How to choose a downhill MTB: A complete buying guide

Downhill is the most thrilling, high adrenaline form of mountain bike racing. It is a high-risk, no-holds-barred battle between the rider, the toughest trails on the mountain and the clock. As the name suggests, it is all about getting from the top of the hill to the bottom in the fastest time possible. Featuring big jumps, big drops and steep, technical sections, it is where mountain biking crosses into the world of action sports.

For such an extreme sport, you will need an extreme bike - a downhill bike. If you are not sure if a downhill bike is the right choice for you, this guide will talk you through where they come from, what makes them so unique and whether a downhill bike might be the right MTB for you.

Downhill mountain bikes are race-bred machines designed for racing against the clock on the toughest trails possible. They are completely focused on downhill trails and are not suitable for any other kind of riding. Their geometry, suspension design and components work together to offer maximum speed on the descents, but they are not well suited to even moderate pedalling efforts. In a downhill race run, there may be a pedal effort of a couple of hundred metres, but this is about the limit of their ability to traverse or climb.

To better understand how geometry plays a role in this, check out our MTB geometry guide, which breaks down how different measurements affect handling and performance.

Most mountain bikes are capable of doing a bit of everything, but downhill bikes are designed only for the descents. While a cross-country bike like the Lux may be designed for World Cup cross-country racing, you could take it to your local woods and try an enduro trail on it with no problem. You could take a Strive enduro bike around a cross-country loop, and while it may not be the fastest, you could still have a nice ride. This is because the basic setup of most mountain bikes is quite similar across trail, enduro and XC, with a wide-range cassette at the rear to cope with different gradients, the saddle position optimised for climbing and steering designed to cope with a range of different situations.  

Downhill bikes don’t have this - their geometry, suspension and components are all chosen to help you set the fastest possible time down the hill.  

There is an argument that downhill is mountain biking’s original racing discipline. The very first mountain bike race, the Repack, held in California in the 1970s, was a downhill race. It was raced as an individual time trial from the top to the bottom of the hill. These early klunkers, as they called their bikes, were not much fun to ride long distances on anyway. As purpose-built mountain bikes that were fun for longer distances began to emerge, cross-country riding began to dominate as people liked being able to explore and play wherever they rode.

There will always be riders who live for the descents, and while the emerging mountain bike was focused on cross-country, downhill was quietly building steam too. Downhill races were a big part of the first-ever mountain bike World Championships in Durango, Colorado, in 1990, although it did not yet have a full-time World Cup series for racers to follow. It took another three years until Cap D’Ail, France, held the first ever World Cup downhill race.

In those early races, many riders were still riding hardtails and what would certainly be considered cross-country bikes by today’s standards. Over the years that followed, the bikes developed rapidly into specialist machines. Today, there is an argument that downhill is mountain biking’s equivalent of Formula One, with teams racing not just on track, but behind the scenes to develop bikes with a technical advantage. This has seen a proliferation of technology and approaches to create the generation of advanced speed machines that are modern downhill bikes.

A good downhill mountain bike is all about downhill speed, and every element is carefully considered with that sole goal in mind:

Modern downhill bikes have 200mm of suspension travel and upwards. They have triple crown forks and burly rear shocks. This type of fork clamps around the headtube of the bike, making them harder to steer on tight corners and at low speeds. The sole objective is to pack in as much steering precision and big hit-eating performance as possible. This is coupled with a suspension design, called the kinematic, focused on speed rather than comfort. All this means that they can be relatively hard to manage for less experienced riders. 

Downhill MTBs often employ technical solutions to help demanding racers get the last few tenths of a second out in their race runs. For example, our Sender downhill race machine has what is called a high pivot/idler pulley setup. Using a very specific location for the main pivot of the suspension, it allows the rear wheel to move backwards away from obstacles, rather than upwards as it would with a more traditional design. This design requires an idler pulley mounted near the pivot to manage what is called the chain growth - without it the chain would not have enough tension to stay on the cassette. This combination of the rearward movement and the idler pulley would make the bike even more demanding to pedal back up the hill again.  

The geometry is focused 100% on downhill speed. This means that the bikes tend to have very slack headangles, low bottom brackets and long reaches. Maybe the most limiting part of the geometry is the seattube - they are short, low and slack, with the uphill pedalling position not even a factor in their layout. This means that even if you did put a longer seattube on a downhill bike, it would not put you in a good position to pedal comfortably.

To help racers fine-tune their setup, downhill bikes tend to have adjustability built in. For example, the Sender allows riders to adapt their reach, bottom bracket height and shock leverage curve in pursuit of the perfect race run.

