In future if i got another i think Id go for a 140. Some riders may even prefer the feel of just adding some pressure to the air spring on their forks- simple! This means deciding on the right amount of travel for your needs can be difficult, but there are a few factors to keep in mind, including your riding style and the type of trails and terrain youll be tackling. Its not the same bike. Build quality: High-end models have superior technical design and construction and offer a longer life with regular maintenance and servicing. The concept of the long travel hardtail is pretty well established too. Personally prefer the handling of longer forks and or larger front wheels, the faster and rougher it is, the more I prefer it. Because the front suspension is telescoping, the suspension travel equals the resultant wheel travel. Ride quality: Seek out a responsive suspension system offering a smooth ride. Some might say that the hardtail mountain bike is the workhorse of the off-road world. Hard tails being generally used for less violent activities, so very long travel may be detrimental to that demographic who would typically not need so much travel, and possible extra bounce it brings and favor a lighter more agile build? Depending on the discipline of riding the bike is designed for, the suspension travel can vary from 80 to 200mm. 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 best electric mountain bikes will feature e-MTB specific forks and shocks, some with thicker stanchions for rigidity, and custom tunes that are suited to the heavier weight of the bike. Id say if most of your riding is predominantly mincing round a trail centre, then go nuts. Got to be all down to geometry and frame design. Longer is better. The short-travel forks used on cross-country bikes also help to keep weight down because they utilise a lighter chassis and narrower stanchions, usually 30 to 32mm in diameter. This is also what a platform setting does on rear shocks. IMBA Epics | Be sure to read this entire article to stay safe and avoid any surprises. Its not rubbish, its just worse than it could be and that sucks. When you get to 140 and above, slacker geo frames with HAs about 66.5-67.5 really help IME. You cant save a lot of weight here because you still need wheels, forks and tyres that are suitable for the job; you cant suddenly stick Sids on a thrashy hardtail just because its built for 100mm. Besides factors such as weight, stiffness, and efficiency, riders will also want to think about how a longer fork will change the shape of the bike. Just based on what Ive found I can get the rear wheel over at speed without smashing it up. Air-sprung shocks are common on cross-country and trail bikes; coil-sprung shocks are often used on freeride and downhill bikes. Either way, the pressure to go long is real. Adjustments: Similar to the front suspension, adjustment options depend on the model. Try it you might like it, be warned, going back to the stock setup might not feel so good afterwards. Light front on steep climbs but I love it. Of course, there are other, less mainstream frame materials you may encounter in your hardtail research; steel and titanium. Downcountry is a relatively new mountain bike discipline and isnt that well defined as a result. Hardtail mountain bikes are certainly more friendly to the budget-savvy buyer, with some entry-level hardtails starting from around 500. Too many compromises IMHO. When you have a rear shock, along with moving pivot points, some of that pedal power is absorbed by the movement of the rear triangle, thus reducing your pedal efficiency. Sizes: S, M, L, XL. A decade ago, the idea of a 180mm single-crown fork that could provide an adequate compression platform for pedaling uphill was unfathomable. We've looked at what hardtail bikes are and who rides them, but why choose one? You will see premium trail bike forks offering high- and low-speed compression adjustment, allowing riders to balance full travel benefits on gnarly terrain without having the fork dive too much in high-speed berms. That may come in handy someday. 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. How much travel you need will depend on the riding you do. 150mm 650b Revs on my 26 Transam. Less travel on a hardtail = more stable angles. Suspension travel describes the amount of movement a suspension fork or rear shock has. In fact, 140mm of fork travel is almost spot on with the average full suspension trail bike, at least when focusing on the middle of the trail bike spectrum. I think the issue with getting consensus on this topic is that almost everything you read online from mags etc. However, with shorter travel than trail bikes, they still offer greater pedalling efficiency than burlier bikes. Almost all mountain bikes are equipped with front suspension, as well as some hybrid or comfort bikes and kids bikes. Any unusual collapse or resistance to normal function. So Im idly pondering hardtails frames, looking at Curtis and BTR more than any others. The diameter of the stanchion tubes affects this lateral stiffness. It sounds like youre doing it all right! Downcountry bikes usually feature stronger, stiffer forks, with thicker stanchions, usually 34mm in diameter. Free shipping for many products! I think I remember the guy who started it from the SDH forum days, and like me, he can clearly ride a bike . Excludes Gift Memberships, Discount applies to first year. If they have 120mm forks allowed, I would give it a shot. And then, of course, you have the more niche hardtail categories that are technically classed as mountain bikes but aren't designed for pedalling around on trails. Tam spent most of his uni years racing hardtails on downhill tracks so he knows a thing or two about them and hes **** quick. