Distinction of a Freeride Bike

[No_Style]

I'm betting there are some subtlties that are escaping me here, my question is:
What distinguishes a Freeride bike from a DH bike?

I'm guessing DH bikes are slightly longer travel, maybe longer in wheelbase etc. I suppose the main thing is the way the bike is setup, however with so many manufacturers offering 'Freeride' bikes I'm wondering if Freeride bikes are just toned down/cheaper DH bikes, or if there are other subtlties like bottom bracket height etc that manufacturers specifically consider in their Fr designs.

Just out of curiosity, what do you guys think makes a good freeride bike? (i.e. BB height, Head Angle etc)

[Sethius]

higher BB, a slightly steep headangle, dual ring setups, more flickable and preferably lighter depending on your style.Singlecrowns are great for Fr bikes in my opinion.

[t]

Typicaly they are defined by not being quite so purpose built as a DH bike. So a few of the following charecteristics would push a bike into the FR market.

Steeper angles
Single Crown Forks
Highly progressive suspension
High bbkt
Two chain rings
Wide ratio cassettes

[fleshbone]

a few of those are very true,but then how do explain bender's karpiel armageddon which had 11"+ travel rear and like 12" travel up front.i've just come up with,the whistler freeride bikes,and the moab freeride bikes.

whistler= single crowns like the norco's
moab= the karpiel's and the canfield bikes.

[down_hillbilly]

Originally posted by sethius
higher BB, a slightly steep headangle

Originally posted by t
Steeper angles...High bbkt
I always thought that freeride bikes had a steeper angle but when i was looking at the kona geometry chart the freeride bikes have a slacker head angle and a lower bottom bracket height than the downhillers.

[beginner_giantDH]

the difference is the rider!

[Corty]

I'd always considered freeride bikes to be a downhill bike you can pedal back to the top of the run on without getting a hernia! Hence the dual chain rings, lighter frame/forks, etc

[fifty_frenzy]

i think it all depends on your spec, and how you set up your hardware, and tune your suspension, of cource this would depend on your riding style aswell ( to some extent).
i mean i freeride a norco a-line. and i just set everything up the way i like it and tuned my suspension and it goes like a dream and i have 8-9 inches on the back and 8 inches on the front.

it may still look like a downhill rig but it defantly dos not ride like one.

[AN AUSSIE]

I'd always considered freeride bikes to be a downhill bike you can pedal back to the top of the run on without getting a hernia! Hence the dual chain rings, lighter frame/forks, etc


Id consider ^^that^^ the marketing approch to a "free ride" mountain bike...the ability to be able to ride the bike back up the hill sounds very tempting but if you really think about it how many "free ride" bikes can ride up a hill comfortably.....i know for sure a banshee scream which is considered "free ride" isnt gonna be climbing very far back up that hill before the rider decides to shuttle or walk up ahah.

here are some good examples of these "light" dual chain ring bikes you have described, id personally say i wouldnt want to ride any of these "up" a hill

[t]

a few of those are very true,but then how do explain bender's karpiel armageddon which had 11"+ travel rear and like 12" travel up front.i've just come up with,the whistler freeride bikes,and the moab freeride bikes.

whistler= single crowns like the norco's
moab= the karpiel's and the canfield bikes.

Several manufacturers now calsify these as Freeride and Extreme Freeride respectivly

[No Skid Marks]

It's just marketing non sense. Set your bike up to suit what you mainly do,don't buy into this nonsense. If you smash your pedals heaps and dont rail corners at warp speed then get something with a higher BB. If you get scared of your bikes stability at speed or the back seems to brake traction to easily then get a lazier head angle. If you find your bike turns real gumby like at slow speed(you can't turn small enough),or your front washes out(brakes traction),or you have to get over the front to make your forks steer sharp enough,then get a steeper head angle.
Unless you do bar spins or are not real serious about DH or going big,DO NOT GET SINGLE CROWNS(they're just more marketing crap).

[PyletSnviper]

just a saying i picked up along the way...... you will break a DH bike doing FR.... but you wont break a FR bike doing DH

i love the saying :) lol

[Lowrider#1]

just a saying i picked up along the way...... you will break a DH bike doing FR.... but you wont break a FR bike doing DH

i love the saying :) lol

Then how does that explain my 'freeride' '05 Iron Horse Yakuza Kumicho snapping in half while racing?? :confused:

[Winkie]

.....i know for sure a banshee scream which is considered "free ride" isn’t gonna be climbing very far back up that hill before the rider decides to shuttle or walk up ahah. Very true, things like the Banshee scream could be considered "hardcore" freeride, big hucks ect...while bikes like the Specialised Enduro which aren't really entry level freeride but are marketed that way could be better described as "all mountain" which seems to be touching more and more on the freeride side of the market. As has been said several times it really is just a marketing ploy, trying to sucker people into thinking that there really is a bike that can do everything.

[whywalkwhenucanroll]

....into thinking that there really is a bike that can do everything.

That seems to be the holy grail of the industry at the moment and what I personally think defines a freeride bike - one that can do everything. I don't think its all crap though, I mean wouldn't everyone like one bike that they can take and blast down a DH track, crank it on an epic bit of single track through the hills then get it airbourne at the local jumps? The problem of course is that bikes get so specalised into each type of riding (DH, DJ, XC, etc) that a bike that can do it all will compare up to these like the jack of all trades, i.e. master of none. Therefore alot is left to the skills of the rider. I used to ride a Giant Warp DS3 with Psylos. that was my bike that I did everything on; jumps, trails, DH, riding to the shops... I wasn't great at any of it but that didn't stop me 'freeriding'.

I don't think hucking is that big a part of freeriding, a bike that can drop 30ft and not break itself or the rider isn't going to do much else well.

I don't think people should dismiss the idea of a bike that can do anything. I mean look at other stuff; 6inch SC forks will never work, too weak. but now were up to 7inch; disk brakes? they'll never take off! Now look at them.

In my opinion a freeride bike is a very personal thing. It needs to be somthing you're comfortable with. Light but strong (obviously a compromise), enough travell at the front to take good hits but still peddal well (SPV type stuff are good things), enough gears to get you where you want, grippy tires, tweaked geometry for agility but not forgetting stability. In other words a Special K bike...

Obviously this kind of bike is going to be a compromise in every direction and will be totally different from person to person depending on their skills, tastes, size and budget. A bike that to me represents a good set of compromises is the Specalized Enduro SX Trail. 6inch front and rear, light(ish) lots of gears and decent strength and geometry.

One final point, Freeriding existed long before the marketing departments got hold of it. What do you call lill Johny on his Apollo MTB who loves to jump of anything, ride super fast down fire trails and peddal home? I'd say typical kid, marketing call it freeriding.

[banshee69]

what makes a fr bike different from a dh bike?
Fr you want no more than 7.5inches of rear travel and singles up the front( i would recommend marzocchi 66s)
fr you want a steeper head angle nd higher bb
norco make good fr bikes
my favourite would be the 06 shore 1

[randomridermax]

Then how does that explain my 'freeride' '05 Iron Horse Yakuza Kumicho snapping in half while racing??
because you where running a to soft spring thats the reason

[Shorty40]

This is my idea of a FR..............My '05 Norco Shore.

I think of FR as a "Jack of all trades, master of none" ;)

This bike will tool around at bike parks, hit up the single tracks and blast DH :cool: