- Bikes are almost at each end of the scale
when it comes to mountain bikes.
- Yeah, I've got my downhill bike right here,
which is built for all out speed, aggressive riding,
and hitting big jumps and gaps.
- Whilst this cross-country bike has to go up,
down, cover ground as fast as possible.
So, let's take a look at them
and see what makes them so good
for their respective disciplines.
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So, let's start off with the geometry of these bikes.
This is a Scott Spark 700.
It's got a 67 degree head angle
and a 325 millimetre bottom bracket height.
So, the relatively steep head angle
makes it really nice and agile on the slower tracks.
Very nimble bike, not so good at high speeds.
And the relatively high bottom bracket means
you've got the clearance to pedal over all sorts of terrain.
- Okay, so on this Scott Gambler I've got a 63 degree
head angle, a lot slacker than the cross-country bike.
And the bottom bracket with that is 343 millimetres.
Yes, you're right, you're thinking that is higher
than the cross-country bike.
However, when I actually sit on the bike,
'cause I'm running 30% sag, sometimes even more
depending on the tracks, as these things
sat a bit further into the travel,
flattening the bike and lowering the bottom bracket.
Now this bike is not necessarily designed
for the slow speed compared to the cross-country.
It's designed to go really fast
and that's why the geometry is so different.
You've got that bottom bracket that is absolutely lower
than the cross-country bike, the head angle,
and then the longer wheel base
makes it so stable at those high speeds.
- My cross-country bike is 120 mills travel front and rear.
A lot of cross-country bikes are actually hardtail,
so just suspension on the front.
It's air sprung, which you'll find on all the mids
and high level cross-country bikes,
and they also have a remote lockout
on the handlebars to firm up the suspension
to make it more efficient for climbing.
- The Gambler's suspension is quite different
to Neil's cross-country bike.
On the rear, I've got 210 millimetres of travel.
On the front, I've got 200 millimetres.
What is similar about them both
is the fact that my fork and the shock are air.
Now, not all downhill bikes have air suspension,
but on this one it is, and what that actually allows me
to do is put some volume spacers in the shock,
which increases the bike's progressivity.
What I mean by that is the further I go through the travel,
the more force is going to be required
to actually get through that suspension.
Other things about this shock is the fact that I have
high and low speed compression adjustment,
and also rebound adjustment.
The fork has also similarly got that compression adjustment,
just so you can really control the suspension
and get dialled in for those big hard hits.
- So to the controls, I've got 740 mill wide bars
and a 60 mill stem on this bike.
That's a relatively long stem.
It just helps keep that weight on that front wheel,
which is essential for climbing.
The seat post, I've actually got
a Crankbrothers drop seat post on this bike.
An awful lot of cross-country bikes,
you'll see that old style fixed seat post,
more likely to be carbon than anything else.
But actually, even at the very highest end,
the cross-country World Cup racing,
we are starting to see more people run drop seat posts.
- I've already talked a lot about the suspension,
but what I haven't mentioned is the fact
that these stanchions are 40 millimetres,
and then it's a dual crown fork, so one, two,
and then attached to that is this stem,
which is totally different to the cross-country bike.
In a sense, it is attached onto the actual fork itself,
and it's only 50 millimetres in length.
I have actually got the option on this one
to change it to 45 millimetres,
to make it even shorter for those snappier tracks.
Then we talk about the handlebars.
These are 800 millimetres in width,
and they've got a 25 millimetre rise.
Take a look at that seat.
Well, it's fixed.
There's no need for a dropper here.
There's only one thing aimed at this bike has to do,
and that's to go downhill.
Then the seat, well, it's at a slight angle
so you can get your weight right over the back
for those steeper sections of trail.
- So to the wheels.
Cross-country tends to stick to the larger wheels,
so 27.5 or 29, this bike is actually 27.5.
It's got lightweight wheels, really thin rims,
so actually, again, to keep the weight down.
Got these really fast rolling lightweight tyres
and the brakes have 180 mill discs.
- On to the downhill bike then, and the biggest differences
have got to be in the tyres, so let's take a look at them.
Look at those side knobs, just how aggressive they are,
really designed to dig in and give you
as much corner grip as possible.
Then the brake ganches, well, they are just going
to slow you down and they're so much more aggressive
than what the cross-country bike is running.
Of course, you can change these to different conditions too.
You can get a muddier tyre on with bigger knobs
just to dig in even more.
The wheel sizes, well, they tend to be 26 inch
or 27 and a half, not really into the 29 any soon,
but maybe something that we'll see in the future.
You've got big wide rims on there to give
a massive tyre volume, and then a disc rotor size.
They're 200 millimetres, a lot bigger
than the cross-country bike, and they're a four part brake.
- So now it's the drivetrain, and this is one of the
relatively new school cross-country bikes
with this one way system, one chain ring up front
because there's no shifter and that's a 34 tooth chain ring.
That's paired to this absolutely massive
10-50 1x12 cassette, so it gives me that huge range
of gears, from down in the bottom in those faster sections
and that 50 tooth house can grind up
even the steepest of hills.
Pedals-wise, at the highest level, racing cross-country,
everyone uses clipless pedals.
- So the clue is really in the name.
This is a downhill bike.
It is not designed to be ridden uphill
and the drivetrains are so different,
comparing it to Neil's dinner plate of a cassette,
this thing is tiny.
It goes from 11 tooth all the way to 25 tooth.
Then the mech, it's a lot shorter as well.
It's got a really small cage so if you're riding
through rock gardens, you're not going to be worried about
catching on a rock, ripping it off,
or even damaging the derailleur.
Then I've got a 36 tooth chain ring up front.
The crank length is a little bit shorter
and then I've got a chain device too,
and a bash foot underneath, just to prevent any damage
happening when you do hit a rock
or come up short on a jump onto the chain ring.
Of course, I've got a set of flat pedals on this bike.
You see a lot of the World Cup pro racers
using clip pedals, but for me,
they're just a little bit funner.
Last year, there was actually only one rider
on flat pedals in the top 10 overall.
Leave us a comment down below if you can guess who it is.
- So that is cross-country bike versus downhill bike,
but there could only be one winner.
- I think that means that we should have a vote
for the viewers, so if you click right up there,
you can pick which one you think is better.
Is it going to be the downhill bike or well,
it's only going to be the downhill bike.
- Actually, there doesn't have to be one winner,
they're both great bikes.
If you click over here, that means
you'll subscribe to JNBO.
- If you click right here, you actually get to see
this bike being ridden through the rocks,
with some top tips from Neko Mulally.
- A click over here for how to train for cross-country.