yes and No. Most people can ride the bikes and not notice. Most riders aren't generally good enough downhillers to tell the difference. But most downhillers I know can't 'downhill' on a freeride bike without complaining. Wheelbase is shorter, chainstay is shorter, HA is steeper etc.... A fr bike and dh bike are very very different in geometry (as they are meant for different kind of riding). For all round riding, up and down, a good fr bike would be better suited. Freeriding is slow and technical (catch interviews with gracia, he hates freeriding shore style, he can do it, but complains, his flow is different from super T's flow for example) Downhill is fast (very fast) and technical.