Are you a beginner mountain biker looking to purchase your first mountain bike? Then this post is for you!
Here is my complete guide on how to buy a mountain bike. Read on and make your first mountain bike purchase a success!
This post is part of my beginner mountain biking series, which also includes the following:
How to Buy the Best Used Mountain Bike for You
13 Best Beginner Mountain Bikes of 2023
Mountain Bike Trail Etiquette – The Do’s and Don’ts of Mountain Biking
How to Choose the Right Mountain Bike for You
Before we get into specific tips around things like what components to prioritize, let’s talk about actually choosing a mountain bike that’s right for you. Why?
Well, a bike’s components, geometry, weight, and so on are only meaningful if it is the right mountain bike for you and the trails you’ll be riding. Even the best downhill mountain bikes will ride terribly on cross country trails. The newest suspension, best geometry, and lightest frame aren’t going to change that.
So, first things first, here’s the six-step process I recommend you follow when buying your first mountain bike!
Step 1: Determine What Trails You’ll Be Riding Most
Step one in choosing the right mountain bike is determining what trails you’ll be riding the most.
Over the past decade, mountain bike companies have started to design bikes for each type of trail, meaning you can buy a mountain bike specifically designed for your favourite riding style. The better the mountain bike matches your trails, the more fun it’ll be to ride. That’s why it’s so important to think about what trails you’ll be riding most.
If you’re new to mountain biking, your understanding of mountain bike categories may be limited. So, let’s take a closer look at the most common ones.
Cross Country
Cross country mountain bikes are great at climbing and are the ideal choice if you want to ride long distances (40+ kilometres). They are lightweight, have minimal travel (100-120mm), and have steeper head angles (67.5°+), making them highly efficient at going uphill, handling tight/slow-moving turns, and maintaining speed over flat terrain.
Unfortunately, what makes them great at climbing makes them bad at descending, with the shorter travel and steeper head angles making cross country bikes more difficult to control when going downhill.
As such, you should choose a cross country bike if you want to crush uphills, cruise over flat terrain, and set out on all-day epics. Don’t buy a cross country bike if your primary focus is going downhill as fast as possible.
Some of today’s best cross country mountain bikes include the following:
Trail
Trail bikes are your classic do-it-all machine, combining the best of cross country and enduro bikes. They are still relatively lightweight, have slightly more travel than XC bikes (130-150mm), and have more forgiving geometry for higher descending speeds.
As such, trail bikes are among the most popular category of mountain bikes, as they excel at a wider variety of trail systems. Being less focused on only doing one thing well makes them excellent beginner mountain bikes, as their suspension and geometry find a nice middle ground that is easy to handle and build your skills on.
If you’re looking for pretty easy climbing, fast and fun traverses, and ripping downhills, a trail bike is a great choice!
Some of today’s best trail bikes include the following:
Enduro
Enduro bikes are like the bigger and stronger brother of the trail bike. Everything has been dialled up a notch, focusing more on descending and going fast over rough terrain. As such, enduro bikes typically have 160-180mm of travel, and their geometry is slacker to remain more stable at higher speeds.
While still relatively efficient at climbing, the increased weight and travel will make it more difficult compared to a cross country or trail bike. On the flip side, stability while going downhill will greatly increase your confidence to go fast, ride rougher terrain, and hit bigger features.
Overall, enduro bikes are a great choice if you’re riding lift-accessed bike parks, shuttling, or taking fire roads to get to downhill trails. Easy climbing and rowdy downhills are the name of the game with enduro bikes.
Some of today’s best enduro bikes include the following:
Downhill
Downhill mountain bikes are great for one thing only – going downhill. They are heavy, have the most travel on the market (200mm), and have the slackest geometry of any mountain bike category. The result is a downhill crushing machine that will eat up the roughest trails, steepest descents, and biggest hits.
As such, you should only buy a downhill bike if you plan on riding lift-accessed bike parks. If you plan on riding anywhere else, a downhill bike is not for you. Buy an enduro bike instead that can be pedalled uphill and still hit big features and steep descents.
