What is the difference between cross country and trail riding

Tires - A Cross-country bike has smoother tires to enhance faster rolling for maximum speed while the trail bikes feature wide and heavily threaded tires for better grip and stability on unstable grounds. Apart from the physical features of theses mountain bikes, they can also be identified by their capabilities, or what they can do better than the other. For example, cross country mountain bikes are slower on the descent and faster on climbs and flat surfaces.

Trail mountain bikes are slower on climbs and fast and fun to ride on down hills. Considering the overall speed, the cross country bikes are far much faster than trails bikes.

While the trail bikes can take a corner quite aggressively with more grip, the cross country is able to maneuver sharper corners with more agility. The trail bikes do break faster and more precisely. The cross country bike is lighter and quicker in acceleration and steering while the trail bikes are heavier and optimized for descends.

Today's mountain bikes have become extremely specialized in terms of their intended use. On one extreme you will find the cross-country racing mountain bikes. On the other extreme, you will find the downhill racing mountain bikes. The trail mountain bike sits in between the two types of bikes and tries to serve the purposes of both ends but to a limited extent.

How to set up your mountain bike is important. Click to check out how to set up a mountain bike. Or you can watch a quick video below that will show you the steps You can tell the difference between them by having a closer look at the handlebars, the stem length, the suspension travel, the brake rotor, the tires, and the head angle. The handle bars vary in length with the shorter ones for cross country bikes and the longer ones for trail bikes. Long stem length creates the appropriate body posture for cross country bikers while short stem lengths pull the cyclist backward for safer down hill riding on the trail.

A long suspension travel is fit for trail bikes while cross country bikes feature a shorter travel on the suspension. Trail bikes have a large brake rotor for a more powerful breaking experience while cross-country bikes have smaller brake rotors. The tires on a cross country mountain bike are thinner relatively smoother for maximum speed compared to trail mountain bikes which have rougher and wider tires for better grip on technical terrains.

With all these features in mind, you can easily tell the two types of mountain bikes apart. If you have any questions please feel free to leave us a comment. To help highlight the differences between each category, Focus provided us with its lightweight and efficient O1E 8. Rolling stock on our test fleet comes courtesy of DT Swiss , with Maxxis proving the rubber. The riding discipline of XC is arguably the broadest possible style of mountain biking. The foundation mountain bike category, XC can take place on fire roads, singletrack, technical forest trails, rock gardens and everything in between.

Designed with climbing prowess, pedalling efficiency and a lighter overall weight figure in mind, the geometry of XC bikes will typically compliment this. The bike set up is much steeper than the other bikes, which combined with a shorter wheelbase, provides nimble and snappy handling characteristics, perfect for navigating the single track and putting the power down when the trail points upwards.

Moving to frame materials and aluminium are commonly used on entry-level options; however, carbon fibre starts to become the material of choice from mid-range options and beyond. As XC bikes are all about low weight and climbing efficiency, they make do the least amount of travel out of the three bikes compared here.

Expect to find racing oriented bikes fitted with mm of travel at the frame and fork, with some modern recreational XC models offering up to mm. Suspension set-up will also differ, with swingarms and shocks typically positioned higher on the bike when compared with a Trail or Enduro bike. This does hinder descending ability when compared to the longer travel Trail and Enduro bikes, however, on most other terrain XC bikes are fast, ragged and eager to please.

Tyres will typically be skinnier, lighter in weight and therefore not as puncture resistant as those found on a Trail or Enduro bike while less aggressive tread patterns are also common thanks to the increased rolling efficiency on offer. Expect rim materials to be a mix of lightweight aluminium of entry-level to mid-range options, with carbon rims becoming available as budgets increase.

Expect to find a longer stem also fitted, allowing the rider to position them self further forward for tackling steep climbs. Seatposts will typically be rigid; however, dropper seat posts are starting to find their way onto modern non-racing focussed XC bikes. So if you're a roadie wanting to make use of your lycra and participate in mass start races and marathons, or just like to ride more chilled out terrain quickly and efficiently, an XC bike may be the best solution for you.

When Enduro was a just a young pup and the trails were milder, a mm - mm Trail bike was the ideal ride, as it provided a bit more beef than a race focussed XC bike and was easily pedalled compared to a DH downhill bike. Shift forward to the present day, however, and the modern Enduro bike echoes more of a downhill bike than the original 'Trail' bikes that were used. As detailed below, Trail bikes are still very relevant for all styles of riding, but with courses becoming steeper, more technical and more demanding, the weapon of choice has been adapted.

As one of the most popular modern mountain bike disciplines, Enduro mountain bikes are evolving at a rapid rate. Longer, lower and slacker than both XC and Trail bikes, Enduro bikes are all about enjoying the downs. The wheelbase will be considerably longer than an XC bike thanks to a more relaxed headtube angle and increased trail where the front wheel is positioned relative to the headtube proving more stability at speed. A longer reach figure allows the rider to get lower on technical descents whereas a Trail bike rivalling seat tube angle ensures that riders can climb the up trail with ease for another lap.

Aluminium is commonly found on entry-level to mid-range Enduro bikes thanks to its durable properties, and ability to take a beating from all angles. At the top-end though, advancements in carbon fibre are making composites the material of choice on flagship models. Or somewhere in between? What type of rider are you? Of course, with all bike categories, there is always crossover.

Can you ride a trail bike in a cross country race? Can you ride your XC hardtail on rocky, technical terrain with your friends who all ride full suspension trail bikes? When making a buying decision, ride before you buy. Posted in: Blog. By Andy Brown. No comments. Below are main things to look at: Front fork travel Rear travel If any. A rigid fork makes handling more precise. XC suspension forks rely on an air spring to keep the weight down. The fork will generally have between mm and mm of travel.

TRAIL BIKES A trail fork will be heavier and burlier with fork stanchions legs between 34mm and 36mm to increase stiffness and steering precision when a rider is plowing through rough stuff at speed. A trail bike fork will be between mm and mm of travel in order to handle more technical terrain, bigger drops and jumping.

A trail fork will generally have an air spring but there are some coil spring options available. Coil sprung forks tend to be heavier. A trail fork will have a fork lockout and may have travel adjustment to lower the front of the fork when climbing. Efficiency is the name of the game for a hardtail. A hardtail offers more trail feedback but may get overwhelmed in rougher terrain.

A XC bike may have rear suspension meaning the rear tire moves along the trail and reacts to impacts from the trail using a rear air sprung shock. Rear suspension travel will run between 80mm and mm and will have a lockout to make climbing and riding on the flats more efficient.