5 Best Mountain and Trail Bikes for Summer Riding

Tired of the monotony of rolling your bike around tame city streets? Strap on your helmet, hop on the Diamondback Overdrive Sport mountain bike and aim the front wheel at the best mountain trails. It's lightweight aluminum frame is made to clear obstacles and take serious abuse, and the WTB Wolverine Race tires can ride over pretty much anything. The $599.99 Overdrive has a 24-speed drivetrain and 8-speed crankset that provide shifting power to get you up or down the toughest hills, while the hydraulic disk brakes bring you to a quick halt as you bomb toward the edge. Ultra-absorbant underwear not included.

This mountain bike is great for first-time riders, and even offers a special package just for noobs. The $1,800 Specialized Carve Expert 29er hardtail has a lightweight aluminum frame and comes equipped with a 100mm RockShox Reba fork, 2x10 drivetrain and a Shimano XT rear derailleur and Avid Elixir 3 brakes. This bike is race ready. If only you were.

Unlike any mountain bike you've seen before, the Charge Mortar Pub Bike is built to take you from BMX freestyling to pub crawling downtown. You know, for those times when you feel like downing a couple of pints and getting your freestyle on or when you've only got $350 and need one bike to do it all. The single-speed Mortar Pub has a one-piece BMX crank set, BMX U-brakes, and a cromoly downtube and chainstays, just like a BMX bike. Freedom Trekking-X tires are made for rolling on pavement and sidewalks, while the steel frame absorbs road bumps making it one of the best bikes around. It'll take whatever punishment you can dish out. For those of you who don't know your limits, it should come with a warning label that says, "Riding this bike after a pub crawl while saying 'Hey y'all watch this!' may result in loss of teeth."

Ever have a favorite sandwich, added one single new element like a special mustard or pepper and all of sudden it's even better? Ok, now imagine that happening to a bike. Except you can't eat it. Pivot has taken the proven performance of the Mach 429 and added carbon. The Mach 429 Carbon has a revised suspension design and its position-sensitive anti-squat makes this 29er pedal, accelerate and handle like a 26” wheel bike. Increased performance and adjustment range allows riders to adjust to specific course changes or ride conditions. The ride is so smooth you'll never want to get off -- even if there is an awesome sandwich waiting in your backpack.

When it's time to get more serious with your cycling, and you want to pedal what the pros ride, step up to the Scattante CFX Black Cyclocross. One of the best available mountain bikes on the market has an ultra-lightweight carbon fiber frame and fork that are built to take punishment on the toughest, nastiest, most ball-busting courses imaginable. Disc brakes give you with the stopping power you need when bombing through the mud and muck towards a dropoff. The $2,499.99 CFX also comes with Stan's NoTubes tubeless wheels and tubeless tires to eliminate blowouts and downtime changing tires when you should be pushing your bike riding limits.