Ideal Suspension Travel for SoCal is.....?

To enjoy the huge variety of trails, from state/regional parks, to Mt. Wilson, Cleveland Ntl. Forest,

 

I'm going with 120-140 as that is what I ultimately settled on. I can comfortably ride anything I want and still put in some long-distance XC rides.

 

140-160

 

I believe it is more about the pilot than the plane. A skilled rider can get away with less travel. Where as a less skilled rider is going to depend on more travel to make up for their mistakes.

With that being said.....a 130mm 29er would be the perfect all arounder.

Don’t think 170mm travel bikes are really necessary around here.

 

Not on the trails you ride....LOL

 

Alright.....I’ll rephrase that.....170mm bikes are not necessary for 95% of the riders around here.

Better?

 

Much.

 

I'm in that 5% minority, for lack of skilz.

 

A hardtail is fine. So is 6" of travel. They just ride differently. Both have pros/cons. There really isn't an ideal, but there is a one-bike compromise. What bike would that be? Depends who you are.

The biggest difference to me is how I feel the day after. So, squish it usually is. Amount of travel doesn't make that much difference.

 

I chose 150-160 since my bike is exactly that (R/F) and I use it for XC rides, the bike park, and everything between that. My hardtail is pretty much being retired to a grocery getter/kid hauler.

I’ll see how Counting Coup goes but I’ll be the guy on a 150mm/160mm rig out there, although it’s weight doesn’t reflect that (should be down to 27lbs with lighter tires for that ride).

 

Although I love the solid input and efficiency supplied by a hard-tail, it beats the crap out of me and my aching joints. So, for baby-butt smooth railing ST, the HT is great. But when the trail becomes lumpy/bumpy/grumpy or worse, FS is what my body needs.

140mm front/120mm rear travel is the ultimate for most of what So Cal has to offer for me. I'm not into getting big air and I prefer to keep my tires in contact with the terrain for the most part.

 

My vote was for mid-travel... It will probably be a few years, but that will be the next full suspension bike I own. I'm in awe of the guys who can ride anything on a fully rigid, but at some point it has to be too much wear and tear on the joints. Same goes for all hardtails in general...

However... If you're going to ride Whiting or something similar after a year of bone dry weather, you'll need a DH bike to smooth out the trail... Anything less and you'll be swallowed whole by the braking craters. Maybe the Floop, too... I've read on the forum here that a Bronson is a little small for that.

Ride what makes you happy 95% of the time.

 

I went from a 120/120 Fuel 29er to a 150/160 Mojo HD3 650B bike and back to a 120/130 Ripley 29er. I think the Ripley is a great bike for 95% of the riding that I do. That said, I don't do 4 foot drops and get lots of air anywhere. If I happen to, it's purely by accident!

 

If I had to pick just one(thank god I don't have to) it would be 120r/140f. The mid travel bikes are capable of riding just about any trail around and give up very little in the pedaling department versus a nice hardtail. That being said I just built up a 135/150 Hightower and am having a ton of fun on it. Doesn't pedal quite as good as my Ripley but it's pretty darn close.

 

So now I'm feeling all inferior on my 100mm hardtail.

But hey, it hasn't failed me yet!

 

If I had to pick just one, a hardtail. With or without suspension, depends on how I feel. I found that riding a full suspension rig deadened the trail feel and just made things too easy.
I believe that mountain biking is supposed to be hard. Physically and mentally.
Get some!

 

Bah. If you like it, you're superior.

 

Put a 120mm fork on it and see how much better it feels when it's pointed downhill AND it won't effect it's climbing ability.

 

You enjoy pain, huh? Chains, whips, leather, paddles, and spikes fit into the picture for ya, too?

 

I hear guys say all the time, “i don’t need tires bigger than 2.2” or “there is nothing in SoCal i need more that 130cm travel for” or “i can ride everything i want to on a hardtail”

Which is sort of TRUE....

Then you take them to a more difficult trail and they change their story.

Travel is not just for large rock drops. But for traction in beat up corners at speed.

The other huge factor is geo. It’s take a 130cm bike with wicked aggressive geo over a 160cm with 2007 XC geo any day

 

Hmmmmm......
I chose the 120 - 140mm to answer what I thought "most" people would choose for SoCal, and I'm assuming we are talking about fork travel. I ride a 150mm fork. Super soft and more plush then my Lazy Boy recliner.
The only reason is cuzz it's fun! Not because I need it, but because I want it. Gives me the ability to hit 30 to near 40 mph on some singletrack.
I'm gonna sell my Yeti 26" FS and get a hardtail 29er with about a 120 to 140mm travel fork for much of the trails in SoCal. Golden Eagle is totally a hardtail trail. But I ride other stuff supah chunky that is so fun to ride with some supah squish!

Rigid is frigid, and guys like @rossage are wackjobs for riding rigid which he often does, but Ross is an outstanding rider and gets a kick out of it. But it is just as much madness to ride a Park Bike on our local trails as well.

I hate to say this, but most will agree, it comes down to what you enjoy! I know... that answer always sucks!

 

Some of us are happy riding XC and not bothering with the stuff longer travel is geared toward.

 

But it's the answer that is always right!!

 

Nowhere did I mention anything about pain. Actually, my lower back hurts more when I ride a monkey motion bike.
HTFU!

 

That’s great, enjoy that.

 

I think I would actually like something like the Chameleon. Ran as a plus of course. The plus tires smooth out the chunk if you go fast enough.

 

I want to add something. If i only ever rode from my home in Ladera, or the fireroads proper of el morro, or any other beach Cruzer accessible terrain i would ride a full ridged or hardtail 29er

If i only ever rode whiting Ranch i would buy a 27.5 plus hardtail. No question.

 

You can say that about any bike configuration, "if you go fast enough".

 

And I do!!! A lot!!

 

Just poking the bear here.... but.... if you rode Moto it would look like this no?