Some of today’s best downhill bikes include the following:
Fat Bike
Fat bikes are a complete outlier here but undoubtedly worth mentioning if some of you live in a colder climate and want to ride one bike year-round.
Fat bikes are designed to accommodate soft terrain like snow, allowing you to float and ride on top of loose surfaces that would otherwise be unrideable with standard mountain bike tires. They can also be ridden on traditional mountain bike trails, making them a good one-bike option for those wanting to ride 12 months a year.
The topic of fat bikes is complicated, with too many pros and cons to discuss here. If you’d like, you can visit our post, “What is a Fat Bike,” to learn more!
That said, some of today’s best fat bikes include the following:
Step 2: Set Your Budget
You’ve determined what type of mountain bike is best for you – great! The next step in how to buy a mountain bike is setting your budget. Like anything, you must decide how much you want to spend to ensure you’re looking at suitable options. There’s no sense in looking at $10,000 mountain bikes if your budget is only $4,000.
That said, here are two tips you may want to consider when setting your budget:
- Don’t spend your maximum. If you do, you’ll be worried about breaking your bike, resulting in you riding hesitantly and not making the most of your new purchase. I recommend setting your budget at 80% of your max. This will let you ride your bike like it’s meant to be ridden while leaving some money behind for maintenance and upgrades.
- Consider diminishing returns. The sweet spot for mountain bikes is the $3,000 to $6,000 range. Here, you’ll receive the most value for your money. Push past the $6,000 range, and you receive very little value for the additional cost.
As a beginner mountain biker, I recommend setting your budget to mid-range bikes. Anything in the $3,000 to $6,000 range will perform incredibly well and be of great value.
Step 3: Learn What Brands Local Bike Shops Stock
You know what type of bike you want and how much you’re willing to spend. Next, research your local bike shops to see what brands they stock.
But aren’t online retailers like YT and Canyon selling great mountain bikes for less than most bike shops? Yes, absolutely. But, as a beginner mountain biker, I highly recommend purchasing your first mountain bike from a shop where you’ll receive expert advice, consistent service, and help with any warranty issues. Not until you’re more well-versed in the world of mountain biking do I recommend purchasing from online retailers.
So, search online and see what bike shops are nearby and what brands of mountain bikes they stock.
Step 4: Research Those Mountain Bike Companies
I said to search online and not go into the shop, primarily due to gathering unbiased information. By default, mountain bike shops are biased toward the brands they stock, and you will receive nothing but positives if you go in and talk to the staff about the brands they carry.
Instead, I recommend going online and researching the mountain bike brands your local shops stock. Visit the different company websites and see what bikes they each sell in the category you’re looking for. Compare the model options of each brand that fall within your budget to see what components and geometry each brand offers. Pro tip, geomtrygeeks.bike is an excellent tool for quickly comparing mountain bike geometries.
Once you have a better idea of what mountain bike models you’re most interested in, look at Reddit, ask a local mountain bike Facebook group (Mountain Bikers Ontario for me), or search YouTube to see if people have any experience with the bikes you’re looking at. You can also search mountain bike websites like Pinkbike or Vital to see if they’ve released any reviews of the bikes.
Essentially, research and ask around to get honest feedback on the companies and the bikes you’re considering. Here are some good questions to ask:
- How does the bike ride? How does it climb? How does it descend?
- What types of trails do you most often ride with it? Do you feel over or under-biked for those trails?
- Has anything broken? If so, how was the warranty process?
- What would you say are the overall pros and cons of the bike?
Asking questions like this should provide you with great and honest feedback about the bikes you’re interested in!
Step 5: Test Ride Different Options
At this point, you should have narrowed down your options to just a few bikes. Now it’s time to head to the shop and get a feel for each option.
As a side note, no matter what you’re told – the bike fits this way; if you’re this tall and your inseam is this long, you need this size – I would not buy a bike without test riding it first. There are simply too many factors that actually go into a bike fitting and riding the way you like. The only way you will truly know is by actually sitting on the bike and riding it around. By the way, any model of the bike you’re interested in will do for test riding, so long as the geometry is the same. So, head into the shop and feel things out.
