Got my rocky altitude 50 and I love it but lately been hitting jumps with 3 – 5 ft drops is the 140mm (fox float 32 and fox rp23) enough to handle that or should I be looking to start a more free ride 150/160 mm travel bike?

Don’t fall foul of the marketing shite. A good rider can do 5ft drops on a Cyclocross bike.

Don’t worry about what bike you’re on, just get out and ride. If you break it, then upgrade it.

No, you’ll die!

In all seriousness, youll be fine, ive seen 6/7 foot drops done by a mate on a xc race hardtail, and him and the bike are still going fine. But then he is a bit weird,

Saying that, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, I could sell you a great spec dh bike for a grand… 😀

The stuff I used to get up to on a skinny, rigid, v braked xc bike 10 years ago would have made the marketing men shudder….

DrP

Ask Joe Barnes

Ask Joe Barnes

+1

Check this out – it should put your mind at ease
http://vimeo.com/45093982

Makes me think the “32’s are really noodly and flex too much for me to use them at the local trail center” is just a good excuse for a hugely over weight rider.

The stuff I used to get up to on a skinny, rigid, v braked xc bike 10 years ago would have made the marketing men shudder

Sound kinky, do you have any videos?

You can get away with quite a lot on a 140mm bike but it depends on how hard you ride, how smooth you are, how often you ride it hard etc – I killed (bent swingarm, bent seat tube and cracked shock mount) a very popular 140mm frame from a well known Halifax brand in 6 months, I rode it a hell of a lot and gave it some hammer in that 6 months, warranty was excellent but I decided to trade the replacement in for an enduro and then bought a shorter travel bike for more xc stuff. I may have just been unlucky or I may have been too hard on it (too fat,too clumsy,not smooth enough maybe) – I wasn’t prepared to take a chance on a second frame as I would’ve had it in the back of my mind. .

cheers guys 🙂

[video]http://vimeo.com/57828299[/video]
Skills on 125mm bike
There are plent of vids of people who make stuff look very hard on 160mm+ bike.

In order of importance
The Rider
The Kit on the bike & The Geometry
The Rider
Where you ride
The rider
The Frame

For me the biggest step forward recently have been the near wholesale move the bolt through forks which make the front a lot more compliant. It’s just a bit more reassuring.