limits of a xc bike

fredy

i want to get into DH eventually and i notice that i keep pushing my bike harder and harder as a result. So my question is, how much can a carrera fury 09 take? i really don't want to total another bike this year, and i definately don't want to total myself either.
I know this is quite a specific question but i am really only after a general idea regarding the limits of speed, cornering, jumps and drops, terrain etc with a xc bike.

thanks,
fred.

bennett_346

Speed, you'll find that limit yourself when you come off. Cornering, depends a lot on the tyres but rider position is also key, so adjust your seat for the best possible result. Jumps and drops you'll want to limit to about 1-2 foot, after that the bike will be under huge stress and components will quickly wear. Terrain isnt as much of a problem, you can get away with a lot on that bike.

I'd say stay away from big jumps and limit the height of drops. Its down to technique a lot of the time, and XC bikes are very broad in what they can do.

DO NOT take it to do any proper downhill courses. You WILL injure yourself or the bike.


But do have fun

fredy

thanks for that, i guess i should stop eyeing up those dirt jumps then, gah.

bennett_346

Well, dont totally dismiss them, i sometimes do jumps that leave me a good 2 foot in the air, and thats on a Carrera Vulcan disc. Just make sure your landing isnt vertical and you have good forward momentum because that will reduce the impact throught the bike.

fredy

really? but velocity in the verticle axis is independant to the horizontal. Though i guess if the wheels are spinning the force would only be applied for a short time at any point on the wheel, not that it would make a difference to the frame. Thats at least what i would have thought. In practice it definitely appears to be the case but i just can't identify the theory to back it.

sorry, i have turned this into a science debate.

asdfhjkl

I think what he means is don't do big jumps or drops onto flat ground, which to be fair isn't a good idea regardless of what bike you ride.

A lot of your questions come down to technique and bike setup rather than the bike itself. Cornering for example is affected by your technique, tyre choice, tyre pressures.etc

I don't have any experience with the fury itself, but I wouldn't recommend doing any DH stuff on it. Jumps and drops will probably be fine so long as they aren't massive and you know how to land them properly.

bennett_346

fredy wrote:

velocity in the verticle axis is independant to the horizontal.

Correct, but its easier to shift your weight properly for landing if your in the air for longer and have a forward velocity.

EDIT: Spelling :P

fredy

ha sorry, spelling is not my strong point. Cheers for the advice guys.

bennett_346

No, i edited my spelling lol, not worried about yours

Have fun with your off road adventures

Daz555

bennett_346 wrote:

DO NOT take it to do any proper downhill courses. You WILL injure yourself or the bike.

A lot of fun can be had on a DH course on any bike - even if you have to check your speed a little more and take the odd chicken run.

vengeance111

ive been doing 5 ft drops to almost flat landings on my carrera vengeance and apsolutley nothing has broken.
Ive also been doing some dirt jumps and gone done some quite bumpy dh courses

my opinion is, dont worry unless your going to do redbull rampage or fort william dh course youll be fine

Anonymous

vengeance111 wrote:

ive been doing 5 ft drops to almost flat landings on my carrera vengeance and apsolutley nothing has broken.

Pics or it didn't happen - you know the rule.

Northwind

bennett_346 wrote:

DO NOT take it to do any proper downhill courses. You WILL injure yourself or the bike.

Rubbish tbh, I rode my XC bike down half the world cup DH at fort william and down one of the runs at Innerleithen, neither bike nor rider was injured. You just need to have eyes smaller than your stomach.

peter413

Northwind wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

DO NOT take it to do any proper downhill courses. You WILL injure yourself or the bike.

Rubbish tbh, I rode my XC bike down half the world cup DH at fort william and down one of the runs at Innerleithen, neither bike nor rider was injured. You just need to have eyes smaller than your stomach.

But on the other hand I cracked my XC frame going down a rocky AM run, admittadly being a bit stupid :roll:

Just use your common sense and you will be fine

Anonymous

what's an All-mountain run?

peter413

yeehaamcgee wrote:

what's an All-mountain run?

Not a DH run but can't really be classed as an xc run.

I just made it up and thought AM is between the two

Anonymous

erm, so, an XC route then?

peter413

yeehaamcgee wrote:

erm, so, an XC route then?

Except it has some stuff like massive rocks that you have to ride that you wouldn't find on your average XC run.

But yes, basically an XC run

Anonymous

Sounds like you underestimate what constitutes an "XC" run.

peter413

Not really, it looks like some of the DH runs at inners but not as steep.

Anyway, I just wanted to give it a fancy name

Anonymous

right. So, an XC descent then. XC means cross country, you know. Just cause some Olympic grade events are as flat as a pancake and as challenging as a colouring in book for 3 year olds, doesn't mean that XC doesn't cover much more complicated riding.

peter413

Yes I know what it means.

Like I said, I just wanted to give it a fancy name.

Also when you mention XC to a lot of people they don't think you mean some of the really technical stuff, for example, 2 of my mates thought Spooky Woods was a DH run, they were shocked when I told them it is quite a tame XC run.

They are Freerider park riders though so get really shocked at most things on trails

Anonymous

Freeriders getting shocked by spooky woods? Are you talking the kind of freeriders that throw themselves off cliffs in Utah and the like? Cause I'm pretty sure even Chatel wouldn't phase someone like that.

vengeance111

peter413 wrote:

Northwind wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

DO NOT take it to do any proper downhill courses. You WILL injure yourself or the bike.

Rubbish tbh, I rode my XC bike down half the world cup DH at fort william and down one of the runs at Innerleithen, neither bike nor rider was injured. You just need to have eyes smaller than your stomach.

But on the other hand I cracked my XC frame going down a rocky AM run, admittadly being a bit stupid :roll:

Just use your common sense and you will be fine

What bike was it ?

peter413

The bike was a 2004 Stumpy FSR (4 inches each)

They are the kind of freeriders that think freeriding is doing some jumps in the freeride park at glentress

Oxygen Thief

girls, girls... handbags!

Northwind

That's the same freeriders who complain that the surface is too worn on the Essentials?

toasty

fredy wrote:

really? but velocity in the verticle axis is independant to the horizontal.

Velocity doesn't apply a force on you, acceleration does, or rate of change of velocity. In this case you'll be hitting the ground, which will cause a big upward force as you stop falling. The horizonal will only apply if you jump into a wall :P

This is why people land jumps onto transitions, it lets you keep some of the vertical velocity. Well build jumps into transitions can be ridden with barely any impact, leaping over something big and landing on flat will hurt.

A Fury would be fine on a lot of DH courses for messing around to be honest, just know your limits. You're not going to buy 1 bike and come all the way from novice to Steve Peat on it to be honest, something like a Fury sounds like a good call as it'll let you get your fitness up, playing about on little dirt jumps and getting a couple of feet of air should be fine.

peter413

Northwind wrote:

That's the same freeriders who complain that the surface is too worn on the Essentials?

No, it's Erin and Calum

Erin's alright (shows me up) but Calum......