Mountain bikers often wear loosely fitted shorts, a jersey and helmets with sun peaks. Shorts have zip pockets to carry a multi tool, keys, and phone etc. Baggy shorts sometimes have riders using a breathable under-short liner featuring a chamois for extra comfort. Full Finger Gloves are must for MTB riding, they give extra padding on rougher terrain but most importantly protect your hands in a crash. More adventurous MTB riders should really look at using knee pads too, ones that don’t restrict movement as they will be comfy for longer pedals but enough protection to reduce the impact against grazes in a fall.

All bikes should have a drink bottle cage and water bottle. When riding in the woods you need to be prepared, carry a spare tube and know how to change it. Make sure you have a multi tool, tyre levers and a pump (or Co2) to inflate that tube trail side. Don’t forget to pack an energy bar too. Running out of room in your pockets? A backpack with water bladder or saddle bag is a way to carry all you need.

Mountain biking always requires good sturdy shoes with decent grip so you stick to the pedals on the rough stuff. Some off-roaders use ‘flat pedals’. These are great for a novice to learn the ropes, skilled riders also use these for more control. The other cyclists use ‘clip in pedals’ where your foot is attached to the pedal with a cleat on the bottom of the shoe. MTB clip in shoes are different to road shoes - as you are more likely to walk around on loose terrain, they have grip on the souls. When looking into shoes, laces offer a casual look and traditionally more comfy to newer cyclists, while the shoes with buckles and dials are more performance orientated with stiffer soles for power transfer.

A good floor pump! Too much air pressure on your tires or too little can make a fun trail terrible. When you go for a ride you should check your tyres - floor pumps make short work of inflating tyres in the car park or at home.

You will also need a good fitting, good quality helmet. Over the rough stuff, a bad fitting helmet will move around and distract you. You want it to be snug and comfy. Remember what a helmet is designed to do, protect your head in a crash, this is a place to invest in a quality product. And lastly - a trail map, a friend (or someone who at least knows where you are) and a phone.

Firstly look what you are needing a light for, to be seen or to see? If you’re riding around town, chances are you want to be seen. Check out rechargeable LED lights. These are great for seeing the path in front of you and have a flashing mode for when in traffic or commuting. General purpose front lights range from 50 to about 500 lumens and can be recharged with a USB lead. Fit these to your handlebars and a red rear light to your seat post.

When looking at MTB night riding, you really need to see what’s approaching on the trail. BikeChain recommends lights above 1000 Lumens of output to be required as a minimum. This light is best placed on your helmet rather than your handlebars. Helmet lights allow you to see when you are looking at features or around corners to see where you’re going. Also consider how long you ride at night - lights often claim a run time which needs to match the time you are out riding for too.

Types of mountain biking

If you’re looking for a specialist mountain biking pursuit, you’ve got plenty of options! 

Downhill

Not for the faint-hearted, downhill riding may or may not incorporate a lift up the hill, only to require sound bike-handling skills (and all the proper protective gear - read further on) and suspension to handle the wicked descent. 

Freeriding 

Consider this form of cycling the love child of BMX, downhill and dirt jumping. Whilst the term originated from the world of snowboarding, it quickly leapt into the cycling vernacular, too, and describes a creative, unique and, dare we say, free line along a trail. It’s DIY, choose-your-own-adventure stuff, and it’s incredible! 

Trail riding

Well, the name pretty much says it all, right? Trail riding is - you guessed it - on trails. Be they single tracks, fire roads, bridle paths, whatever. So, it would be unusual to come across too many vehicles when it comes to trail riding, which is a real plus to the sport and makes it extra sweet. 

Enduro

Beginning its life as a racing discipline over stages, enduro refers to a hybrid of downhill and trail riding. Bikes are typically long in travel (150mm-180mm) whilst still being light enough to pedal uphill at a moderate tempo. The majority of enduro racing takes place downhill and typically on rough terrain. Of course, it depends on the location, but Enduro can be anything from a short-burst sprint challenge to a momentous, extreme smash-fest, with even pro riders taking a quarter of an hour to get from start to finish. Think maximum effort and mighty adrenaline rush. 

XC or Cross-Country

Expect a little bit of anything and everything with this style of biking. From obstacles, rock gardens and technical elements to open spaces, singletracks and bush roads. But, if you’re going to compete in XC, be ready to dial it up a notch. You need to know how to handle the bike with anything that comes your way. It is all about power, speed, suspension, climbing prowess, off/on bike skills, an ability to carry the bike over obstacles - the whole shebang! 