One step beyond going into the shop is to hit up a demo day. Depending on where you live, these may happen frequently or virtually never. The easiest way to find out is to speak to your local shops and mountain bike associations or search on the bike manufacturers’ websites to see if they are hosting any demo days near you. If so, I highly recommend going. Riding the different bikes around the shop’s parking lot is great, but getting out on the trails and seeing how each truly handles is even better.
Step 6: Buy Your Favourite
And finally, it’s time to purchase your favourite mountain bike. Not much else to say here – you test rode the different options, and one of them felt the best. So you buy it, square up with the shop, and off you go. That’s how to buy a mountain bike. Welcome to the incredible sport of mountain biking!
I put together a list of the best beginner mountain bikes. There you’ll find my recommendations for the best beginner mountain bikes in today’s most popular mountain bike categories!
10 Tips For Buying A Mountain Bike as a Beginner
The above section was a general look at how to buy a mountain bike.
But, within that process are several opportunities to implement some knowledge to help make the buying experience more enjoyable and ensure you’re getting the most from your first mountain bike.
Here are my top 10 tips to help you do just that!
Tip 1: Don’t Worry About Geometry
Geometry is perhaps the most talked about thing in mountain biking today. Riders are obsessed with it and will discuss the impact of a 0.5° head angle difference for hours. So, why shouldn’t you worry about it?
Well, new mountain bikes are incredibly well-designed, and choosing an option with bad geometry is hard. Most companies have centred around similar numbers that work great for most riders, meaning there is very little difference between today’s top bikes. As a beginner mountain biker, you won’t be able to attribute the slight differences you feel between bikes to their different geometry numbers. It’s simply not worth spending hours agonizing over – choose the bike that feels best, and don’t worry about its geometry.
Tip 2: Don’t Worry About Weight
Another thing experienced mountain bikers like to discuss is weight. In my opinion, it’s simply not worth worrying about. Again, most new mountain bikes within the same category are going to be within a few pounds of one another, and you’re not going to be able to feel the difference while riding.
Not only that, but heavier bikes outperform lighter bikes in both climbing and descending all the time. The bike’s suspension design and tuning actually play a far more significant role in a bike’s performance than its weight.
Tip 3: Don’t Worry About Having the Highest-End, Most Adjustable Parts
As a beginner mountain biker, it’s not worth worrying about having the highest-end and most adjustable parts. At this point, you should be worried about buying consistent and reliable parts that will hold up over time and serve as a great foundation to learn on.
Aside from a few less grams and a few more options, most high-end parts do the same thing as their lower-end counterparts but for a lot more money. Don’t fall into the trap of spending obscene amounts of money on the highest-end parts – it’s not worth it.
Tip 4: Prioritize Suspension & Brakes
If there’s one place to prioritize your money, it’s on suspension and brakes. In my opinion, they are the biggest contributors to how well a bike handles and the additional cost for better suspension and brakes is worth it.
All things equal, a bike with mid-level suspension and mid-level brakes will almost always be worth the additional cost compared to a bike with low-end suspension and brakes. So, opt for the bike with better suspension and brakes!
Tip 5: Opt for Tubeless From the Start
Nearly all wheelsets will come tubeless ready, meaning you’ll have a liquid sealant instead of having an innertube inside your tire. The main benefit of tubeless tires is running your tires at lower pressures, allowing you to maintain a better grip. There is also a much lower risk of pinch flats, which is always a plus!
So, ask the shop to set your bike up tubeless if it isn’t already!
Tip 6: Aluminum Frame with Great Parts > Carbon Frame with Bad Parts
As you look around for mountain bikes, you’ll likely notice that many companies offer the same bike with aluminum and carbon frame options. Another common thing is to have aluminum bikes with higher spec’d parts selling for the same or less than carbon bikes with lower spec’d parts.
When you see this, I recommend choosing the aluminum frame with better parts over the carbon frame with worse parts. In my opinion, the higher-end parts will improve your bike far more than the marginal benefits, like less weight and more stiffness, that come from carbon. Aluminum frames are also much more durable, something worth valuing when you’re just starting out and are likely to crash more than a few times.
