Cross Country Mountain Biking

Cross country mountain biking is cross country at its finest. Where free riders and downhill bikers use four wheel bikes and ski lifts to get them to their destination, cross country bikers get to the top of the mountain by the ride.

Though free riding is very popular, the life vein of the sport has always been cross country biking. Just as cross country riders are a different breed, the bikes they ride are as well. The cross country bike is completely different in many ways from other types of mountain riding bikes. The premise for cross country riders is speed. Everything about their bikes revolve with the idea of making the bikes faster and faster. Bikes used in cross country mountain biking can be fully rigid frame, hardtails, or even full suspension frames.

Through the years, the cross over to full suspension has become very popular. The weight difference between free ride bikes and cross country bikes are considerable. You''ll be extremely hard pressed to find a bike that weighs more than 24 pounds, and even that weight can be heavy. Free ride bkes weigh close to 40 pounds, which makes the difference in weight pretty close.

If you''ve never tried cross country mountain biking, you''ll probably find it to be a break from the ordinary. Even though this type of biking involves trails, it''s normally the type of terrain that beginners wouldn''t want to ride. Involving hills and rough terrain, cross country biking offers quite the rush.

For mountain bikers everywhere, cross country is the way to go. It offers you a new assortment of bikes, new areas to bike, and a new twist to mountain biking as you know it.

If you''ve been looking for a mountain biking rush, cross country mountain biking is what you need to be experiencing.

Andy Manifield is the owner of On Mountain Biking, THE best source of information on the subject. Everything from advice on lubricating your chain to where to go on your next mountain biking trip.