relative position of handlebars and saddle are affected by several things: the length of the top tube, the height of the head tube, the angle and reach of the stem, and the type of handlebars. Different bikes can offer quite a difference of positions, so try out quite a few bikes before you buy. If you like a more upright position, look for a bike with features like a shorter top tube, a stem that is higher (larger angle between head tube and stem, which makes the handlebars higher) or shorter (which brings the handlebars closer to you), and riser bars.

Fisher Tassajara with original geometry: good for short torsos

Fisher Kaitai with Genesis geometry: good for long torsos

Keep in mind that most bikes are designed with the average person is mind. However, some people have much longer legs than average, some have much longer torsos that average. It used to be part of bike lore that women usually felt to stretched out on bikes because they tend the have proportionally longer legs and shorter torsos, but it turns out that this isn't the case: the real problem is that smaller bikes (which smaller women need to ride) tend to have proportionally longer top tubes than larger bikes, so the handlebars tend to end up further from the saddle. (For more on this see Buying a bike that fits a woman.) If you have a short torso with respect to your height, or if you are small and thus ride a small bike (which tend to have proportionally longer top tubes), you'll want to find ways of bringing the handlebars back towards you. It may be simply a matter of putting on a shorter stem (this is easy to do as MTB stems almost always have well-positioned bolt to let you swap them without disturbing anything mounted on the handlebars). If this doesn't work (you find that the steering is too quick with the shorter stem, or the bars are still too far away) you'll have to look for a bike with a shorter top tube. You could buy a smaller size bike to get a shorter top tube. This usually works reasonably well, as you'll end up with more crotch clearance. You can run into trouble, however, with finding the handlebars too low, which if it's not too low may be fixed by changing the stem for one with a higher rise. Note also that different bikes tend to have different lengths of top tube, so you can choose one that suits your needs better. For example, you might consider the Fisher Tassajara over the Fisher Kaitai because the former have shorter top tubes. If you are small, finding a shorter top tube can be made easier by the womens specific bikes that many manufacturers are making. These bikes have several adaptations for the smaller riders that work as well for shorter men as for short or even average-sized women. They have shorter top tubes, suspension settings for lighter weight, sometimes brake levers with reduced pull. However, don't assume that all bikes labelled as "women's specific" are going to be appropriate for a women or small man rider. Some of them, for example the Trek

and Juliana bikes, are very well thought out fpr the needs of the smaller rider. Many so-called women's specific bikes are way too heavy and offer a ridiculously upright riding position, or really don't have short top tubes. To see a more thorough discussion of women's bikes and components, see What to look for in a women's bike. If you have a long torso with respect to your leg length, you may find the distance to the handlebars too short. One thing you could do is buy a larger framed bike to get a longer distance between you and the handlebars, but this is not at all recommended. Crotch clearance is essential for safe off-road riding. You can replace the stem with a longer stem, but on many bikes this results in slow steering, as it increases the distance from the end of the handlebar (where your hand rests) and the pivot point (the end of the stem that meets the head tube). However, recent trends in mountain bike geometry (pioneered by Fisher with its Genesis geometry) are in your favor. The trend involves somewhat longer top tubes, which enables you to have a shorter stem (which speeds up the steering) and still have the handlebars the same distance from the saddle. In your case, you can then put a longer stem on to get the handlebars out to a good position.
Check your cranks!

Leg Length

MTB Crank Length

Most modern MTBs come with 175mm cranks. This is too long for many people, and too short for some. For more info on this, see my article on cranks. The chart to the right has leg lengths (crotch to floor in bare feet) in the left column and suggested crank lengths for MTBs on the right. Note that this chart is adapted from the chart in my cranks article, by adding 5mm to each crank length in the original chart. This reflects the fact that MTBers tend to use longer cranks than road riders. Note that the industry-standard 175mm cranks actually are ideal for only a very small segment of the population. Taller than that you'll benefit from longer cranks, and shorter than that you'll benefit from shorter cranks.

