120 or 140mm FS for riding in the Peaks

Vally7
Vally7 Posts: 120
edited August 2010 in MTB buying advice
Hi,

I'm thinking of upgrading my hard tail (100mm front forks) to a full susser. Most of my riding is in the Peak District (Hope, Ladybower etc) or trail centers.

I've been considering a 140mm bike like a Santa Cruz Heckler or a Zesty but wonder if the terrain migh be suited more to a 120mm bike like a Santa Cruz Superlight, Rize 120 etc.

I'm use to something that climbs well but want something a bit bigger when I head downhill over more technical terrain. For those of you that ride round there and trail centers like Coed Y Brenin and Whinlatter which bike do you think is more suited XC or All Mountain. I'm not likely to evey go down anything worse than the Beast at Hope's Cross/ top of Jacobs ladder etc & I might go up some fairly tough climbs.

I'm looking for something that is suited to the terrain I ride and neither under or over biked. Appreciate that I need to try some bikes out but a demo day is £40 for me and I'd rather pay to demo something with the correct amount of travel if anyone could advise on what they think I'd appreciate it.

If the answer is 120mm I've not spent much time looking at these bikes so any tips appreciated (I'd like to get a frame for around 1k that I can build up)

Comments

  • blister pus
    blister pus Posts: 5,780
    take your pick and whatever feels best to you, anything from 120 up will do. U-Turn is darn handy though.
  • kopite1979
    kopite1979 Posts: 443
    i LOVE the peaks on my zesty, ups and downs are enjoyable (although my lungs disagree)
    i suppose it depends how you tackle it too. my mate rides a 120mm hardtail but he`s quite happy to pick his way through a rock garden, i prefer to fly over them and hope for the best :twisted:
    It`s changed a bit since...
    2010 Zesty 314
  • Mark909
    Mark909 Posts: 456
    20mm = 2cm believe it or not!! :O
  • richg1979
    richg1979 Posts: 1,087
    take no notice when someone says " your over biked" or "you dont need that much travel", as long as its no 40 lb dh bike and is an efficent pedling bike i would go for somthing with 140-150mm travel.

    i use my 160mm santa cruz nomad for xc rides and still faster than most on full xc bikes even on the long climbs.

    take mark weir for example, he came 2nd on a 160mm am/fr bike with a coil shock in a single speed xc race.

    its not how much travel its how well the bike uses it.
  • Radixmatrix
    Radixmatrix Posts: 36
    When I moved to the Peak District, I moved from a HT to a Heckler and have never regretted it. It's done Peaks, Wales, Trail Centres and the Alps and taken everything in it's stride.

    Around here, lots of people riding Orange 5's and Treks Ex's.

    If you like the downs as much as the ups, a 140mm bike for the rides / terrain you describe would be pretty much perfect.
  • Pudseyp
    Pudseyp Posts: 3,514
    Yup an EX8 or Marin Mount Vision 5.8 are both very capable trail tools around the £2k mark so frames well within budget....you don't need anything more really than 120mm-140mm for trail center riding
    Tomac Synper 140 Giant XTC Alliance 1
    If the world was flat, I wouldn't be riding !
  • richg1979
    richg1979 Posts: 1,087
    i would put the mount vision as a bad 120mm for xc as they are quite squishy when pedaling hard and heavy for a 120mm travel bike, although a good trail bike.

    fuel ex is not bad, later shock on the 2010s makes a massive diffrence.

    zesty does ride and handle very very well but i would not recomend one after past experiences.

    giant trance i would say is prob ideal, bomb proof frame, handle sweet, very good pedaling platform as long as your not jumping up and down like an ape.

    http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=21842
  • Pudseyp
    Pudseyp Posts: 3,514
    Err the Mount Vision is as light in my eyes at around 27lbs inc peddles..and is built for trail centres and XC and won bike of the year in 2008 the Whyte designed 4bar link is one of the best susspension platforms ever desgined, and climbs and decends with ease ! Two glowing reviews from this very site.....
    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... n-08-24836
    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... n-08-28018