Downhill racers don’t need to worry about climbing, so they tend to run race-specific gearing. This is usually a large chainring paired with a small rear cassette that would have you soon running out of gears if you tried to take it up your locals trails.

There is only one type of brake suitable for a downhill bike: the biggest, most powerful available. There is not a downhill bike on the market that does not feature heavy-duty four-piston brakes and large discs.

To withstand the rigours of downhill racing, the wheels need extra reinforcement. This means that they are heavier than normal wheels to resist damage. Downhill bikes also use different standards of axles than most other types of mountain bikes, so you will probably not be able to use the wheels on any other bike.

We believe carbon is the best material for downhill racing, and our factory downhill team has proven this over multiple seasons. While there is a weight advantage compared to aluminium, but our choice of material goes deeper than that. Carbon allows us to add extra reinforcement where it is most needed and create complex shapes - like fully guided internal cable routing - that help make the Sender such a formidable race weapon.

Because it is a race machine, the Sender is only available in the pro-level CFR spec. If you are looking for a more affordable, downhill-capable bike, you could consider the Torque, which is available in standard-level carbon and more affordable aluminium MTB versions.

There has been much debate over the years about which wheelsize is best for downhill. After extensive testing with our factory downhill team, we believe a mullet setup is the fastest. This means a 29-inch wheel at the front and a smaller 27.5-inch wheel at the rear. In the past, there was an argument that taller riders might be better-suited to a full 29-inch setup, but our testing has shown this is not the case, and we think mullet setups are the fastest for downhill riders of all sizes. This is why the latest version of the Sender is mullet-only.  

It depends on how seriously you want to take your racing. If you have ambitions to win races and progress through the sport of downhill, then we think a full downhill race bike is the only way to go. But, for most people who maybe want to do some downhill races, but would also like to ride their bike in other situations, then a downhill bike is probably too specialised.  

We think there are three important elements you need for this kind of riding: aggressive geometry, burly components and a strong frame. Both the Strive and the Torque share the Sender’s ASTM 5 rating, meaning they are designed for the hardest of trails and the biggest of jumps. They both have aggressive build kits and geometry that won’t hold you back on the toughest lines on the mountain.  

If you are looking to ride very challenging trails, we think there are three models in our lineup that might work for you:

Obviously, the Sender is the most suited to downhill trails - it is what it was built for. The drawback is that it is only built for downhill trails, and if you want a bike that might go up and around occasionally, then this is not the bike for you. If you are looking for a no compromise machine to push your downhill speed to the next level, then this might be your perfect partner.

The Torque is designed for the same kind of extreme conditions as the Sender, but rather than being built for speed, it is built for stability and confidence. Whether you want to ride Red Bull Rampage, crush your local trails or go for a high mountain adventure, the Torque has got your back. Featuring the same kind of burly components as the Sender, it also has pedalling-friendly geometry and wide-range gearing. Available in an aluminium version and with less race-focused builds, it is much more affordable and still ready for all the high-speed thrills you can find. If you fancy ditching the shuttle truck or the chairlift, it has its assisted sibling, the Torque:ON for all-day gravity riding

The World Cup enduro and e-enduro-proven Strive and the Strive:ON e-MTB are great options for riders who want all the speed but with the ability to head further afield. They feature slightly less travel than the Torque or the Sender, which makes them easier to pedal long distances on, but with geometry and components that are designed for the toughest lines and the biggest sends.  

Designed as a no-compromise race bike, we offer the Sender in just two levels: Underdog and CFR. Both of these versions are based on the same World-Cup winning CFR-level carbon frame, and both feature highly adjustable suspension and strong components. The Underdog version is designed to be everything you need for a season of racing, while the CFR version is an off-the-peg World Cup race bike. If you are looking for a more affordable, downhill-worthy bike, then it might be worth looking at the Torque. It is available in both carbon and more affordable aluminium, with a range of builds to suit different budgets.  

There is one simple question to ask yourself: Do you want to ride downhill? By that, we mean, do you want to only ride downhill? We love downhill bikes; they are the most extreme, most fun mountain bikes out there, but they do only do one thing. If you want to add in even light pedalling or climbing, then maybe you need to consider something else.

To explore the differences between mountain bike types in more detail, see our comprehensive MTB buying guide. If you are not sure which style of mountain bike might be right for you, our bike finder tool can help you find the right one for you.  If you find the style you want, but are struggling to decide which model is best for you, our bike comparison tool can help.

Whichever bike you choose, we hope to see you having fun out on the trails soon!