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Suspension Travel Requirements
Hi All,
It may sound like a silly question but I wouldn't mind hearing some peoples feedback, without coping a mouthful 
I am in the process of looking for a second bike, longer travel for more AM riding. I currently rise a Epic 29er. But the query I have is in deciding what amount of travel I would ACTUALLY need. To paint the picture a little for you all I ride a Med frame and am also in the process of losing some weight with the aim to get myself 80 - 83 Kgs kitted in riding gear, height is ~5'9.
I do the core of my riding in Kalamunda and I want a bike capable of doing all the black runs, including lovin shovels when it opens, and being able to do the jumps/ drops properly, not just roll the doubles etc. I do the black runs now but the epic is not really build for it and can't do everything down the trail.
I am currently looking at a bike with 150mm front travel and 140mm rear, just unsure if I would really benefit from having a bike with 160mm front and back.
Keeping in mind this would not be a bike that I do shuttle runs with so it would need to climb also.
Cheers
-TJ
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everything depends on $$$$, but going on what you have said maybe a lapierre zesty?but mate there are heaps of bikes around that would fit ur bill, although with the release of 650b bikes your options for a 26er is quite limited
If you're into doing big hit stuff like 6ft drops and big gaps and stuff, a proper 6"-7" AM freeride bike might be in order. Something like a Santa Cruz Bullit, great pedaller and with a set of 36's or totems on the front make it capable of doing anything.
If you looking to do more tamer style AM riding, then somthing in the order of 150mm rear and 150 or 160 front will make pedalling the ups a whole lot better than a freeride bike. They are generally a fair bit lighter and more than capable of doing what you are describing.
120-140mm front and rear goes more towards a trail orientated AM bike. So if more of your riding is trails and XC sort of stuff, with occasional Am style riding, this is where you need to be. Obviously wouldn't be as capable with the big hits, but it will pedal a fair bit better.
In the end, it all comes down to the rider, their ability and style. Some are able to hit big gaps and drops on hardtails, where others need a DH 10" rig to hit it. More suspension will be more forgiving in terms of making up for rider inexperience for lack of a better description.
I'm not familiar with the area you ride, but going by your description I'd be looking at a F150/160-R150mm bike. I ride a bike with 160mm 36's on the front and 150mm rear end, it is comfortable and efficient enough to ride all day and it not be a chior, yet the bike is big enough to smash the downs as fast as I dare.
A thought may be to keep the Epic, and go for a 26" on sale, or second hand.
Anything around 140mm to 170mm depending on how much you like climbing. There are shit load guys running stumpy evos and giant reigns. The new nukeproof mega AM looks the goods aswell. Endless bikes to choose from
Don't tell anyone this (damn forums, we're busted) this is a tip from the fast guys & girls & it works. For the type of riding you want to do, pick a reputable manufacture that has a head angle similar to enduro's. (Spesh) Look it up on their www. Sit on the bike in normal stature. Ok, here's the important part. Look down at your front axel. You should see your front axel past your bars/headset . Visually..... idunno 10-20mm. You may have to reduce stem length to achieve this (I did, to a dirt jump style headset) PS. I'm 40+ I ain't gunna start dirt jumpin. Once you have this, you will bomb, correction smash what you wanna do. It just depends on the size of your gonads on how big you wanna go. Just be prepared peddling uphill will be a bitch, but a 22 tooth granny will get the job done
150 + travel is a must
I cant think of a better bike than Enduro. If you come across a 2010-12 model with low huck hours grab it.
This week getting the 2014 BOS VIPR2 rear end to upgrade a fairly ordinary RP2 shock (has a custom work through but you can only polish so much) but everyone who has these units and on bikes ridden they are pretty special. Mind you 4 months delivery has been.....testing.
http://www.sicklines.com/2013/04/24/2013-2014-bo...
In my opinion all of the tracks as outlined for the Gravity Enduro are capable on a 24' hardtail bar the top huck to flat off ladderwork and only cause the tranni is questionable for a small rigid ride.
