Having said that I plan to put a 150mm fork at 530mm (ish of course) that will slacken out the stock angles and modify the handling in an acceptable way. The most common wheel sizes for mountain bikes are 27.5" (a.k.a 650b) and 29". 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. It will not be exact but it will come close. Adjustments may be available for both the compression and rebound. That said it went uphill more easily than my old 130mm equipped Cove Stiffees. The 120mm of travel in the front fork and beefy, 2.8-inch tires on a set of 27.5-inch wheels soak up any big hits or impacts. A 100- to 120mm lightweight cross-country fork will be ideal if your trails are smooth and flowing. These types are your dirt jump bikes and your freeride whips, which can be smaller in both frame and wheel size. MTB Podcast | Compared to a gravel bike or rigid mountain bike, hardtails offer more comfort and confidence on rougher terrain. These are the largest forks you can buy with the most suspension travel and a dual-crown design to cushion the rider from the huge, repeated impacts when riding the most technically demanding descents possible. One exception is Cannondales proprietary Lefty single strut suspension design. Enter your email for the top stories in mountain biking, plus product picks and deals delivered to your inbox each week. So if you like the geo at 120mm, dont then stick 150s on it. Dual-crown forks are at the complete opposite spectrum of those short-travel,100-120mm forks, with nearly rigid lockout control. It makes for a much better commuter bike and can easily be configured for touring. The shock allows the rear wheel to soak up impacts, helping to keep the tire in contact with the ground, increasing rider control and decreasing rider fatigue. Stroke travel: This is how much a rear shock compresses. 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. Apparently, Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed etc dont know their stuff. Depends on the hardtail- give it forks as long as it wants. Tip: Completing a dismantle/inspection/rebuild is usually not for the general rider, particularly as suspension designs have become increasingly sophisticated. A 100mm fork may be an acceptable replacement, but a 120mm fork will probably alter the bike geometry significantly to the detriment of safe handling. Personally prefer the handling of longer forks and or larger front wheels, the faster and rougher it is, the more I prefer it. 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. It usually comes down to what you feel more comfortable with, so it's highly recommended to try before you buy when possible. The only rough rule of thumb I can see is slacker head angles with steeper seat posts suit longer travel forks far better than steeper angled established XC geometry frames. While the 27.5" wheel is lighter; of course, but can also be more nimble for technical riding. The optimum amount of travel depends on what terrain or trails you like to ride, and where youd like to progress with your riding. Light front on steep climbs but I love it. Electric mountain bikes are heavy, even compared to downhill bikes. For pretty much XC or dirt jump, go with a 100mm XC or dirt jump fork. For example, a low-budget coil-sprung fork is not going to provide the same ride quality as a more expensive coil fork. The geometry and quality of travel more important in my opinion. Suspension quality has a major impact on its price. Respect frame specs and limits and have fun. 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. Your Manzanita hardtail will be designed and built for you. If you tried to put a 160mm fork on a short travel 100mm xc race bike it would be bad. 505 reviews with an average rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars. . RockShox has reacted too with its latest Pike range, blending 35mm stanchions with low fork weight. So it is very possible to over fork a bike. Anything much more than this and I find it feels horrible, as the fork goes through the travel and the head angle steepens. My BFe was a bit wandery at 150 but is just about right at 130. 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. 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. Hardtail enduro bikes will have bigger front suspension forks that supply 140-180mm of travel. Buy the best forks you can. My riding skillz are also more important than 20mm of travel. Sign in to manage your newsletter preferences. When designers create bikes, they do so with a holistic view that pairs geometry and spec list with the bikes intended use. Downhill bikes are designed for, you guessed it, riding downhill. Unlike the useless fully extended locked position they come with. As the fork gets longer, it raises handlebars up and slackens the head tube angle. Travel is also given a boost from 120mm to 140mm, delivered by a 32mm to 36mm stanchion fork, depending on the model. 