Probably everyone pictures something a little different but to me an ATB (Any Type of Bike or All Terrain Bike) invokes the image of a mid-90's Kona steel hardtail. Could have a rigid fork, could have a suspension fork (for a few years they sold them both ways). Could be used for bike packing, could be used for mountain biking, could be used for commuting, could be used for gravel riding.
Some folks might change the tires for different applications, some folks might not. It might have bags or racks, or again, not.
It could be a new bike with fairly modern geo, like a current Kona Unit or it could be an old '93 Marin Team Issue. I've seen a few old Chromag's around with new careers having being been swapped onto semi-slicks and rigid forks for commuter duty and those are some of the sweetest in my book.
Once you remove the survivability factor of getting down black+ trails or the requirement to be the lightest and fastest uphill race rig, it's crazy how versatile a bicycle can be. And it's so neat how many different flavours of bicycles can play together.
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My example:
My Waltworks V1 was my mountain bike hardtail:
![](https://nsmb.com/media/images/DSC03605.original.jpg)
When my V2 came along, I retired my V1 from active duty as my hardtail mountain bike, I asked Em from WZRD to make a rack for it and add mounts for that and fenders. Then I built it up with 2.6" WTB Ranger tires (the smallest that would fit on my wheels at the time) and used it as an ATB:
![](https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/368f5efd-e3ee-4519-8848-e915ae6c86c4/Waltworks%20V1%20ATB%20Build%20(2).JPG/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1280)
I found where and how I was using it I really wanted faster and more efficient gravel-sized rubber, so I laced up narrower rims and switched from running 29x2.6" tires to 700x40c tires.
Should I have picked something in between?! Maybe. It's crazy how much traction one can get out of a set of Schwalbe G-One tires but they wear out quick. Anyway, gravel and light trail this thing still goes and the long wheel base for the genre gives it a smoother and more relaxed ride.
![](https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/368f5efd-e3ee-4519-8848-e915ae6c86c4/Walt%20WZRD%20BikeYoke%20and%20Ride%20Easy%20MEATengines%20A.JPG/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1280)
![](https://nsmb.com/media/images/CushCore_Extralight_NSMB_Andrew_Major_13.original.jpg)
Jan. 15, 2024, 4:35 p.m. - Andrew Major
Probably everyone pictures something a little different but to me an ATB (Any Type of Bike or All Terrain Bike) invokes the image of a mid-90's Kona steel hardtail. Could have a rigid fork, could have a suspension fork (for a few years they sold them both ways). Could be used for bike packing, could be used for mountain biking, could be used for commuting, could be used for gravel riding. Some folks might change the tires for different applications, some folks might not. It might have bags or racks, or again, not. It could be a new bike with fairly modern geo, like a current Kona Unit or it could be an old '93 Marin Team Issue. I've seen a few old Chromag's around with new careers having being been swapped onto semi-slicks and rigid forks for commuter duty and those are some of the sweetest in my book. Once you remove the survivability factor of getting down black+ trails or the requirement to be the lightest and fastest uphill race rig, it's crazy how versatile a bicycle can be. And it's so neat how many different flavours of bicycles can play together. \-\-\-\-\- My example: My Waltworks V1 was my mountain bike hardtail: ![](https://nsmb.com/media/images/DSC03605.original.jpg) When my V2 came along, I retired my V1 from active duty as my hardtail mountain bike, I asked Em from WZRD to make a rack for it and add mounts for that and fenders. Then I built it up with 2.6" WTB Ranger tires (the smallest that would fit on my wheels at the time) and used it as an ATB: ![](https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/368f5efd-e3ee-4519-8848-e915ae6c86c4/Waltworks%20V1%20ATB%20Build%20(2).JPG/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1280) I found where and how I was using it I really wanted faster and more efficient gravel-sized rubber, so I laced up narrower rims and switched from running 29x2.6" tires to 700x40c tires. Should I have picked something in between?! Maybe. It's crazy how much traction one can get out of a set of Schwalbe G-One tires but they wear out quick. Anyway, gravel and light trail this thing still goes and the long wheel base for the genre gives it a smoother and more relaxed ride. ![](https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/368f5efd-e3ee-4519-8848-e915ae6c86c4/Walt%20WZRD%20BikeYoke%20and%20Ride%20Easy%20MEATengines%20A.JPG/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1280) ![](https://nsmb.com/media/images/CushCore_Extralight_NSMB_Andrew_Major_13.original.jpg)