As you know mountain bikes are created for off-road riding. Whether made for racing or the more leisurely rider, there can be of four key frame designs for mountain bikes: rigid MTB, hard-tail MTB, soft-tail MTB, and full suspension MTB.

Let’s start with the rigid, that are also known as fully rigid, mountain bikes. So, they present a typical kind of bike as you would imagine it. It should be pointed out that a rigid mountain bike has neither a rear suspension nor a front suspension. Actually, these used to be the most universal type of mountain bike but they are rapidly being replaced by the more comfortable models which feature some sort of suspension system. Fully rigid bikes tend to be lower-priced than models with a suspension. A lot of mountain mike riders still prefer rigid bikes because of the reason it’s what they’re accustomed to, and the feel that the rigid design allows them better manage.

The hard-tail is the other regular mountain bike design. It will be interesting for you to find out that they are named in this way as they have a conventional rear end without a suspension. What is the difference between hard-tails and fully rigid bikes? You see, hard-tails MTB has a front suspension. Actually, the hard-tail is perhaps the most well-liked mountain bike design and many professional riders prefer the feel of a hard-tail and the comfort of a front suspension.

The other type of mountain bike design is the soft-tail. It can be easily guessed that soft-tails employ a rear suspension that is a more recent innovation than front suspension due to the complexities of the design. Soft-tails are often more high-priced than hard-tails, but they also tend to be more forgiving.

The full suspension MTB is the last but not least one in this list. Bikes with this design feature both front and rear suspensions. It will be useful for you to discover that these bikes are the latest mountain bike design. For a long time riders avoided full suspension bikes according to that they were heavy and they tended to sag in the middle like an old swayback horse. So, it took years for engineers and riders to finalize a workable, well-designed full suspension mountain bike.

The other important fact that should be taken into consideration is that in addition to the frame and suspension, there are other differences in mountain bike designs. One key area where bikes differ is the brakes. It should be mentioned that mountain bikes either have some form of caliper brakes, which are the class of brakes on average associated with bikes. This variety of brake squeezes mountain bike rims to slow and stop the bike. There is also the other type of brake – the drum brake. The point is that drum brakes on bikes are similar to the braking system on car. Sure, drum brakes are more pricey than caliper brakes but they’re also easier to maintain. Mountain bike braking systems have even been made which utilize hydraulic power.

Tire size is the other area where you can have some pick in mountain bike design. Mountain bike tires typically range in size from 24″ to 29″. You need to know that smaller tires are used when greater maneuverability is vital such as in stunt-riding and jumping while larger tires are used when speed is the central goal .