Hello, little bit of advice? Thinking of buying a FS 29er, but noticed that a fair few are running less travel at 100mm than I am currently running 120mm. I’m riding xc with no massive drops/jumps etc.

But wondering what the ‘norm’ Os if you like?

TBH mate, if you’re riding generic XC stuff, do you really want or need a 120mm travel FS ?

I can see the point in a 29er (i have 2)
I can see the point in 120-140mm travel on a 29er… (i have 1)

However a FS 29er with 120… well i don’ get it for XC… it’s heavy (ish) and bouncy.. .the worst of both the benefits of a 29er.

All of this is IMO of course… and can depend on what your perception of XC is… it could be my perception of AM for exmaple… who knows.

What’s the thoughts and logic ?

I just don’t want to make a mistake. Being honest the trail riding I do is based around swinley. My personal opinion is that people were downhilling on less travel than that not so long ago and they all lived.

My other thought is yes do I need it, if I encounter something bigger than normal in terms of drop then if it he shock bottoms, oh well that happens. But people do very skilfull drops off of walls and postboxes and stuff on a hard tail. I know they are highly skilled but that is more than I would ever dream of or have the skills to do.

My Turner Sultan would be like a proper monster truck around Swinley. Brilliant fun, but you’d be loving a 100mm 29er (with the right geometry) around there.

Hi
I have a Trek Superfly with 100mm at each end.
Iride it all over the north east and find that it’s spot on for 90% (at least!) of the riding that I do.
I find I go faster than I would on a 26er with the same travel.
It feels like it has at least120mm travel if that makes sense
Cheers
Steve

Depends on the type of riding you do.
My Niner RIP9 with 120 both ends was perfect for rocky south Wales.
You could ride much less and many do but I never felt like I had too much travel.
I also took it on long epics and marathon events and never regretted the travel.
If you’ve got the legs to push it then why not.
Its not really much different than all the 5 and 6 inch bikes you see out on the trails.

middle aged, middle class mountain bikers should follow this simple rule: if you want one, buy one.

you don’t need to justify the purchase.

bigrich – Member
middle aged, middle class mountain bikers should follow this simple rule: if you want one, buy one.

you don’t need to justify the purchase

Mostly we do 🙂

my Nicolai Helius AC 29er runs 120mm with no issue XC / Trail. lovely riding trail bike TBH.

Replaced both my 140mm and 160mm 26 FSers.

does weigh in at 29lb if that’s important, full XTR and Reverb.

Much as I love my 120mm full suss 29er I rarely choose it over my 100mm hard tail 29er for general xc riding. It’s great in Wales of the Lakes though. It’s not heavy, but just doesn’t feel as much fun.

I’m the opposite I prefer riding FS, it’s just less effort (outside of actually making progress on a ride), call me lazy but I like being able to sit down through bumpy stuff once my legs are tired and to not have my eyes on stalks picking the best line all the time on descents etc. When I do want to fully concentrate I also reckon it makes me faster, DH at least + the traction on technical climbs beats most hardtails. You do pay a weight penalty but budget comes into, spend £2.5k+ and you can get down to the 25lb mark off-the-peg.
As for 29er FS, it looks to me like going from 26 to 29 builds-in about 20mm travel. So whilst the latest 26er fast trail bikes are typically 120mm the 29er equivalent is 100mm and the 26″ AM ‘standard’ of 140mm is 120mm in the 29er world. Things are getting a bit more blurred though as manufacturers are starting to push 140mm 29er AM bikes more and 100mm rear FS 29ers are often more fun with a 120mm fork.

Bol I’m very surprised by your response. You haven’t had that thing long either.
I think I’ve made good use of my rear travel as I’ve just cracked mine in 2 places at the seat tube!
Niners are looking after me despite being 9 months out of warranty.

However a FS 29er with 120… well i don’ get it for XC… it’s heavy (ish) and bouncy.. .the worst of both the benefits of a 29er.

You’ve not ridden a Tallboy with 120mm up front I take it?

You’ve not ridden a Tallboy with 120mm up front I take it?

No.

Bol I’m very surprised by your response. You haven’t had that thing long either.
I think I’ve made good use of my rear travel as I’ve just cracked mine in 2 places at the seat tube!
Niners are looking after me despite being 9 months out of warranty.

Wow, I thought they were built like tanks since they updated the original noodley design (that I managed to break). I love the bike. It’s just that the Solaris makes more sense for most of my everyday riding.

Glad to see that Niner/Jungle are looking after you. I’ve only had good experiences with them.

Am I middle aged? (31).

Cheers for all your replies, much appreciates.

I got a mate who is getting a tall boy lt carbon with 140mm bit can’t help thinking he isn’t gonna use it. But thats his call.

Might be getting a supreme deal as well on the 29er sp will let you know how I go! If your interested?

You need to go ride a few fella. Start with a 100mm hardtail then go from there, you might find thats all the bike you need. I havent ridden more travel than that on 29″ but I suspect a 29″ 120 x 120 FS is going to feel like an awful lot of travel……bet its loads of fun though!

I know but Im too impulsive.

Figured that a 29er is faster rolling,matter going out with a few lads who all ride 29ers and were just flying along with less effort than me!

I’m currently riding a Trek Rumblefish 29er with 120mm at each end. In comparison, the last full suss 26er I had was a Remedy with 160mm at each end and Fox 36s. The similarity between the pair is uncanny, apart from the fact that the 29er is better! Yes, it comes in at about 31lbs but it’s not built to be an XC racer (nor am I, for that matter).

I can ride stuff more aggressively than I’ve ever been able to on all my 26er trail bikes, the big wheels just eat everything up in their path. The climbing and cornering grip is also phenomenal.

If money were no object, I’d compliment it with a 29er 100mm hardtail for racing, but unfortunately that isn’t the case!

In short, a120mm FS 29er is a LOT of bike. If you want something for purely XC, maybe try a 100mm set up first?

I went from a 140mm at either end five spot to a 100mm Titus rockstar with 120 forks and I’m not missing any travel
Tis a beasty… 😀