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Having raced XC for most of his youth, he has a deep understanding of the sport and loves bounding around the UK to spectate at events. Unlike the useless fully extended locked position they come with. Buy the best forks you can. From cross-country to downhill, we take you through how much travel you can expect on the major types of mountain bike. Depends on the hardtail! In this guide, well explain the different mountain bike categories and how much suspension travel they typically have. Because youll have a motor, there wont be a trade-off in having a bike with more travel (and therefore weight), with the bike taking up the burden on the hills. Having more travel is great but potentially useless if the fork internals cant make the best use of it. Big news for mid-tier mountain bikes as Shimano CUES enters the chat and kills off Deore, Tiagra, Alivio, Sora and other familiar groupsets. As I said, Ive never noticed anything untoward with the 140mm on my current HT, although thats quite firm, just wondered what people thought of the reasoning. Is 150mm travel too much for a hardtail? The more travel your fork has, the more your front wheel can move up/down to absorb impact. Join once, enjoy forever. Im having fun on a 140mm 32.5lbs 29er hardtail riding natural trails at mince to medium speeds. Tip: Completing a dismantle/inspection/rebuild is usually not for the general rider, particularly as suspension designs have become increasingly sophisticated. Im not an engineer so Ive no legitimate idea beyond frowning and wondering is that really strong enough?. 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. Thats proper basic stuff so Im calling you out on being a biologist too. Folks interested in adding a bit of travel up front can also do some research to see if their existing fork can be lengthened. Youll find a range of options and prices. Tam always struck me as a person who knew his stuff. What is 100mm travel in fork? The obvious thing is how far can something pivot at one point before it feels unstable. Are these 30 mm more too much for the bike? Or, your buddies have just mocked your 100mm of travel right up to your breaking point. 505 reviews with an average rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars. A move like that may also void the frame manufacturers warranty since they didnt intend for riders to write gnarly 160mm checks that their frames cant cash. The best cross-country mountain bikes are designed to compete in high-level, fast races, where lightness and pedalling efficiency are often the keys to success. As with other types of mountain bikes, fork travel is usually dependent on discipline. The weight, stanchion thickness, and travel all increase to meet the demands of each discipline and longer forks arent superior in every application. I recently swapped the air shaft in my Pike and went from 140mm to 160mm, and the total cost of goods was roughly 30. Well **** me, Im never flying again. Various pivot designs and configurations are available. http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/short-travel-hardtails, BTR clearly know what theyre talking about. An air-sprung unit not holding air and losing all travel. Anyone can join and everyone belongs. As fork travel increases with trail bikes, the latitude of responsiveness from your damper becomes more complex. Which is not quite as well as Mr Taylforth . You can unsubscribe at any time. This improves comfort when sat in the saddle, and to a smaller extent rear-wheel traction while climbing. And that risks overwhelming the rear of . Thank you for signing up to the BikeRadar newsletter! I'd say (I'm no expert) 160 mm would be a compromised maximum, 120-140 will work well with most modern frames. A professional suspension service is also highly recommended whenever you experience the following: The newsletter sign-up system is currently down for maintenance. As a result, enduro bikes have to perform well on technical descents while providing a decent pedalling platform to get you to the top of the trail in good time. 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. The original forks only go back on when I want to sell the bikes. Two common methods used by a fork to absorb impact and then rebound back: A coil spring (wound steel coil) provides a linear compression rate, giving smooth, consistent impact absorption over the range of spring travel. BA1 1UA. 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. ie lets make a hardcore hardtail for 100mm forks even though youll struggle to find 100mm hardcore forks. Short travel forks; lighter parts; change your riding style so instead of riding through stuff you ride over it. 100MM Fork Travel. They need to be light and responsive while still providing a decent range of compression. Note: Bicycle manufacturers dont make their own suspension products. All other things being equal, a stiffer fork allows a mountain bike to track true through rough lines and go precisely where the handlebars are pointed. . If I put a 180mm single crown on it at 570mm (ish) a2c then it may fail as well as generally handle like shit. You must choose between bikes with front suspension only (a hardtail) or full (front and rear) suspension. Preload: A coil-sprung fork often has a knob on top of one of the stanchions to allow for the unweighted tension on the spring to be increased or decreased. Some points of comparison: If your current front suspension needs replacing due to non-serviceable wear or damage, you need to know these 4 specs to replace it: Buying a new bike? On a full-suspension bike, expect to find similar travel for the front and rear wheels. We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices, Lance Branquinho is a Namibian-born media professional who graduated to mountain biking after injuries curtailed his fascination with trail running. If you're looking for a do-it-all hardtail you probably want "All-Mountain" hard tail. These changes will also cause the bike to become a bit more sluggish and slower to respond to steering. Outdoor equity, climate action, places we love. If he knew stuff hed not need to do fea & you just called a load of apes, monkeys. Internals cant make the best use of it the best use of it, there are other, mainstream! Might like it, be warned, going back to the budget-savvy how much fork travel for hardtail, with travel... 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