60 to 65cm 155mm 66 to 70cm 160mm 72 to 75cm 165mm 75 to 78cm 167.5mm 79 to 81cm 170mm 82 to 83cm 172.5mm 83 to 86cm 175mm to 177.5mm

Measure your leg length (the cranks article shows you how) and see where you fit on this chart, and compare 87 to 90cm 180mm to 182.5mm this with the crank length on the bike you're thinking 91 to 94cm 185mm of buying. If the suggested crank length is a sizeable distance (5mm or more) from what's on the bike, it will benefit you to get different length cranks. 94cm plus 190mm Some length cranks are easier to find than others. If your ideal crank length is 170mm, you are in luck. All Shimano cranks come in

either 170mm or 175mm, so if the bike comes with 175mm cranks, ask your bike shop to swap the cranks for an equivalent 170mm crank. They may charge you a small fee to do this, especially if the cranks they take off aren't the same brand as the ones they put on, but it will make pedalling much more stressful on your knees, and it will well and truly be worth it. If the suggested crank length is less than 170mm or greater than 175mm, it can be hard to get exactly what fits you. The shimano Deore XT cranks offer the widest variety I know of: they come in lengths 165/167.5/170/172.5/175/177.5/180mm. Even if your suggested crank length is less than 165mm, or greater than 180mm, it would be very beneficial for you to have a crank length that comes as close to your ideal as you can. I know this is alot of money (these XT cranks aren't cheap) but if you're a serious cyclist, it willd definitely be worth it. Note that it can be difficult to get these non-standard lengths of cranks. For example, 165mm versions weren't available in the UK. But you can order them from the US. See the cranks article for more info. If you have very short legs and can't afford a 165mm Deore XT chainset, then if your bikes comes with 175mm cranks, at the very least get them swapped for 170mm cranks. It won't be optimal for you, but it will be far better than sticking with the extremely long cranks that came with the bike.

4. The bike-buying process

If you want a bargain bike, the best time to buy is in September. At that point, next year's models have come out, so bike shops clear out their old stock to make space for the hot new items. As time goes on, prices continue to go down, but selection decreases as well. By February, you might get a very good deal on the previous year's model, but you'd be really lucky if you could find the bike you want in your size. You should buy a bike from your local shop. At least, a shop that isn't too far away, so you can go back if you have any problems with the bike. You can often get bikes cheaper if you buy them by mail order, but if you haven't ridden the exact bike you want to buy bike, you could very well end up with one that doesn't fit you. Even if you have ridden the bike you want to buy, you should still get it from a local shop. Not only can you then get them to fix it if there are any problems with it, but they will also do swaps for you for little or no money. For example, they could add bar ends or change the stem, saddle, or shifters. Go into all the shops that you would consider buying from, and see what they have in your price range. Take home a catalog so you can check out the details of the bikes (frame material, quality of components, suspension fork, etc). Or you can

check out these details on the Web (see my list of links to find URLs for a variety of manufacturers). This will allow you to find the highest quality bikes in your price range. Go back to the shops and try out the bikes. Convince them to get a bike of your size in, if they don't have it already. If the bike doesn't fit you perfectly, see how willing they are to swap parts (e.g. stems) to get it there. After this, you should have a pretty good idea of what you want: you'll have found a good bike that fits you. If you're still uncertain as to what to buy, you can post to a mailing list or newsgroup to ask if anyone has experience with the bikes you're contemplating. If you want, you can try to haggle a bit when you buy the bike. You'll have the best luck trying to get accessories for a reduced price rather than getting money off the bike itself. Here are some accessories you will need.

Something to carry water. It's a good idea to start off with a water bottle and cage. Lots of people use water packs like Camelbak for mountain biking, but even these people often use water bottle for short trips. Basic lights, if there's ever any chance that you might be out on your bike after dark. These lights are of little use off-road, but they can be used as torches to get you back to roads if you're out later than you expect, and from there you can ride safely back home. Check out some recommendations here. A minimal toolkit Bike gloves. They protect your hands in case of a fall, give you a better grip on the handlebars, and help dampen shock. Helmet. You crash alot off-road, and there are hard things like rocks and roots along to bash your head against.

HAPPY RIDING!