Who knows how these misconceptions got started, but one thing is for sure: they will be around longer than your average cockroach. No matter how often they are stepped on, these little myths seem to scurry away only to show up again when the light is turned on. They may have staying power, but that doesn’t mean your home or garage has to be full of them. Let the professional MBA exterminators clear your brain of the pesky half-truths once and for all.

#1 Don't Use The Front Brake
Hard to believe, but there are still riders who are scared to death of their front brake because, “Dude, you’ll go over the bars if you grab a handful.” A giant percentage of your weight shifts forward during braking, leaving the front brake up to 90-percent responsible for slowing your forward momentum. Embrace the power of your front brake; don’t be intimidated by it. You never want to “grab a handful” or you will go over the bar. Proper modulation of both brakes (squeezing the brake levers so that your wheels slow their rotation, without locking them and skidding the tires) is the right way to reduce speed.


Front Stopper: Many riders are afraid of the front brake. Embrace the power and you will descend to new heights.

#2 Good Brakes Lock The Wheels
Your brakes should not be on/off switches. You do not want to skid the rear wheel or pull a nose wheelie every time you get on the stoppers. Brakes that lock up tires easily should not be called powerful—they should be called bad brakes. Real power comes from brakes that scrub speed without locking your wheels and losing contact with the trail. You’ve heard us refer to this as good brake modulation. If your brakes bite like a junkyard dog, you need to experiment with brake-pad material to find out what real stopping power is all about.


Modulation mojo: Brake power is not measured in skid marks entering a corner; truly great brakes dole out their power incrementally.

#3 Racing Improves The Breed
If cross-country racing was responsible for product development, we’d all still be riding hardtail aluminum bikes with 1.9 inches of fork travel—if suspension forks had even been introduced by now—and semi-slick tires. The next time you are watching an elite cross-country race, check out the bikes the spectators are riding. While the elite racers punish themselves on technological throw-backs to the ’80s, the fans are riding 5-inch-travel trail-bikes with meaty tires and a comfortable riding position. Downhill racers have more influence on today’s trailbikes than cross-country racers. Strange, but true.

#4 Spend 'Til It Hurts
You don’t have to break the bank to enjoy mountain biking. If your budget doesn’t get you to the next model up in the line, you can still enjoy the experience. Unless you are a seasoned rider with years of experience in the saddle, it is
unlikely that you will notice the difference between a $1700 and $3500 dual-suspension trailbike. While there are differences between the two price ranges, it’s subtle. But don’t get us wrong; if you can afford a $5000 bike, it is worth it. Although we are often challenged on this fact, we don’t believe you can overspend on the bike of your dreams. The “expert” who tells you to spend less on your bike until you become a more experienced rider and mechanic just wants you to make the same mistake he did. The worst thing you could do is underspend on your bike.

#5 I Can Upgrade Later
Many riders justify buying a less expensive mountain bike model by assuming that they can upgrade the fork, drivetrain, brake or shock later in the bike’s life cycle (pun intended). Wrong. It is cheaper and smarter to buy the bike with the parts you want in the first place. The components bolted to the bike cost a fraction of what they’d cost if you bought them individually. It’s a weird economy-of-scale truth that seems to apply to any assembled product. A $13,300 Kia Soul assembled from spare parts would cost you around $25,000. Limit your upgrades to parts that wear out, like tires, cables, brake pads, wheels, grips and saddles.

#6 Your Bike Is Designed To Last Forever
We still receive hate mail from riders who challenge our bike and component lifespan story (MBA, April 2011). Hey, the truth hurts. You can’t believe that your bike frame will last forever just because it came with a lifetime guarantee.
There is not a mountain bike on the planet that is built to last an average American lifetime (78.4 years). The lifetime guarantee proves that the manufacturer stands behind their product or is making a last-ditch attempt to sell some bikes before going out of business. You need to take care of your bike, lifetime guarantee or not.

#7 29ers Are Better Than 26ers
Go ahead and reverse the order, because both misconceptions exist. The truth is one size is not superior to the other. Both wheel sizes have strengths and weaknesses. In a recent shootout (MBA, March 2011) of two aluminum hardtails, the 29er won. If we did a shootout of 5-inch-travel trailbikes, the 26er would have the edge. No matter what hype you hear, both wheel formats will roll on the trail, side by side, for years to come.


Can't we all get along? Why do the 26er guys feel so threatened by 29ers? It is hard to imagine a time when either wheel size will be able to rule the mountain.

#8 I'm Too Old To Start Mountain Biking
You have more chances of developing age-related health problems if you quit or never begin mountain biking. Get in the saddle, ride sensibly and let other guys worry about getting old.


Who you callin' old? It is rumored that Ned Overend was let go from the Schwinn factory mountain bike team because he was deemed too old (that was like 20 years ago). The kid, now over 55, is still winning.

#9 2x10 is for Cross Country Racers
The advent of 2x10 drivetrains (a two-chainring crank matched to a 10-cog cassette) was ushered onto the mountain on the bikes of elite cross-country racers who almost immediately tossed one of the chainrings aside and rode them as 1x10s. But that’s a different story. Introducing the 2x10 drivetrain as a “racer’s edge” has no doubt hampered drivetrain acceptance by trail riders. That’s too bad, because the less-is-more drivetrain works wonders on a 26-inch-wheeled trailbike. The 20 speeders alway seem to be in the sweet spot regardless of your pedaling cadence. The 2x10 will find more acceptance on trailbikes, but it could have happened a lot quicker.

#10 Suspension Shouldn't Move
Suspension is dead weight if you set it so stiff that it barely moves. Any decent suspension system needs a certain amount of sag (a measured amount the suspension sinks into its travel when sitting on the bike) to work properly. If your suspension is super stiff, go to a lighter spring or reduce the air pressure. We guarantee a better ride, more control in the corners and better braking. Depending on trail conditions, you may even climb faster, too.

Sag is your friend: Setting proper sag is not robbing you of travel; it delivers the ride you paid for.