trevanye, to answer your question that bike is made for flat terrain (mild/easy trails) or a nice commuter bike to & from work. Unfortunately, that bike will fall apart on a downhill trail. I hope that does not sound mean, I'm just being honest. If your looking to start downhill mountain biking, you could start with: http://www.mtbr.com/cat/bikes/freeri...6_1543crx.aspx and build the bike from to your liking from there. Those bikes are relatively cheap these days (you can find one under $500usd) and some are already modified for downhill.