Mountain bike features

As you’ve just read, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to mountain biking. You can be as broad or as niche as you want. As a result, mountain bike features will vary significantly depending on the riding style. However, you can spot a typical mountain bike with the following: 

Frame 

The type of suspension (see below) will dictate the frame type, so the choice is either hardtail or suspension. For a lighter and, in most cases, cheaper option, hardtails are the go-to option. Although this is typically the type of frame for a beginner or mid-level rider, there are certainly plenty of super-skilled mountain bikers who are just die-hardtailers, pardon the pun. 
A suspension bike frame must, of course, incorporate a shock absorber so that the bike has ‘travel’ (the ability to move independently and take the shock of impact). The level of travel can vary, with lightweight racing bikes featuring about 100mm compared to gravity frames with upwards of 200mm.
Mountain bike frames are available in various materials, just like their road-riding counterparts. Aluminium, steel, titanium, and carbon are the most common materials used for mountain bike frames. 

Suspension (shock absorption)

Suspension is a big deal, particularly for the more extreme side of the sport. Expect to see obvious suspension either in the front of the bike only (hardtail) or both the front and back (full suspension). The debate of hardtail versus full is as old as the hills in which you will likely take your MTB baby riding. So, in an effort to keep this shorter and sharper, we will leave that discussion for another day! 

Brakes

Sure, there are still plenty of mountain bikes out there with v-brakes (two long arms that apply pressure to the rims when the cable is squeezed). However, disc is establishing itself as the dominant kid on the block, particularly in mucky and muddy conditions where they are superior. Cable-actuated braking makes for much easier maintenance and flexibility (most callipers and levers are compatible with one another). But for precision and powerful stopping that works in rain or shine, disc brakes are the new standard. 
Now, when it comes to disc brakes you have two choices: cable-actuated or hydraulic braking systems.  Mechanical disc brakes rely on a steel cable to transition force from the levers to the callipers, which push a piston that pushes the brake pad against the disc (also called the rotor), thus slowing down the wheel (or stopping it dead in its tracks, depending on the force applied!). 
However, as the name suggests, hydraulic braking is activated by a brake line filled with fluid. This triggers a piston in the brake callipers, which in turn push the braking pads onto the rotors, again slowing - or immediately stopping - the wheel.
So, which is best? OK, hydraulic braking systems are more expensive and require more experienced maintenance (but isn’t that what a good bike shop is for?!). However, we believe they are hands down worth it. Superior and smoother stopping power, better control, easier to handle, lighter and faster riding (because you’re stopping faster) mean our vote goes to hydraulics every time.

Pistons

We’ve mentioned pistons above. In the world of mountain biking, you have two choices: 2-piston or 4-piston brakes. As the name suggests, 2-piston calipers use a brake pad and piston on either side of the disc (so two in total). In contrast, 4-piston calipers involve a brake pad and two pistons on either side of the disc. As you can imagine, the more pistons and the bigger their size, the increased force they create, thus resulting in more powerful braking. 

Rotors (or discs)

As we’ve mentioned, rotors are the actual discs attached to the wheel hub. The larger the rotor, the more rigorous the type of cycling. For example, you might see a small 160mm rotor on a cross-country bike but up to 203mm for a downhill MTB. The bigger the rotor the more efficiently it can handle heat. However, with size comes weight, and ideally, you want to keep your bike as light as possible. Check out this great Hope Rotor guide for more information. 

Flat handlebars

Unlike its road riding cousin, a mountain bike features flat handlebars only, no drops. This is partly because the very nature of this riding means there’s little time to sit back, relax and just stretch it out for kilometre after kilometre. Mother Nature just doesn’t come that neatly packaged! And don’t we love that… 
MTB handlebars come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The two common bar diameters are 31.9mm and, more recently, 35mm. Either is up to the task, with 35mm offering less flex and a more direct feel. Keep in mind when purchasing a new bar/stem that you know which configuration you need. The rise and width of a handlebar is also personal. XC bikes typically feature narrower bars, whilst flat-out downhill riders tend to opt for 800mm and beyond to maximise high speed stability and increase leverage. Finally, the rise of a handlebar will help compensate different stem heights and aid riders who want to raise or lower their set up

Wheels and tyres 

This is another feature that really makes a mountain bike stand out from the pack. You know how we said suspension was a hot topic for debate? Well, wheel size might possibly take that to the next level. But again, that’s another debate for another day. There are basically three types of wheel options available to you: