on the topic of HT fork length is ill thought through bollocks, which is why you get the people that argue for opposite sides of the argument when they may be talking about real world differences that are tiny. This added frame construction makes the frame heavier, impacting efficiency when going uphill, but the pay-off is worth it when coming back down. Anything that moves needs periodic maintenance, and suspension can do a lot of moving. Forks come in varying lengths of suspension travel and stanchion sizes, this is what they mean for your riding. For this reason, collisions and rock strikes are more likely to crack the frame rather than dent it. The choice between the two types largely comes down to preference and difficulty of the trail they ride. Hence, you end up with a bike weighing more than a full susser, and its not much fun to ride unless youre going very fast down a hill. Light front on steep climbs but I love it. These changes will also cause the bike to become a bit more sluggish and slower to respond to steering. You must choose between bikes with front suspension only (a hardtail) or full (front and rear) suspension. It is one of many factors that contribute to your riding enjoyment. If a bike (usually a mountain bike) offers suspension, then it has 1 or 2 shock absorbers designed to soften the impact of rough terrain by compressing and rebounding. Hardtail bikes are lighter than full-suspension mountain bikes, more affordable and more suited for lower-graded trails, which will help teach you the skills and confidence necessary for progression later on. This is generally as simple as installing a couple of extra bottomless tokens in your Pike, or adding some suspension fluid to the positive air chamber on forks without a transfer port, or changing to a firmer spring on a coil fork. A 100- to 120mm lightweight cross-country fork will be ideal if your trails are smooth and flowing. You can find hardtails with everything from 80mm to 200mm forks on them. This refers to the amount of distance the suspension will move before it is fully compressed. A hardtail means the bike will have suspension at the front, known as a fork, but no suspension at the rear, so the bike's back end is rigid. Check out our handy second-hand buyer's guide to be aware of the pitfalls. The 45650B gets its name from its ability to run 4, 5, or 6-travel forks, and its 650B (27.5) wheels. Make sure your suspension is properly adjusted. I looked into this on my Specialized Stumpjumper but Spec only 'allowed' a max of 100mm, so I stuck with it. Ive got 140 on my 29er hardtail and it feels fine. To further add to my previous comment. Ive got 140mm on my 650b hardtail and never noticed anything untoward. Tam spent most of his uni years racing hardtails on downhill tracks so he knows a thing or two about them and hes **** quick. Tam always struck me as a person who knew his stuff. A short-travel fork will also run out of travel quicker compared to one with more travel. Love the longer forks, its better everywhere except going uphill, if hill is very steep and the forks are fully extended due to little weight being on them. Regular service will also prolong the life of your bike frame. Feel free to go beyond that if you must, but be prepared for a bike that the manufacturer didnt really intend to create. Part Type: . Keep in mind that not all the settings described here are available on all suspension units. The Roscoe 8 will perform like a champ. Sliders or lowers: each connects at the bottom to the front wheel; it also connects to the brakes. Adjustments may be available for both the compression and rebound. [offer keyword=FOX 36 FLOAT FACTORY 27.5 2018]. Check the manufacturers manual (usually found on their website) for your specific model. Because it has this tolerance for brutish behaviour, aluminium has a slight advantage in damping vibrations and impact absorption. 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. ride it as a normal XC/all-mountain hardtail, and the 29+ tires will have you smiling for miles with their capability and comfort. But todays big-hitting 38mm single-crown forks are hugely adaptable, giving riders all the precise cornering support and cushioning when landing those huge drops or landings. Whether you're looking to push your comfort zone from the gravel bike to a mountain bike, or you're entirely new to the trails, hardtail bikes are a must-have in many rider's bike stable. If you cant do either of these on your choice of air fork, walk away. 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. 2023 Recreational Equipment, Inc. All rights reserved. When designers create bikes, they do so with a holistic view that pairs geometry and spec list with the bikes intended use. 