Fork Travel: 100mm. Bottom line: They all work well, and the average recreational rider is unlikely to notice significant differences in suspension performance. They need to be light and responsive while still providing a decent range of compression. This is also what a platform setting does on rear shocks. When designers create bikes, they do so with a holistic view that pairs geometry and spec list with the bikes intended use. These types are your dirt jump bikes and your freeride whips, which can be smaller in both frame and wheel size. Now lean against a wall and adopt the neutral riding position out of the saddle with arms and legs bent. i know .. If we were asked these questions about the Belter or the Pinner, the answers would be yes, no but its compatible, yes. Item Width: 197 mm. Theyre also motorsport engineering grads so they know a hell of a lot more about these things than most of the monkeys on here. My riding skillz are also more important than 20mm of travel. Upgrading the fork to more travel will change the geometry. I have another hard tail that came with/was designed for 120,when I first serviced the forks I put them to 130 and in my mind at least ,I now ride like a god. A pricier fork is going to offer a superior experience compared to an inexpensive one. Either way, the pressure to go long is real. This means they require less material in their construction because they dont require the same amount of strength as a trail or enduro bike needs. . Although many cross-country bikes are now moving over to full-suspension set-ups, there's still a large population of XC riders who love riding and racing on hardtails. Then I added tokens and lowered the air pressure. The longer reach, shorter chainstays, slacker head tube and lower bottom bracket are welcome changes that are sure to make the Roscoe a much better all-rounder of the hardtail category. Compared to a gravel bike or rigid mountain bike, hardtails offer more comfort and confidence on rougher terrain. We recommend that a trail fork ideally have 34mm stanchions, at 130-140mm, for a 29er - possibly, up to 150mm, for the smaller 27.5in wheel size. Hopefully, youve been riding quite a bit, and thanks to your improving skills youre now placing more demands on your front suspension with higher speeds and/or more adventurous line choices. Are these 30 mm more too much for the bike? Company Cross-country hardtails typically have 100mm of travel, but more aggressive hardtails can have suspension travel of up to 150mm. RockShox and Fox introduced 38mm stanchion single-crown forks last year, especially for the riding demands of enduro mountain biking. Downhill forks feature the thickest stanchion, ranging from 35 to 40mm in diameter, because they deal with the most extreme terrain and require the greatest rigidity. Longer travel forks on a hardtail tend to allow the geometry to change excessively, causing the bike to become unpredictable. Frames have to be built to the highest strength levels to cope with the impacts you experience on downhill trails. Hardtails have front suspension only, facilitated by a component known as a fork. Already have an account with us? Feel free to go beyond that if you must, but be prepared for a bike that the manufacturer didnt really intend to create. To better understand how the suspension travel of the best mountain bike forks influences your riding and what should be best for your trails, you need to understand the relationship between terrain absorption and trail feedback. . Ive never ridden a hardtail with more than 140mm travel that has felt good. Ive got 140mm on my 650b hardtail and never noticed anything untoward. Light front on steep climbs but I love it. However, hardtail bikes aren't just for beginner mountain bikers. To further add to my previous comment. See Basic Suspension Setup later in this article. However, the strength of carbon fibre compensates for the brittleness. Thats not to say that a hardtail cant work properly with 160mm travel forks, but its definitely more difficult when you have to achieve a balance between efficiency and performance on a hardtail. As you mentioned, personally for me on the steep descents I ride in Mongolia, I really need the longer and wider diameter forks. Ive put longer travel forks on nearly every MTB Ive owned and never had bad handling habits or broken frames (hard tails, dual suspension, aluminium and carbon). Mr__Rogerss 3 yr. ago As for longer travel suspension creating a larger bobbing effect then start working on your pedalling technique, instead of expecting the bike to compensate for your faults. An ideal fork absorbs impacts vertically without undue lateral flex which can detract from the steering and control of a bike. Too many compromises IMHO. This refers to the amount of distance the suspension will move before it is fully compressed. Having more travel is great but potentially useless if the fork internals cant make the best use of it. The suspension is compressed when the stress is applied, the lever arm will be very similar the the shorter original forks, so the stress will be the similar. General guidelines: Sag enables the wheel to follow undulations in the ground more effectively, allowing the suspension to extend so that the wheel can drop into depressions in the trail. For AM to light Free ride a 140 to 160mm fork would be the ticket. If your worried about getting bad handling habits by changing the fork travel, the quickest way to achieve that would be by putting shorter forks or a smaller diameter front wheel on your bike. Too much travel can also dull the feedback of your trail bike. REI and the REI Co-op logo are trademarks of Recreational Equipment, Inc. Seat tube angle: 75. For a full-suspension bike 160mm travel can be great; there can be no denying that many 160mm travel full-suspension bikes exist which are incredibly capable down hills as well as being plenty efficient up them. (New annually renewing membership only. Free shipping for many products! And a digital membership where you can read all the digital magazines is normally 25, and now 12.50 with the code. As the fork gets longer, it raises handlebars up and slackens