the field guide
Setup, tech, and buying guides for people who actually wrench on their own bikes. Every guide is built around a real question riders ask, and wired into the tools in your Garage and Builder.
Coil vs Air Shock: Which One Belongs on Your Bike?
One uses compressed air as the spring, the other uses a steel coil. The ride feel, the maintenance, and the tuning are genuinely different, and some frames flat-out can't run a coil. Here's how to pick.
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What Is a Mullet Mountain Bike? Mixed Wheels, Explained
A 29" wheel up front, a 27.5" out back. Why race bikes went mixed, what you gain and give up, and what actually happens to your geometry if you convert a 29er yourself.
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Mountain Bike Geometry Explained: Read the Chart Like It Matters
Reach, stack, head angle, chainstay: a geometry chart tells you how a bike fits and how it behaves before you ever swing a leg over it. Here's every number that matters, in plain words.
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Is There a PCPartPicker for Mountain Bikes? (Yes, and Here’s How It Works)
PC builders have PCPartPicker. Mountain bikers now have BuildMTB. Here's what the two tools have in common, where the MTB side of the fence is way messier, and how the compatibility engine actually works when you spec a build.
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Hardtail vs Full Suspension: Which Mountain Bike Should You Actually Buy?
The first real fork in the road when you're buying a mountain bike. Here's what actually changes between the two, how each one rides, and the honest budget math that decides it for most people.
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What Order to Choose Parts for a Custom MTB Build (Frame First, and Why)
Building a custom bike is really a chain of decisions, and the order you make them in saves you money. Here's the part-picking roadmap, from frame to the bits that barely care, and how each choice quietly decides the next.
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How to Build a Mountain Bike From Parts (And the Compatibility Traps)
Building a mountain bike from a bare frame is mostly one thing: making sure every part fits the next. Here's the build order, the compatibility traps that bite people, and how to check fitment before you spend a dime.
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How to Set Sag on a Mountain Bike (Front + Rear, by Discipline)
Sag is the first thing you dial and the thing most people get wrong. Here's how to set front and rear sag right, what numbers to aim for by discipline, and the o-ring trick that tells you if you nailed it.
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