is 100 mm the best for general hertfordshire riding.

in my quest to find a bike that will bring me into the 21 st century, i have been looking at 100 mm suspension, namely konas HeiHei 100.

question is that its defined as a xc country race bike, i am not the xc whippet i used to be, now firmly in the clydesdale style. would this be the wrong bike?

cheers

impossible to give a definitive answer, in my opinion, and i know others will disagree, for most riders 100mm is enough. More travel can make a bike wallow in technical sections and become less fun.

Only answer us to ride the bike and see if you like it.

You really need to try a few bikes out, see what you like.

People ride everything from HTs to 160mm for general Hertfordshire riding.

There’s even some blokes who do Broxbourne Woods on DH bikes.

There’s very little you can’t ride on 100mm, more travel can be fun for some trails, but not really necessary.

You might find that 100mm bikes are built up deliberatly light . This is to appeal to xc racer types and enduro riders .
I have a Hei Hei, but the 3″ version . I reset the Rebas to 100mm and its a nimble little trail bike. Quick and flickable BUT with noodly wheels and Reba Race forks it doesnt corner well . I counter steer and i can feel the front twisting and loosing the line .
On the whole 3″ soaks up an awful lot of roots and smooths out ruts etc . its less tiring for me than a HT , and doesnt hurt my back anywhere near as much.

cheers for the replies,
riding rigid is getting a bit harsh and the advice on 100 seems right, the fs bikes i have ridden seems to be a bit like an old bed.

i would probably sort the wheels and tyres out to sort the noodly wheels/cornering.

any other thoughts on geomety, is race/xc too harsh or would i need a slacker angle.

You could also convert to tubeless tyres and run the pressures a little lower.

This would give you a more compliant ride too.

There are so many things to consider but as suggested you need to find a good shop that is prepared to set up a demo bike for you properly.

Hi, you could always hedge your bets and get adjustable travel forks then you can play with different travel settings.

I have 3 bikes 170mm, 140mm and 100mm, the 100mm gets more use than any of the others.I rode it yesterday and it performed fantastic 27.50lb, snappy acceleration and plush when needed, I got a fair bit of air and it never bottomed out (nearly did though).

A few of the reviews online of the Kona haven’t been too complimentary. At the price point you could be on a nice Giant Anthem or even a Santa Cruz Superlight.

My mate is very happy on his 100m Superlight, mostly XC but also some of the straightforward but more technical trails in Surrey Hills.

From what you say 100 or 120 seems about right, depends what the specific bike was designed for I’d suggest.

any other thoughts on geomety, is race/xc too harsh or would i need a slacker angle.

I think you’re right to be concerned about this. I had an old 90mm travel Anthem that was enough travel-wise for general Herts XC riding, but I did find it a bit steep and went over the front quite a lot.

There are less steep 100mm bikes, but you will have more choice of general trail bikes at 120mm-130mm travel – bikes like the Trek Fuel EX, Trance X, Spesh Camber, Boardman FS etc.

Modern shocks are very good so the extra bit of travel will not slow you down like it might have in the past.

my problem is lack of cash and looking at this, which seems a killer price makes the most sense.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=64998

i suppose anythings better than my old rigid.

have to agree 95% of the trail riding doesn’t require more than 100mm travel – some might say less.
Find a Giant Anthem
and my curve ball would be this.
although crc has some interesting offers 🙂

This is more of an all-rounder…

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=65167

Pretty awesome spec actually.

My 100mm bike is the kona king kikapu (2005 same spec as the king)and its awesome, top fun and only gets out of its depth when jumping. The Hei Hei looks a great specced bike for the money and the reviews are great also you get a life time warranty on the frame who else does that for £900. If I didn’t have the king Id buy the Hei Hei!

I got a second hand (mint) carbon Rush. 110 at each end. Gets ridden the most.

cheers all,
cheaper than ahem a boardman……
any donations welcomed! just got to buy one before the wife forces me to learn to drive