the head tube angle. ie lets make a hardcore hardtail for 100mm forks even though youll struggle to find 100mm hardcore forks. Hitting 3' drops is like hitting a root, they are so . Suspension units are expensive to replace; suspension lifespan can be extended by having periodic service performed by a suspension specialist. Downcountry bikes aim to balance a cross-country bikes efficiency with a trail bikes downhill capability. A short-travel bike is more responsive to steering input, which can translate to twitchiness going downhill. Sizes: S, M, L, XL. Buying a new mountain bike? Stanchions: each travels in and out of the sliders; internal workings consist of a spring or air chamber, damper rod, oil, valves. A move like that may also void the frame manufacturer's warranty since they didn't intend for riders to write gnarly 160mm checks that their frames can't cash. Maybe longer, not often shorter, theres not many bikes that work better with less fork than they were intended for. So, youve had your mountain bike for a while now and realize your fork is no longer sufficient. The added weight a battery and motor bring means frames as well as components have to be engineered to cope with the extra weight and contribute even more weight to the bike in the process. There is a 190mm-travel version of RockShoxs enduro-focused ZEB fork, but youre more likely to see this attached to a freeride or bike park bike. Theres room to play there within reason. Depends on the geometry of the frame and how/what you ride as to the compromise that will best suit you, as everything in the biking world is a compromise, stating the obvious I suppose. Bolted onto the frame are quality components, like a SRAM XX1 Eagle drivetrain and a Fox Factory 34 fork on the top-end model. Its not the same bike. It is comparatively short: 1.5 to 3. Reynolds 853 Steel Frame. Electric mountain bikes are heavy, even compared to downhill bikes. Other bikes aimed at enduro riding are most often given ~160mm travel nowadays, so we get asked if the Ranger fits in the same mold. Fork travel on hardtails how much is too much? More info . Efficiency: With a rigid rear end, all of your pedal power can be directly transferred to forward motion. That has changed with the popularity of downcountry and there are now 120mm forks that have much stiffer crowns. You've been subscribed to our newsletter. Would like one for the laughs but I have other things to buy really. The rear frame triangle, which holds the rear wheel, will have one or more pivot points to enable the wheel to travel through a range of motion. The fit, geometry, and tubing selection will be tuned for your weight, riding style, and frame size. Yeti uses TURQ carbon construction for a stiff, lightweight, and durable frame. An upgrade option for some forks is a handlebar-mounted lever to remotely control the lockout via a cable. Downcountry is a relatively new mountain bike discipline and isnt that well defined as a result. He also enjoys bike touring and has completed numerous travels on the west coast of Europe, most recently riding from Lisbon to Roscoff. Some front forks feature adjustable travel to provide more versatility: You can shorten the travel for going uphill and lengthen it for sustained or steep downhill sections. Price: Aluminum: $1,199 - $1,599; Carbon: $2,199 - $4,299. Back it all the way out, then progressively add more until the suspension compresses and bounces only once as it returns to normal sag, when riding off a curb. The Enemy: How Mountain Biking Changed from Sinister to Salvation 4 Hardtail MTBs on Sale, plus SRAM & RockShox AXS https://www.dirtlabs.com/fork-travel-change/. Bike suspension provides improved control, traction and comfort on rooty, rocky singletrack or potholed roads. The shock is at the short end of the frame lever, and the rear wheel is at the long end of the lever, so the actual wheel travel will be much greater than what is indicated by the stroke travel. Hardtails aren't great in very steep terrain, despite some hardcore hardtails running forks up to 170mm long. Sag refers to how much the suspension compresses with just the riders weight on the bike. Probably something to do with dynamic head angles in full sussers vs hardtails. Folks interested in adding a bit of travel up front can also do some research to see if their existing fork can be lengthened. In general, bikes will happily accept forks that are up to 20mm larger than their designers intended. How much suspension travel do I need on my mountain bike. If you really feel that substantially longer travel is required, it is probably time to consider getting a different bike. A long-travel bike has slower steering which feels more stable when descending. Once you change fork travel by 20mm or more, you're likely going to alter the geometry of the bike in a way that will make it less rideable and also void the frame warranty. I think the issue with getting consensus on this topic is that almost everything you read online from mags etc. Of course with the ones I keep looking at you can have custom sizing and geometry, so its not quite as easy as fit what its designed for. However, a majority of mountain bike brands are moving to a 1x drivetrain as cassette sizes have come along so far that you can achieve an ample range of gears for all your trail needs. Use code HELLO54 when you join us as a print or digital member and your membership will be half price for the first year. Using less suspension travel than other mountain bikes means cross-country bikes can be built with a lighter frame construction because less reinforcement is needed to deal with the lower frame articulation. Havent ridden a 650b ht myself but Id say 140mm is about right for 26in and 120mm for 29in. He has a weakness for British steel hardtails, especially those which only run a single gear. Lateral flex which can be extended by having periodic service performed by a suspension.... Wheel size designers intended to be light and responsive while still providing decent! You join us as a fork lockout via a cable but more aggressive hardtails can have suspension travel I. 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