Foldable Bikes Party: Buyer's guide to mountain bike groupsets

http://ift.tt/1Z1B4VF

Groupsets are the collections of parts that makes up a bike's gearing and braking. This comprises the shifters, crankset, front and rear derailleurs, chain, rear cassette and brakes. Welcome to BikeRadar's buyer's guide to mountain bike groupsets.

Just like our buyer's guide to road bike groupsets, this guide is designed to explain the components of a groupset, and the different options offered by the two main manufacturers: Shimano and SRAM.

Where its more common to see complete groupsets on a road bike, the multiple extra tiers in mountain bike components mean bike brands usually mix and match parts from various groups, and in some cases, different brands too.

Because of the wildly varying prices and mix-matched groupsets of hardtail and dual suspension bikes, we’ve decided to leave out estimated price ranges for this guide. With that in mind, it’s worth pointing out that a mountain bike is a technical product and we don’t recommend choosing a bike based on its drivetrain components and/or groupset. Rather, use this as a guide to help educate yourself on the key differences between the groups.

Components of a groupset

There are three types of front crankset found on mountain bikes. Commonly, the type of crankset fitted will depend on the bike’s designed use, pricepoint and even wheel size, with bigger wheeled bikes (such as 29ers) often having lower gearing available.

The first is the triple – the old classic. It consists of three front rings, the largest often being a 42- or 44-tooth outer ring. The middle ring is usually a 32 or 34 and the smallest, inside ring, is often a 22- or 24-tooth. This setup offers the largest range of gears, but there is some noticeable cross-over of available gear ratios.