"Because ideas have to be original only with regard to their adaptation to the problem at hand, I am always extremely interested in how others have used them...." ~Thomas Edison (American Inventor) 1847 - 1931

In today's mountain biking world, terms like “Freeride” “All-Mountain” and “Slope-style” are thought up, thrown on a product and marketed to the masses. These terms become the new hot key phrase for the year and everyone rushes out to buy an “All-Mountain” bike like the Santa Cruz Nomad, or a “Slope-style” bike like the Transition Bottle Rocket. In reality, 90% of the time, these terms are given to products, which have undergone some very minor tweaks to geometry, and either have reduced or extended travel to suit a particular application.  It is however a very good way for bike manufacturers to get you to buy more than one bike and this day in age it is not uncommon for people to have 2 or 3 bikes in their stable. Whether it’s a combination of a downhill, all-mountain and cross-country bikes or as simple as a full suspension and a hardtail, most serious riders own more than one bike.  The latest term I have encountered is “Backcountry” bikes used by Bionicon, but after a day of playing with their lightweight trail bike, the Edison LTD, there is more to the term “Back Country” than just another marketing gimmick.