    The EX8 is also very similar for such use....
    Tomac Synper 140 Giant XTC Alliance 1
    If the world was flat, I wouldn't be riding !
  • richg1979
    richg1979 Posts: 1,087
    sorry i thought i seen somewhere the mount vision came in at 30lb :? matbe an older model.

    i had a few hours on a 09 model and bro has the wolf ridge and it is far from the best sus design, very smooth but suffers from bob and squat if you stand and start hemmering.

    a mate has a whyte e120 and followed him on a short road run the other week and that was bobing up and down quite bad.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    richg1979, chances are, you either didn't have the sag set up properly on your brother's bike, or maybe the sus just didn't suit your weigt and style. All bikes respond differently to different riders.
    My guess is that the sag was wrong though, since you mention squat. The rear suss should actually try to extend under pedaling force, up to a certain point in the travel so if the sag at rest goes beyond that, it can squat, like you say.

    It should be pointed out that not all 120mm bikes are built the same. The Mount vision, for example, is a very tough bike, and will happilly take a severe beating. Other bikes with similar suspension travel can be built extremely lightweight, but won't take a beating quite so well.
    Same goes for the wolfridge, it is an astonishingly tough bike when placed in a group of it's 140mm peers.
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Also remember not all 120mm or 140mm bikes are alike, some longer travel bikes are still pretty agile, FSRs and the like, whereas others are big sluggers, like Pitches. Travel's not the defining feature of a bike.
    richg1979 wrote:
    take mark weir for example, he came 2nd on a 160mm am/fr bike with a coil shock in a single speed xc race.

    Sounds like a great example, since if he'd ridden a 100mm lightweight singlespeed hardtail he'd maybe have won :lol:
    Uncompromising extremist
  • ilovedirt
    ilovedirt Posts: 5,798
    I ride 140mm all round and to be honest with you, it's perfectly capable of any terrain and pedals very well up and down. Can't fault it. 120mm setups seem to be a little "racy", for want of a better word. 140mm rigs tend to be a little slacker and nicer to ride all day, in my opinion.

    All bikes are different though, i'm just sharing my experiences. Go out and try some.
    Production Privee Shan

    B'Twin Triban 5
  • ilovedirt
    ilovedirt Posts: 5,798
    richg1979 wrote:
    sorry i thought i seen somewhere the mount vision came in at 30lb :? matbe an older model.

    i had a few hours on a 09 model and bro has the wolf ridge and it is far from the best sus design, very smooth but suffers from bob and squat if you stand and start hemmering.

    a mate has a whyte e120 and followed him on a short road run the other week and that was bobing up and down quite bad.
    My commie actually pedals remarkably well while standing up, much better than my old scott genius did. Just saying...
    Production Privee Shan

    B'Twin Triban 5
  • Pudseyp
    Pudseyp Posts: 3,514
    ilovedirt wrote:
    I ride 140mm all round and to be honest with you, it's perfectly capable of any terrain and pedals very well up and down. Can't fault it. 120mm setups seem to be a little "racy", for want of a better word. 140mm rigs tend to be a little slacker and nicer to ride all day, in my opinion.

    I had a Meta 5.5 back in 2008, and yes it was a brilliant bike before the went for the single arm, however the Marin is more comfortable both up and down and it is a XC machine through and through. I ride it hard and have never bottomed out in any of the UK centres and ride many a red and black so 120mm suits me fine.....you don't need anymore than 140mm for trail centres otherwise they are just to much like hard work....
    Tomac Synper 140 Giant XTC Alliance 1
    If the world was flat, I wouldn't be riding !
  • Vally7
    Vally7 Posts: 120
    Thanks all - looks like 140 it is -going to try a Zesty & Heckler out I think (once I get some cash together)
  • richg1979
    richg1979 Posts: 1,087
    take no notice of how much travel the bike has, just try a few even longer travel bikes.

    like i said, it how the bike uses the travel more than how much travel it has, some 160mm travel bike pedal better than some 120mm bikes for example.
  • Dick Scruttock
    Dick Scruttock Posts: 2,533
    My Anthem rides like a bike with far more travel. It climbs like a beauty and descends very well too. However i was riding around Edale the other week and i took my Santa Cruz as the terrane i feel would beat the Anthem to submission!

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