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. More sag equals a softer ride. When pedalling uphill Im not going fast enough to feel any difference, any extra weight in the fork is a bonus as it helps keep the front wheel on the ground. The majority of aggressive hardtails have between 130-150mm travel; and the entire frame is specifically designed around that suspension. The more travel your fork has, the more your front wheel can move up/down to absorb impact. 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. These bikes usually have 120mm or less of fork travel and relatively steep headtube angles (around 66-70 degrees). Thank you for signing up to the BikeRadar newsletter! Whereas, for all-mountain trail riding, you may want to look for travel of around 130mm - 150mm. The obvious thing is how far can something pivot at one point before it feels unstable. Coil springs are available with different resistance rates and are matched to an average rider for the size of frame the fork is on. How much travel you need will depend on the riding you do. Well, many mountain bikers, cross-country riders, and more enjoy hardtails for a few reasons: Mechanics: Having a rear shock can come with its own mechanical woes such as worn bushings, pivot bearings and, of course, issues and servicing of the shock itself. Jump Bikes This was mainly owing to their ability to clear obstacles with greater ease and climb more efficiently. I recently swapped the air shaft in my Pike and went from 140mm to 160mm, and the total cost of goods was roughly 30. 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. 100-130mm is the sweet spot IMO. Save 30% + G-Form Pro X3 Knee Pads when you subscribe to MBUK magazine. The diameter of the stanchion tubes affects this lateral stiffness. Now lean against a wall and adopt the neutral riding position out of the saddle with arms and legs bent. 2. 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. 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. Its not rubbish, its just worse than it could be and that sucks. This adds more torsional stiffness to the fork, helping to keep steering inputs direct through the toughest terrain and providing strength for big impacts. 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. 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). Which is not quite as well as Mr Taylforth . He is currently riding a YT Capra on the trails and a Focus Izalco Max for the road. If you use a 34mm stanchion fork at the upper reaches of its travel, there might be a higher risk of terrain-induced steering deflection due to flex. Depends on the hardtail! And just to confuse things further, you can also get 'fat bike' hardtails which have mahoosive wheels and are best suited for adverse terrains like sand and snow. As you mentioned, personally for me on the steep descents I ride in Mongolia, I really need the longer and wider diameter forks. Note: Bicycle manufacturers dont make their own suspension products. Downhill riders are less bothered by weight or climbing efficiency. Electric bikes can be categorised by the other disciplines featured in this article and will tend to feature the travel of that discipline. Frames have to be built to the highest strength levels to cope with the impacts you experience on downhill trails. It will also raise the bottom bracket which will cause the bike to feel less planted and confident in corners. Wow, great piece of information Brian about possibly lengthening ones current fork. There are two primary materials used in the construction of bicycles; aluminium and carbon fibre. Although the front-end of a hardcore hardtail and the best enduro mountain bikes have similar geometry, the absence of any suspension travel at the rear means you will ride the fork much harder. 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. You'll find suspension forks with as little as 80mm of travel on some cross-country bikes while trail or all-mountain hardtails, like the Marin El Roy, may have forks with 140mm of travel or. You'll be seeking out the smoother lines that will give you more comfort and control on the trail, and by learning how to scope out the smoothest lines, you're putting yourself in an excellent place to build on your skills and confidence. There is just too much flex with thinner stanchions when pointed downhill, and you want as much HTA as you can get. Trail bikes are one of the most popular types of mountain bike. Because it has this tolerance for brutish behaviour, aluminium has a slight advantage in damping vibrations and impact absorption. Be honest with yourself about where and what youll ride. perfect for me. 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. And as you would expect, it needs a fork with more travel and stiffness than those 100-120mm options. 160mm preferably. Single-crown fork design has had to go longer, with the best enduro mountain bikes now ripping down terrain once reserved for downhill rigs. Depending on the discipline of riding the bike is designed for, the suspension travel can vary from 80 to 200mm. With 150- to 180mm single-crown forks, you dont need a lockout control for climbing, but you want to control the multiple channels of compression and rebound. , Boeing, Lockheed etc dont know their stuff downhill trails trail riding, guessed. 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