What is the best?

[Asrar Ahmed]

Hello everyone, I just want to know, what is the best bike for riding all kinds of terrain?

[Backmuirman]

Well, you'll probably get a lot of different answers to this one. It depends how rough your riding will get. Are you wanting to do more extreme downhill or larger drop-offs or jumps for example? Will you be riding long distance on tarmac? If not, I would recommend something that is not too heavy, not too complicated, easy to find parts for, and robust. Personally I would go for a cross country mountain bike as a good all-rounder, make sure the suspension forks lock out well.

[froze]

No word on how much you want to spend, which will greatly affect what kind of bike to get.

Gravel bikes are the best all-around bike, they're not as fast on a paved road, and they're not as fast on downhill off road riding, but they do all things good.

The next question is do you plan on doing high speed downhill offroad riding, if not than a suspension bike frame and fork is not necessary. Those suspension components takes more wattage to propel the bike forward which will tire you out sooner, and if you don't need that stuff then why bother and why pay to get it. And if buy a $1,500 or less bike with suspension components, they're cheap suspension components, they don't rebound correctly, and they don't last long, plus they are heavy. I ride a non-suspended gravel bike on gravel, dirt roads as well as pavement, there is no need for me to remotely desire a suspension bike.

If you want a smoother less jarring ride, they make suspension seat posts and stems which will take out about a half of the jarring and both combined cost a lot less than even just a shock fork by itself. A good starting point for a shock fork is $800, you can't get a bike with a good starting fork without paying more for the bike. Those suspension bikes also mean more to go wrong and more expensive to keep them maintained and in repair.

I'm 78 years old; I use to go mountain riding on hiking trails back when I was teen with a Schwinn Traveler with 27x1 3/8 tires! A lot of us back then were doing that in mountains all over America because there were no mountain bikes yet, so we used whatever we could fine. Go back prior to WW2 and the Tour de France was more of a cross race, very short areas of the routes had pavement and those were cobblestone! Most of the roads they road on were gravel, dirt, goat trails etc., they ran into all sorts of nasty riding conditions, and all they used was 30 to 35 mm wide tires and back then there were no suspension components either. Modern man has become dainty over the years, and they want everything to be luxurious these days, but it's not remotely necessary, but marketing forces want you to believe that it is so they can get you to spend more money and get less for your money.

[Flowrider]

Wow, @Asrar Ahmed! That's a huge question!

A lot does depend on the individual's physical setup and the terrain. This varies a lot.

For instance, my doctor has 4 bikes. Which one he uses depends on the trails he's going to ride that day.

My Giant Fathom suits me perfectly, but if I had a choice, I'd go with a dual suspension.

If you can definitely try before you buy

[SPINMAN]

That's a tough one. Choosing one bike. Unlimited funds? I would have five bikes. When I was strictly focused on MTB I had a Giant VR1. 90% on the trails year round, but I did do some road riding and it was fun. I had a triple ring at that time. There was no gravel bikes 20 years ago. Not sure.

That Giant was also a full suspension. I would not consider that for a one-size-fits-all one bike for all terrains.

[Charles Thomas]

(01-05-2026, 04:17 AM)Asrar Ahmed Wrote:  Hello everyone, I just want to know, what is the best bike for riding all kinds of terrain?

If you want one bike for all kinds of terrain, a dual-sport is usually the best choice. Bikes like the Honda CRF300L or Suzuki DR-Z400 are popular because they handle both road and dirt pretty well. It really depends on how much off-road vs road riding you plan to do. 👍

[SPINMAN]

Since this is a bicycle forum, I'm sure he was asking about an all-around bicycle for multiple terrains, unless your trolling 😁

[GirishH]

Hello @Asrar Ahmed, I’m sad to say I’ve never been to Jammu–Kashmir, but hopefully in the next few months I’ll get to visit Srinagar while I am on my way to Nubra Valley. That said, I’ve ridden my 4-inch-tired fatbike on mainland India’s highways, on the unpaved roads of Northeast India, and on mountain trails in South America and Nepal.

   

For me, no other bicycle gives the same sense of confidence and workout as this one. It’s like the Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle or the Jeep of bicycles.

You know how on roads big vehicles—trucks, buses, cars—sometimes force you off the road? With the bigger tires, a fatbike lets you safely roll onto the unpaved shoulder or rough sections.

And on flat stretches or downhills, even when fully loaded, you can ride at 50+ km/h while bigger vehicles pass by. It gives a level of stability and versatility I haven’t found with other setups.

What kind of terrain do you ride in around Jammu? I’m looking forward to eventually riding through Jammu–Kashmir and hopefully letting you try MisterGordo..:-)

The best thing about a fatbike? You can’t pass through a village or town without people getting curious about it—and you always end up leaving with more friends than you had before.

(01-05-2026, 04:17 AM)Asrar Ahmed Wrote:  Hello everyone, I just want to know, what is the best bike for riding all kinds of terrain?

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

You'll want a mountain bike, hardtail as long as you're not going down crazy hill jams.

That will give you the best versatility with like 2.0 size tires.