Id prefer a bit more roots and ruts for other forum questions lately. But some with balls will do 32 ft stepdowns on 5 inch XC rigs for fun time and time again and then ride the same rig the following week in the State DH Champs.
Is it about timing or plush or flow. Or just having a ride with mates. Id go 160mm for the one of everything ride.
The Pivot Mach 6 will be out soon. I have heard that they are pretty awesome.
Rune in 26"
or
Prime in 29"
Born and breed on the northshore of Vancouver.
Canucks no how to build a bike to bomb a trail.
Slack and low.
TJ, I think you are on the right track with the 6' front and 5' rear travel for the type of riding your planning to do.
My opinion would be for a 20mm thru axle on the front, something like the fox 36ers float(simple and reliable.)
Enjoy..
Thanks all for the feedback so far, I understand it is a pretty open ended question to get a solid answer on. Just without jumping on too many demo bikes its not an easy choice to make considering the size of the investment. And with all the info floating around on forums these days about bigger is getter debates for both suspension travel and wheel size it just confuses the sh!t out of most people that are trying to decide on their next rig, well it does for me anyway.
To cover a few mentioned points in previous post's. The budget is set between 4 - 4.5k and I wont be selling my Epic at this point either, I'll keep this for longer XC rides.
I have been looking into an Ibis HD, mainly because they seam to be so versatile from what I have read up on so far, Which will probably be a good thing in the future. Any thoughts on one of these? Are there many Ibis HD riders in Perth?
Cheers,
-TJ
I've had the mojoHD from 8 months, I had a reign xo before that, the xo was a great bike but the mojo is even better.
Climbs like a mountain goat and decends like its on rails. With the new HDR you can run 27.5 or 26 and if you want to go harder you can even run180mm up front.
Lots of great bike out there in that category, so your spoilt for choice.
fu#k yer, now your talking, if i had the cash that would be my choice too, i think kal cycles may have one, give tim a buzz...mmmm dw link...mmmm carbon...ooohh
i think 160mm is a bit of overkill for perth trails , 150 be the max u would wanna pedal up the hill .
mate has a nomad carbon and i find it not that nice to pedal up the hill.(thus why he has an electric motor on it )
u will also find the more susp travel u have , the harder it is to jump ( nicer landings ) but soaks up the take-off ramp so u have to hit jumps harder and pump more to get it airbourne.( if u nail the downramp properly , very little susp is actually required .. look at all the dirtjumpers and bmx's do huge jumps with no suspension )
atm i can do all the current black diamond stuff on a 130mm 29r
owed a spesh enduro 29er 150mm for a short period and back to back rides could really feel the extra travel(and weight) killing the jumping experience.
mr sam hill rides a nukeproof mega am for his cross country / playing riding training
just ordered a spesh stumpjumper evo 26r ,should be here shortly
150mm travel front and rear and slacker head angle then normal stumpy's (15mm thru at front and 12mm thru at rear.. prob a must have minimum for AM bike )
after owning a 140mm stumpy 26 , that thing could climb !!! and jump .. but the evo model just has that lil bit extra AM geometry
enjoy shopping for a new bike .. 2013 is all on run-out , or get a fresh new 2014 model as they are all starting to roll into shops now !
i was seriously considering this .. but just out of my budget
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?2...
6" travel for sure. Most bikes in that category will come with 150mm front forks. But my recommendation would be to go 160mm forks. You will hardly notice any difference pedalling up a hill, but for sure the 160s will feel much nicer on the drops. Plus they will take the beating more between services.
Giant Reign, Pivot Firebird, Mojo HD, plus plenty of others in this category.
In all honesty, you can't go past the Reign. Fantastic bang for your buck. You get a dropper post, chain guide, all SLX gear. Just the tyres suck which you can change. Given your overall AM slant, I would recommend getting a dropper post for whatever bike you end up with.