explain this for a noob

[joelly]

Hi,im looking for a bike and id like someone to explain the difference between a down hill bike and a all mountain bike.A friend of mine has a specialised pitch,im told that this is an all mountain bike,im looking for something similar,i like the kona stinky but it may be a down hill bike,is this so.Can someone give me some examples of some all mountain bikes,my price range is 1500 to 2000 second hand.The kind of riding ill be doing is fire trails,single track,some not too hectic down hill and general of road stuff.

thanks.

 

[Andobrahh]

Not meaning to sound rude but... how can you think a dh rig is similar to an all mtn.

 

[kizza01]

The above poster, you are a moron.

To the thread starter. A DH bike is duel suspension, long, low and has a slack head angle. Generally these bikes are terrible for any XC, trail, road riding - or at least my orange is. Im not familiar with the Specialized Pitch, but an All Mountain bike can be Duel Suspension or Hardtail, built strong enough to do a little down hill, with a weight and riding position that it is comfortable to ride road and trails with.

As for the Stinky, it is classed as a freeride bike, which I take as a word for hardcore all mountain. They can be ridden around on trails and the like, but too much uphill will suck on this bike. The downhill sections will be a breeze but it wont corner as well as a proper DH bike. If you bought one it could definately be set up for All Mountain with some lighter parts/tyres and a double ring up the front, maybe even a lock out fork and a longer stem.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jimass]

Above poster, you are a genuis.

I agree with pretty much every thing he said.

 

[Andobrahh]

Sorry I wasn't trying to be effencive. Iv said heaps of stupid things and asked obviouse questions in my past threads and trust me, what you said wasn't stupid. A downhill has a much higher standover and longer travel. An all mountain can be used for downhill but not agresively, they are designed for more softer riding. A DH is also alot heavier because the frame is alot thicker and wouldn't suit you because you said in your other thread you want to use this bike to travel to and from work. hope that helps and sorry for my preveouse reply, I was being a try-hard

 

[joelly]

Not meaning to sound rude but... how can you think a dh rig is similar to an all mtn.

thats why i was asking because i dont know the difference.A lot of terms are thrown around about bikes and i wanted to be clear on the difference,
anyway im posting this in the noob section,i think i can be forgiven for not knowing the difference.

 

[Camoo]

Basically:
Downhill= Massive dual supension on forks(the front supension) and shock(the supension at the back, usually a coil spring), usually 6-10 inches travel
All Mountain= A bike meant for everything a normal person will go through in a day, hill, dirt, rough etc. Usually 4-6 inches suspension travel.

 

[24alpha]

anyway im posting this in the noob section,i think i can be forgiven for not knowing the difference.

Yes you can........we all start out somewhere!


AMB are changing faster than I can change my underwear. Bikes like the Norco Six "use"to be an AMB now they are an Agressive AMB. Used in Slowstyle comps etc. Bikes like Ironhorses Sachem and MKII, Norco's Fluid, GT's Force are now considered AMB.
The key is, 5-6" of travel, atleast 2 chain rings.

 

[sir_stacks_alot]

It would be worth the look at giants range they have some decent bike.
I know you said second had but this is all i found might be a bit to out of your price range.
http://www.farkin.net/forums/showthread.php?t=129122&highlight=giant+reign
But is the type of bike you should be looking at for all mtn.

 

[Camoo]

Depending on where you get it from i recommend a Mongoose Single Black Diamond They are great bikes that dont break your budget if you dont get ripped off

 

[cj.]

Well. for starters "noob"is spelt n00b.
You could pick a fairly spec'd out norco six 2 or something between 1500-2000. You probably dont want to get a long travel duallie if you are doing just single track and a bit of everything. Like the bloke above said, the black diamond single is a fairly good bike for a beginner, but, IMO you would be better of getting a really spec'd out bike.

 

[kizza01]

Above poster, you are a genuis.

I agree with pretty much every thing he said.

Aw schucks, you're making me blush.

 

[Jimass]

Aw schucks, you're making me blush.

Well that is what i do.

Basically an all mountain bike is a bike with four to six inches of travel, generally with single crown forks, and usualy rear suspension as well.

 

[joelly]

thanks for the imput,im not to sure why the term nOOb is spelt the way it is,mabey im getting old or something,i think its a race between Norco and Kona,i like Norco because they are heavy sturdy bikes,but anyway ill have many more questions im sure in the future.