Trail surfer
Get out and ride! There’s never a reason for you not to jump on your mountain bike. No matter what the weather or where in the world, you always have fun biking. All you want is to have a great time on trails that are varied and fun, uphill and downhill and, of course, you want a bike that allows you to do that.
Who said that you need a whole mountain for mountain biking? All you want are trails: long, short, steep, flat, technical, flowing and occasionally, even uphill. It doesn’t matter whether that’s on the side of a 3000 m peak or just a rolling hill. You like them all and you can have fun everywhere. You almost always get to the trailhead on your bike, not just pedalling your way up on forest roads but also along trails and paths, earning the descents. Your heart beats faster for shaped trails with berms and jumps, as well as for natural forest singletrack full of roots, or alpine challenges with nasty rock ledges and tight hairpin bends.
Faster, further, bigger… no thanks! Instead of high speeds or jumps so big they make your legs feel weak just looking at them, you only want one thing: to have fun, preferably with a group of friends! When you ride your mountain bike, you want to escape, enjoy nature and clear your head. It’s all about the ride and not the destination, so you find inner peace when pedalling uphill. Your buddies call out “dropping in” and wheelie past you down the trail. You can’t resist chasing them and do your best to catch up. Cheering each other on, experiencing the flow, screaming for joy when drifting through a corner and high-fiving each other at the foot of the trail is what mountain biking is all about for you.
Your bike should be the proverbial jack of all trades, allowing you to have all the trail adventures you can think of, whether that’s up- or downhill! You usually rely on the power of your legs to get to the trailhead but you don’t want to waste any energy. As such, your bike needs to offer a good compromise between efficiency and comfort on the climbs. Weight plays an insignificant role: efficient suspension and a central riding position on the climbs are a lot more important. The latter might get uncomfortable when covering long distances on flat terrain, but it pays off when going uphill, allowing you to save energy, hit your lines and reach the trailhead relaxed and fresh for the descent. For you, there is no right or wrong descent. You like all trails, whether you’re mastering a tight switchback or manualing from one berm to the next. The lively and direct yet intuitive handling of your bike always encourages you to play with the terrain. Flicking into the corner or bunny hopping over slippery roots is no problem. Your bike does what you want it to with minimal effort, even with imperfect riding technique.
Our recommendations for trail surfers
When your buddies are late again and making you wait, that’s no problem. With these 16 tricks, you’ll be the king of the parking lot. You can also improve your riding skills, put a smile on everyone’s faces and have a lot of fun while you’re “waiting”.
Tubeless tires are a must for every mountain biker. Nothing dampens the fun like a flat tire, and you can reduce the chances of that happening by going tubeless. It’s inexpensive and usually easy to convert. You’ll find everything you need to know in our ultimate MTB tubeless guide.
Your personal profile – Recommendations and tips from our website
Bike recommendations for trail surfers – read our reviews to find out more!
The new 2025 Transition Sentinel on test
2024 Ibis Ripmo on test – Our Best in Test’s little brother
Ibis HD6 GX AXS – In our big 2024 enduro comparison test
SCOTT Ransom 900 RC – In our big 2024 enduro comparison test
The YT Capra Core 4 in our big 2024 Enduro comparison test
RAAW Madonna V3 – In our big 2024 enduro comparison test
First ride review: the new DT Swiss F 535 and F 535 ONE forks – Unequal twins
New Yeti SB135 TLR Transmission T3 2023 first ride review – 650b ain’t dead!
Exclusive first ride review: Cannondale Habit Carbon LT 1 2023
First ride review of the all-new CUBE stereo ONE55 C:62 TM 29 – The value king?
How about an eMTB?
For many riders, eMTBs are already the "better” mountain bike and a serious option for many trail surfers. The days when eMTBs were heavy and sluggish are long gone. Our colleagues at E-MOUNTAINBIKE have put a bunch of super exciting and, above all, agile and fun eMTBs to the test for you, including the following: