Guides
Plain-language buyer’s and compatibility guides for the enthusiast rider, each one grounded in exactly what BuildMyMTB’s compatibility checker verifies, plus a growing set of riding-skills guides. No affiliate links.
Compatibility guides
How BuildMyMTB Checks Your Build
What the compatibility engine actually verifies, its three verdict tiers, and what a green build does not promise.
6 min readChoosing Fork Travel for Your Frame
How fork travel interacts with frame geometry and warranty limits, and why "more travel" isn't automatically better.
7 min readMullet & Mixed-Wheel Builds
What a mullet (mixed 29-front/27.5-rear) setup requires from your frame, fork, wheels, and tires.
6 min readBoost vs SuperBoost — and Why the Tool Doesn't Hard-Error It
How rear-hub spacing standards work, what BuildMyMTB checks, and why crank chainline is left alone.
6 min readBrake Mounts & Rotor Sizes
How caliper mount standards, rotor interfaces, and rotor sizing all have to line up between your fork, frame, and hubs.
8 min readCassette, Freehub & Derailleur Compatibility
How freehub standards, cassette range, and derailleur capacity all need to line up on a modern drivetrain.
7 min readUDH & SRAM Transmission
What SRAM's Universal Derailleur Hanger and Transmission (T-Type) drivetrains require from your frame and chain.
7 min readHeadset Standards & S.H.I.S. Decoded
A plain-language walkthrough of headset codes, steerer types, and how BuildMyMTB matches them.
7 min readDropper Post Sizing: Diameter, Drop & Insertion
How post diameter, shims, and drop length interact with your frame, and what the tool can and can't verify.
6 min readRear Shock Sizing: Eye-to-Eye, Stroke & Trunnion
What eye-to-eye length, stroke, and mount type mean for full-suspension fit, and how the checker treats each.
7 min readHardtail vs. Full-Suspension: What Actually Changes in the Build
Why a hardtail frame drops the whole rear-shock block, and what that means for the parts you pick.
6 min readDrivetrain Systems & Speed Counts
Why shifter, derailleur, cassette and chain have to agree on both system and speed count — and the one documented exception.
7 min readTire Casings & Rubber Compounds
What casing and compound actually describe, why the catalog tracks brand-specific names instead of one universal scale, and what the checker does and doesn't verify about them.
6 min readCoil vs. Air Rear Shocks
How the two spring types feel different on the trail, and the one real compatibility question the frame maker can rule on: coil approval.
6 min readFrame Materials Explained: Aluminum, Carbon, Steel & Titanium
How the four common frame materials differ in ride feel, weight, cost, and durability — and why material is a ride-feel choice, not a fit dimension.
7 min readWhat "Verified" Actually Means on This Site
A deeper look at the provenance system behind the green Verified badge — what earns it, what doesn't, and why most of the catalog still doesn't carry it.
6 min readDirt Jump Bikes 101
What makes a dirt jump bike different from a trail or enduro rig, and the current state of dirt jump support on this site.
5 min readHow to Choose a Complete Bike
What actually changes between trims, how the dual-price block works, what Verified means on a complete bike, and the facets that help you narrow hundreds of builds.
7 min readHardtail vs. Full-Suspension: Two Honest Options
Honest cost, maintenance, and terrain tradeoffs between the two frame types, what rear travel numbers actually mean, and why hardtails show 0mm in the rear-travel filter.
6 min readUnderstanding Suspension Numbers: Fork Travel, Rear Travel & Shock Stroke
Fork travel, a frame's rear travel, and a shock's own stroke and eye-to-eye are three separate numbers on three different scales — here's how to read a spec sheet without mixing them up.
6 min readTire Duty Classes, Decoded: Soft/Medium/Hard & DH/Enduro/Trail/XC
How the Tires-tab class chips group brand-specific compound and casing names into rider-facing categories, and why some values are deliberately left out of the grouping.
6 min readKit Sizing and Fit Basics: Helmets, Shoes, Pads & Women's Fit
How to read a helmet's rotational-system tag, shoe sole styles, pad impact certifications, and women's-specific fit lines in the Kit Builder.
