Downhill Mountain Bikes Overview

No doubt you are thinking to yourself, “I thought all bikes went downhill.” Times have certainly changed. The cycling industry has exploded in recent years. With Lance Armstrong bringing new vigor to the sport, it seems like everyone is getting back on a bike. Road cycling has a stepbrother, and it is called mountain biking. Mountain biking, though getting its inaugaral spin in the late 60’s and early 70’s, has really come into its own in the last 10-15 years. 

 

Now there is a bike for everyone. If you like distance you can get a cross country bike, if you like jumps you can get a dirt jumping bike, if you like to race downhill you can get a downhill bike. But just what is downhill racing? Downhill mountain bike racing involves racecourses that are designed for riders to speed down while navigating huge jumps, berms, table-tops and more. It is extremely similar to motocross races, instead of a flat course made in a stadium; mountain bike courses are built on hills/mountains in order to provide the speed factor. 

 

Downhill bikes are built similar to freeride or out-of-bounds bikes. Both bikes demand extreme amounts of travel. Travel refers to the amount of play in the bikes shocks. Downhill bikes have what is called full suspension. This means that the front and rear of the bike has a shock absorber. Travel is important for downhill bikes because it allows the rider to absorb hits, jumps and berms, at high speeds and still maintain control. 

 

The following is a spec chart for a typical downhill bike. These particular specs are taken from Kona Mountain Bike’s webpage www.konaworld.com. The bike begin reviewed is the Kona Stinky Primo:

 

 

The highlighted specs indicate the type of front and rear shock on this downhill bike. Notice that this particular bike has 7 inches of rear travel and over 10.5 inches of front travel. With that much travel the rider is assured an enormous amount of safety and bounce while plummeting downhill.