What makes a good 4x bike

It will make you a much more consistent racer and rider. When it comes to pedal power, never ever count out the sprints! Practicing sprints and short intervals will make you stronger both on and off the racetrack and it will also help you carry speed out on the trails, making riding more fun. By practicing sprints you will become stronger and more powerful on the bike, and whether it is out on the trails, on the 4X track or in the Downhill Park — more speed always equals more fun, right?

Finally, learning the art of airtime and how to jump is not only important to gain style points, but also to keep speed and flow out on the trails. It is good to practice both how to hit man-made jumps and natural jump features out on the trails.

Obviously not a great idea during the morning commute, but the good news is that there is a two-wheeled sport that not only allows such behaviour but positively encourages it:4X mountain bike racing. The concept of 4X — as in "four-cross" — is simple. Four riders race shoulder-to-shoulder down a track littered with big jumps, drops, step-ups, step-downs and banked corners called berms. When the start gate drops, it's a battle to apply the power down the straight and make it into the first bend ahead of the rest.

Then it's just a matter of keeping the bike wheel-side down while fending off the chasing pack to the finish line. Imagine BMX racing but bigger, meaner and a lot gnarlier. This weekend the best riders on the planet will be competing to wear the rainbow stripes of the world champion in Canberra. Watch the likes of Jared Graves , Dan Atherton , Jill Kintner and Ffion Griffiths racing and you will see a no-holds-barred demonstration of all the core mountain bike skills; bike handling of course, but also fitness, guile, flow and, crucially, bottle.

Check out Freecaster or mtbcut for all the World Championship action, including the downhill and cross country battles. In the UK, 4X racing is booming. And the success of the NPS means there are great tracks across the country for anyone who wants to give it a go, including South West Extreme and ukbikepark in the West Country, Chicksands in thesouth-east and Dalby forest in the north-ast.

The beauty of these tracks is that you don't have to be a World Cup racer to enjoy them. Race: Start as fast as you can. You are not alone; three racers are trying to beat you. Keep thinking, never follow and never give up! That book and this article are what pushed my 4x racing from a local rider to a National racer. Thank you and thank Brian for putting together what has to be the best book out there for mountain bikers.

What do the ages for 4x start and would body armor be okay to where. Bigger events have more age groups. Great guide, i am thinking of moving into 4X from downhill. Could you tell me if that frame would come recomended for 4x?

The bike Me and my Specialized SX are good buddies. Check out that view! Other gear In order of importance: — Helmet. Carry water and snacks to the hill. Sea Otter Here are the two basic passes: Low-high.

You dive down to block the guy on the inside then carry your speed out of the turn. At the race Blammo! Lee, That book and this article are what pushed my 4x racing from a local rider to a National racer. A Fan, Bob Burnes. Right on Bob! The geo debate for bikes of a similar intended use are valid, but comparing this list to the current "industry" offerings is a bit of an apple to grapefruit scenario. You do realize those are 4x bikes and no one wants big wheels and super slack geometry for 4x while probably most racers want wagon wheels and crazy geo because that's what works in a race environment.

NikolaiB : using your logic the real bikers only ride unicycles and everyone else is a poser. That Specialized Enduro SX was the last best play bike they made.

No hate on other designs I agree that the geo debate over what a trail bike should be is a valid one. Hell, its more hardtail than fully to boot. What I should have more directly said is a bike that is good at 4X racing will be a shitty trail bike. If you disagree, cool, but you are far from the norm and what the industry at large would and should cater from a business perspective. The Enduro is definitely an outlier here, and very cool for what it can do..

I would LOVE one of those Yeti 4x bikes, but taking for a trail ride would be for novelty purposes only. Hell yeah, 4x bikes are still the sexiest ones!

Always dreamed with Christiaan's bikes! Great dude too. MattP76 Jun 3, at RonSauce Jun 3, at Yeah, its a good thing 4x is so popular these days.

This may be the coolest bike check of As any industry, the bike industry makes what sells. If 4X bikes were popular they wouldn't wanna miss out, they'd grab the chance and give those customers something to buy. Yes, they are constantly searching for the next big thing, but they're note shoving bikes down people's throats. What I see at my local a city of 5. The dirt jump crowd is thin and not spending as much money.

Do you ever need multiple DJ bikes though? I have multiple trail bikes, and want more. I cant imagine anyone buying more than one jumper or 4x bike even if they were the hardest of hardcore.

They are cheaper, more durable and there are less changes year to year. T4THH Jun 4, at RonSauce : There's a dude in the forums who has like 10 DJ bikes, he is my hero.

RonSauce Jun 4, at T4THH : sure, there are plenty of madmen loose on the planet, im speaking more from a marketing perspective. RonSauce : Ye, oh my I am also a madman hahaha. YES PB! Joebohobo Jun 3, at Never too old! Paul Mounsley was racing at 76 maybe 78? Joebohobo : yeah, I used to be on a gate with him a while back. Went home in an ambulance! I'm strictly big fun after seeing that! DoctorWatson Jun 3, at