6 min readBottom Bracket Standards Explained: Shells, Spindles & Threading
How a bottom bracket bridges the frame's shell and the crank's spindle, why threaded and press-fit standards are named differently, and the one threading quirk that trips up even careful mechanics.
7 min readFreehub & Driver Bodies: HG, XD, MicroSpline & Freewheels
Why a cassette's freehub spec has to match the hub exactly, why the driver body itself is usually a swappable part, and how to tell a cassette hub apart from an older threaded freewheel.
6 min readSuspension Setup Basics: Sag & Air Pressure
How sag is set and measured, why RockShox and Fox each publish their own starting-pressure guidance, and why none of this is something a compatibility checker can verify for you.
6 min readSingle-Speed & Dirt Jump Drivetrains: Tension, Dropouts & Chain Width
How a single-speed drivetrain sets chain tension without a derailleur, why dropout type matters, and the chain/cog/ring width class that has to agree.
6 min readChain, Cassette & Rotor Wear: Why Parts Wear As a Set
Why a worn chain quietly wears out your cassette and chainring too, how the replacement threshold tightens as speed count rises, and the parallel wear coupling between rotors and pads.
6 min readBedding In Brakes & Choosing Pad Compounds
Why a fresh rotor-and-pad pairing needs a bed-in procedure, what caliper self-centering actually does, and the brake fluid split you should never mix.
6 min readTubeless Tire Setup Basics
What a tubeless-ready tire and rim actually are as a matched system, the basic mounting sequence, and an honest note on what the catalog doesn't yet model.
6 min readWheel Truing & Spoke Tension Basics
What "true" actually means on two separate axes, the basic direction rule for correcting a wobble, and why radial lacing is a front-wheel-only pattern.
5 min readCrank & Pedal Basics: Threading, Torque & Spindle History
The reversed left-pedal thread that catches new mechanics off guard, why self-extracting crank pullers need extra care, and the older spindle standards you might still run into.
6 min readDiagnosing a Creaky Bike: Where to Start
Why cadence, not felt location, is the reliable first clue for a mystery creak, and the different fixes a bottom bracket and a headset each need.
5 min read
Riding skills
Body Position: Neutral vs. Ready/Attack
The two base riding positions every other skill builds on, and how to isolate a stable upper body from the bike's chatter.
5 min readBraking Control: Modulation, Threshold and the Grip Budget
Why the front brake does most of the work, how to modulate instead of grab, and the grip-budget idea that ties braking to cornering.
6 min readCornering: Flat, Bermed and Off-Camber Turns
The four fundamentals that assemble every corner, how to practice them one at a time, and what changes between a flat turn, a berm, and off-camber.
8 min readClimbing Technique: Body Position and Gearing
How to stay seated and keep both wheels loaded on a steep climb, and why you shift gears before the pitch, not during it.
5 min readDescending Control: Base Position, Braking, and the Weight-Back Debate
The centred standing base most descending uses, the honest disagreement over "get your weight back," and how to brake on the way down.
8 min readWheel Lifts and the Manual: Your First Terrain-Feature Skills
The preload-and-lift mechanic behind front and rear wheel lifts and the manual, and the bail-first drill that makes it safe to learn.
7 min readAn Introduction to Jumping: Why Tabletops Come First
The prerequisite ladder beneath a jump, why tabletops always come before doubles, the physics behind why your speed at the lip is the real decision, and the mistake that matters most.
8 min readDrops: A Progression from Rollable to Committed
The four-stage progression from rollable drops to committed ones, why a matching landing slope is so much softer than flat ground, 2-1-0 braking, and why you always scout the landing.
7 min readLine Choice: Reading a Trail Before You Ride It
Why your eyes lead the bike everywhere, not just in corners, and how to scout rock gardens, berms, and switchbacks before committing to a line.
6 min readHow to Practice: Session Structure That Actually Builds Skill
Diagnosing skill gaps from the bottom up, structuring practice around real riding time, and why one focus per run beats trying to fix everything at once.
6 min read