Tip 7: Avoid SRAM SX and NX Drivetrains
I don’t often like to single out manufacturers or parts for being bad. Usually, it comes down to preference and a drivetrain that one person may hate, another person may enjoy.
But, having been on the market for many years, the universal consensus of SRAM’s SX and NX drivetrains is that they are poorly made and work terribly. Unfortunately, many bike manufacturers spec them on their bikes, so one of your preferred options will likely have SX or NX parts.
Just be aware that they are known to perform poorly. You’d be much better off choosing a bike with or upgrading to something like SRAM’s GX drivetrain, Shimano’s Deore drivetrain, or Shimano’s SLX drivetrain.
Tip 8: Don’t Settle on the Tires Your Bike Comes With
I wouldn’t be too concerned with the tires your new mountain bike comes with. That said, I recommend picking up some different tire options and testing them once you get familiar with your bike and how it handles.
Tires have an incredible impact on your bike’s traction. Although you may feel the tires your bike came with are performing great, it’s really only possible to know once you compare and contrast with other setups. This has happened to me several times. Every time I try a new tire setup, I am pleasantly surprised at how much more control I have over the bike.
Tire options are immense, and recommendations depend highly on your riding style and the material your trails are built from. That said, here are some of the most common do-it-all mountain bike tires:
Tip 9: Avoid Integrated Cockpits
In general, I would avoid purchasing a bike with an integrated cockpit – that is, a cockpit where the stem and handlebars are one piece. The reason behind this is quite simple; you lose all adjustability and are stuck to the manufacturer’s design.
You can’t choose to run wider or narrow handlebars, you can’t swap in a shorter or longer stem, and you can’t add additional spacers to raise your cockpit. As you become more comfortable with your bike, these are reasonable adjustments you will want to make to improve your bike’s handling and control. So, I recommend not purchasing a bike with an integrated cockpit.
Tip 10: Avoid Proprietary Parts/Systems
Proprietary parts and systems are great in theory – they have been specifically designed and manufactured to perform better than other options on the market. But, in reality, they don’t often outperform their competitors. Even when they do, being stuck with one service option and limited parts availability is not worth it.
Instead, I recommend sticking with common companies like SRAM, Shimano, and Fox, whose systems and components are serviceable by all bike shops and whose parts are readily available. This will limit downtime when things inevitably break and keep you riding more often!
Final Thoughts
There’s never been a better time than now to buy a mountain bike as a beginner. Thanks to incredible advancements in geometry, materials, and components, today’s average mountain bike is infinitely better than the average mountain bike in 2013.
The real difficulty is sorting through the multitude of options and opinions and taking the leap of actually purchasing your first mountain bike. By following the above process and recommended tips on how to buy a mountain bike, you can dial in a few great options for yourself fairly quickly. From there, do your best to ride each of them and simply go with the one that feels the best.
No matter your choice, you’ll have a brand-new mountain bike, and endless days of fun are just in front of you!
Frequently Asked Questions
If it’s within your budget, you should spend at least $3,000-$3,500 on your first mountain bike. This will ensure you buy a great mountain bike with a quality frame and reliable components.
You should purchase a full suspension mountain bike as a beginner. Full suspension mountain bikes are more forgiving, easier to handle, and better suited to most mountain bike trails.
Yes, mountain biking is hard for beginners. It is both physically and technically challenging when you are first starting. However, your cardio will get better over time. Your mountain bike handling skills will improve, too, making mountain progressively easier as you become more experienced.
It generally takes beginner mountain bikers three months to get in shape. This is based on riding 2-3 times a week for 1-2 hours. The more you ride and the harder you push, the faster you’ll get into shape.
At the very least, you need a mountain bike, helmet, shoes (flats or clipless, depending on your pedals), gloves (optional but recommended), jersey, shorts, and a water bottle and/or hydration pack. From there, you can consider other things like sunglasses, padded shorts, hip packs, multi-tools, and so on – your options are endless!
