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When building an all mountain bike, your choice of frame is obviously the most important (and expensive) piece of the puzzle.
Quick Picks...
Titus Motolite
Titus FTM
Titus El Guapo
Intense Tracer VP
Yeti 575
Yeti ASR7
More All Mountain Frames at JensonUSA.com
Below, we discuss some things to consider when shopping for a new all mountain frame…
Rear Wheel Travel
When choosing a frame, think about what type of riding you will be doing, and how knarly the terrain will be. You obviously don’t need 6” of travel if you ride mostly XC on smooth singletrack with just a bit of hardcore technical stuff thrown in every now and then. For instance, my idea of an all mountain bike would be an XC-type bike with a beefy frame and at least 4-5” of adjustable travel. Some of you may actually need 6” of travel though, so choose your rear wheel travel based on the type of riding you do, and how rough the terrain will be.
Adjustable Rear Wheel Travel?
Another thing to consider is whether you want adjustable rear wheel travel. With some frames, like the Titus Motolite and Intense Tracer VP, you can adjust the rear wheel travel to suit your riding. Fit such a frame with an adjustable front suspension fork like the Rock Shox Revelation or Fox Talas, and you’ve got yourself two bikes in one. You can shorten the rear wheel travel to 4" and the front fork travel to 100mm and you’ve got yourself an XC-type bike, or you adjust the rear wheel travel to 5" and the front fork travel to 140mm and you’ve got yourself a do-anything trail bike
Weight
In theory, the more travel a bike has, the heavier it will be, so buy a frame (and fork) that suits your riding. If you don’t think you’ll be needing 6” of travel, don’t get that type of frame…you’ll never use the suspension to its fullest AND you’ll be tossing around a heavier bike. Some of the newer frame materials, like carbon fiber, have helped get all mountain frame weights down close to that of a lightweight cross country bike.
ISCG Tabs
If you plan on using the new Truvativ Hammerschmidt transmission technology, you’ll want to get a frame like the Titus El Guapo or Yeti ASR7 that have the necessary ISCG tabs on the bottom bracket.
Recommended All Mountain Frames...
- 4" (100mm) or 5" (127mm) of adjustable rear wheel travel
- Horst Link design
- Fox Float RP2 w/ three position Pro Pedal, custom tuned
- 5.5" (135mm) of rear wheel travel
- Horst Link design
- Fox Float RP23 w/ three position Pro Pedal, custom tuned
- 6" (155mm) of rear wheel travel
- Horst Link design
- Fox Float RP23 w/ three position Pro Pedal, custom tuned
- ISCG tabs
- 5.5 or 6" (135mm or 155m) of adjustable rear wheel travel
- Next-generation VPP linkage design
- 1.5" headset
- Handmade in USA
- 5.75" (145mm) of rear wheel travel
- Designed for 140-160mm forks
- 7" (178mm) of rear wheel travel
- Designed for 160mm forks
- ISCG tabs
Related Reading...
See More All Mountain Frames at JensonUSA.com
All Mountain Suspension Fork Buyers Guide
All Mountain Wheelset Buyers Guide