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. Less flexibility in the fork will mean more direct steering input, making the bike feel more planted through the rough stuff. In mountain biking, there is misplaced confidence in longer-travel forks. They'll typically have narrower bars for faster, responsive steering and for getting through tightly packed sections of the course. Got more travel, better small bump compliance, and more progressive spring force for a fraction of the cost of a new fork. With modern forks with proper damping, i cant see a problem tbh! You'll probably find her on either a mountain or gravel bike in the Afan Valley Forest, either riding or guiding visitors around the trails. Frames have to be built to the highest strength levels to cope with the impacts you experience on downhill trails. If you want to keep weight down, a small bump in length say 10mm, going from 140mm to 150mm will produce an appreciable performance gain that comes with a minimal weight penalty. Fork travel on hardtails how much is too much? For many bikepackers a hardtail hits the sweet spot between too much bike and too little bike. Downcountry bikes usually feature stronger, stiffer forks, with thicker stanchions, usually 34mm in diameter. Apparently, Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed etc dont know their stuff. That said it went uphill more easily than my old 130mm equipped Cove Stiffees. Downhill bikes are designed for, you guessed it, riding downhill. Suspension quality has a major impact on its price. Any unusual collapse or resistance to normal function. Never saw or heard of any of their protos breaking either. And the amount of metal thats been removed from the drive side chainstay to make room for the chainring? This bike looks very, very good. I think you make some really good points here Michael, and I like the positive DIY or TIY tact taken. set of Lyrics, was ace and totally suited the bike. 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. At 150mm of suspension travel, you are probably pushing the limits of what a 34mm stanchion can deal with, especially for aggressive trail riding. Confident on descents and fairly capable on climbs, trail bikes typically have between 120 and 160mm of suspension travel. You can purchase a hardtail mountain bikein-person at a bike shop, from the internet and from second-hand retailers and individuals. The trade-off for this weight saving comes in the form of fork flex, which impacts the directness of steering inputs and the overall ability of the fork to perform in gnarlier terrain as friction levels build on the seals. An ideal fork absorbs impacts vertically without undue lateral flex which can detract from the steering and control of a bike. Some manufacturers will design frames with flex points in the. Ride quality: Seek out a responsive suspension system offering a smooth ride. Trail bikes are one of the most popular types of mountain bike. So if the rear shock gets 100mm travel, the bike will likely be spec'd with a 100mm travel fork (or thereabouts). Differences: The most common type of front suspension is the fork. It is comprised of 2 struts that connect the front wheel to the frames head tube. [offer keyword=FOX 34 FLOAT PERFORMANCE 27.5 2018]. Who do I have to answer to for doing it all wrong? I was lucky enough to be able to change the air tube (?) Handling will be slower but downhills will be easier and you'll have more clearance for pedals and chainrings when going over obstacles. I think I remember the guy who started it from the SDH forum days, and like me, he can clearly ride a bike . Locked lowered for a lower centre of gravity on the steep uphill sections (front and rear suspension), that would be useful to me. It pretty much requires 160mm minimum and 36. and perfect for me , prince albert prototype with 44mm headtube and 150mm marzocchi FR forks. 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. its unpredictable.. 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. 100MM Fork Travel. Then I added tokens and lowered the air pressure. The size of fork you can put on a hardtail varies depending on the design of the frame. Although most (70%) of my riding only needs probaby 4 or 4.5" of travel, having that extra inch or two just makes the ride that much smoother. Air pressure: An air-sprung fork does not have a preload knob; instead it has a Schrader valve for adjusting the air pressure, and therefore firmness, of the fork. The terrain you ride on really determines how much travel you need. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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 180mm enduro fork is pointless if it blows through its travel or is entirely unresponsive to small-bump impacts. Avoid coil forks and 32mm chassis for 150mm travel HT bikes. And if you want to take your . Its interesting that BTR, who are relatively new and market their Ranger frame as an enduro hardtail, with a really slack HA, should be the ones arguing against long travel forks. Jan 11, 2014. But is this the case? 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. in my fork to get more travel out of it. Next the strain on a head tube designed for a fork with 60mm less travel might very well lead to a catastrophic failure of the frame. For your riding descents and fairly capable on climbs, trail bikes typically between! Direct steering input, making the bike suspension will move before it comprised... Out of it has a slight advantage in damping vibrations and impact absorption lowered air... Is the fork will also prolong the life of your bike frame of. Stiffer forks, with thicker stanchions, usually 34mm in diameter hardtail varies depending on the design the. 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