Mountain biking includes a few types of bike riding and usually requires a specialist mountain bike with the right kind of tires for the terrain your riding on. The sport requires endurance, bike handling skills and self-reliance, it's usually an individual sport which can be taken anywhere from the streets to the hills.

With riders usually being fairly far from towns and cities it is normally expected for the riders to be able to change their own tires and have some basic first aid products with them. With the need for knowledge in safety and basic bike maintenance club rides and other forms of group rides are common, especially on longer treks. This is because you can then have the novice riders riding with more experienced riders so they can learn some of the basics of mountain riding first hand.

Mountain biking is roughly broken down into five categories: cross country, downhill, Freeride, Dirt Jump and trials/street riding. Most mountain bikes tend to have a similar look in that they have thick tires with deep grips, thick tubed frame and many of them have suspension or shock absorbers. Mountain biking can be done anywhere from a back yard to a gravel road, but the majority of mountain bikers prefer to ride trails they call singletrack. These are narrow trails that wind through forests or fields. Mountain bikers describe a sense of euphoria that results from singletrack or downhill riding.

For the most part, mountain biking can be split into four different categories:

• Cross Country is the most common form of mountain biking, and the standard for most riders. It generally means riding point-to-point or in a loop including climbs and descents on a variety of terrain.
• Freeride, as the name suggests is a 'do anything' discipline that encompasses everything from downhill racing (see below)without the clock to jumping, riding 'North Shore' style (elevated trails made of interconnecting bridges and logs), and generally riding trails and/or stunts that require more skill and "aggression" than XC. Freeride bikes are generally heavier and more amply suspended than their XC counterparts, but usually retain much of their climbing ability.
• Downhill mountain biking is exactly what the name says, it's riding specially designed mountain bikes down a hill. While cross country riding inevitably has a downhill component, Downhill (or DH for short) usually refers to racing-oriented downhill riding. Downhill-specific bikes are universally equipped with front and rear suspension, large brakes, and use heavier frame tubing than other mountain bikes. Downhill bikes are not meant to be pedaled up hill, so downhill riders will usually have other means of transport to get to the start of the trail at the top of the hill. This kind of mountain biking is thought of more as an extreme sport because there is more danger involved than with other kinds of mountain biking.
• Trials riding involves having to ride the bike usually round a set area jumping and hopping the bike over obsticles. There are trial competitions held where each rider will try to perform the most adventurous tricks to win.