Okay, so you want a bike that will handle some rough stuff when the going gets tough. You don?t want to be confined to the hard, smooth surfaces of the pavement and bitumen. You want a mountain bike, right? Maybe not. You may want to consider an all terrain bike instead.

Mountain bikes are great for hitting the trails, barreling downhills and jumping off cliffs, but is this what you really want to do when you head off road? If your thirst for adventure is limited mostly to leisurely cruises around the lake, enjoying the less arduous trails or checking out the scenery along quiet country roads then perhaps a mountain bike is not what you?re after. Mountain bikes are built for the rough stuff. From their beefed up suspension, riding position and knobby tires to their heavy duty brakes and precision gear shifters, most mountain bikes are at their best when they?re in the rough stuff. On the roads and pavement, forget about it.

All terrain bikes on the other hand offer a great compromise between the smooth and the rough. While quite capable of getting you safely through a rough patch when you want to leave the road behind, all terrain bikes are also built for a far more comfortable ride on the roads. For starters, you?ll find yourself in a far more relaxed and comfortable riding position. In fact, the handlebars can usually be adjusted so that you can sit far more upright than you can on your average mountain bike, just perfect for those leisurely rides on smooth surfaces. Also, you?ll be sitting on a seat built for comfort with lots more padding and sometimes even a suspension seat post. Another feature of the all terrain bike is the tire tread. While the knobby tires of a mountain bike are designed for maximum grip on slippery surfaces, all terrain tires offer a happy compromise between grip and smooth road riding.

Gear changes and braking are also a much easier experience on your all terrain bike. The precision gear changes of higher-end mountain bikes can sometimes prove a little difficult for less experienced riders, all terrain bikes on the other hand offer twist grip shifters that are simple to use.

If you?re looking for a new bike to enjoy the great outdoors on, then you?ll need to consider exactly how and where you want to ride. If you?ll be doing a lot of road riding with the occasional adventure off road, then you may want to consider an all terrain bike over a mountain bike. If, on the other hand, you plan on getting down and dirty in the thick of it on the trails, and you?re not too concerned about your comfort, then you?ll want to get yourself a mountain bike for sure.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 5:03 am and is filed under Bicycle Accessories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.