Mountain Biking

Hardtail or full suspension on a clay trail:

a hardtail has a suspension fork and a rigid rear end, so it is lighter, cheaper and has fewer parts for mud to wear out. On the dirt roads and cattle tracks around La Chorrera it is the sensible first bike. A full-suspension bike adds a rear shock and a linkage that keeps the back wheel planted through roots and ruts, which is what you want on a steep, broken descent, but every pivot in that linkage is a bearing the clay will eventually find. Cross-country bikes have short travel for racing and long climbs, trail bikes sit in the middle, and enduro bikes carry far more for descending. E-MTBs add a mid-drive motor, usually Shimano or Bosch, and open up climbs riders would otherwise push. If your riding is mostly tarmac, a hybrid from the wider biking range will be lighter and quicker.

Wheels, frame size and the three parts that make a trail bike:

29-inch wheels roll over roots more easily and are the default on adult bikes; 27.5 is more nimble and suits shorter riders. Every maker draws its own size chart, so check the one for that exact model. After that, three things separate a bike that copes with clay singletrack from one that only looks the part: an air fork you can set to your weight rather than a basic coil fork, hydraulic disc brakes rather than cable ones, and a single-chainring drivetrain such as Shimano Deore or SRAM Eagle, which drops the front derailleur and sheds mud better. For weekday training indoors, smart trainers sit with exercise equipment.

Coil forks, air forks and where the price jumps:

bikes at a few hundred dollars have the knobbly tyres and the stickers, but their coil forks and cable brakes are not made for a descent like Cerro Azul’s. A hardtail with an air fork and hydraulic brakes starts around $1,000 new in Panama, and a full-suspension trail bike from about $2,500. Three or four seasons on, that full-suspension bike tends to change hands for $1,100 to $1,500, because its next owner faces a fork and shock service, pivot bearings and probably a chain and cassette. Service receipts put a bike at the top of that range; a frame on 26-inch wheels or with a front derailleur sits below it, however clean it looks.

Fork stanchions, pivots and brakes on a used mountain bike:

start at the front. The shiny upper tubes of the fork, the stanchions, should be smooth, because a scratch there chews through the seals, and a ring of oily dirt above the seal means oil is already getting out. Lean hard on the bars: the fork should sink smoothly and return without a knock. On a full-suspension bike, lift the back wheel and rock it sideways; play at the frame means worn pivot bearings. A brake lever that pulls nearly to the grip needs bleeding. A bike that looks spotless but grinds when you spin the cranks by hand has often been pressure-washed, which drives water into every bearing. On an e-MTB, ask how old the battery is, make sure the charger comes with it, and ride it up a slope to listen to the motor; a clicking drive unit is an expensive repair.

Listing a trail bike with its suspension history:

put wheel size, frame size, travel and hardtail or full suspension in the title, since that is how riders search. Name the fork and shock, say when each was last serviced and what has changed from stock, such as tubeless tyres or a dropper post. Photograph the stanchions up close, the drive side and the linkage, and say plainly whether it has been crashed. Riders will drive in from Chiriquí or Panamá Oeste for the right bike, and before riding a metre a serious one will want the sag set for their own weight, so have the shock pump in your hand and the pressures you ran written down.