How Much Travel Should A Trail Mountain Bike Have?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Trail. Trail bikes usually have between 120 mm and 150 mm of travel. They are not built for the toughest trails but trails that are worse than XC trails. Therefore, they have more travel than any XC bike and are mostly full suspension bikes, though you can find a few hardtails in this category.

How much travel should a hardtail have?

It depends totally on your riding style and the intended use. For pretty much XC or dirt jump, go with a 100mm XC or dirt jump fork. For general trail riding a 120 to 130 would work well. For AM to light Free ride a 140 to 160mm fork would be the ticket.

Is 150mm travel enough for enduro?

What should I look for in the best enduro mountain bikes? An enduro bike is basically a mountain bike with at least 150mm of suspension travel , but more commonly 160-180mm. They’re built for the rigours of racing full-bore downhill whilst being sufficiently efficient on climbs and contouring trails too.

How much travel should you use MTB?

We recommend that a trail fork ideally have 34mm stanchions, at 130-140mm, for a 29er – possibly, up to 150mm, for the smaller 27.5in wheel size . As fork travel increases with trail bikes, the latitude of responsiveness from your damper becomes more complex.

How much difference does 20mm of travel make?

As a rough estimate, each 20mm of travel added will correlate to a one-degree difference in the head tube angle.

Is 120 enough to travel?

In addition, you’re not likely to notice much difference between a 120mm, 130mm, and 140mm fork. Honesty, a 120mm fork is enough travel for most Trail riders .

Is 160mm travel too much for hardtail?

Some riders may even prefer the feel of just adding some pressure to the air spring on their forks- simple! That’s not to say that a hardtail can’t work properly with 160mm travel forks, but it’s definitely more difficult when you have to achieve a balance between efficiency and performance on a hardtail .

How much travel is too much on a hardtail?

Pick a frame that is the way you want it for the travel you want. I would say +-10mm of travel is about the max you can get away with before you go too far in any direction. So if you like the geo at 120mm, don’t then stick 150s on it.

Is 150 mm of travel enough for downhill?

Long-travel bikes usually have 150-170mm of rear travel to handle tough downhill trails . Front travel often matches rear travel but sometimes can be more. Trail and enduro bikes fall into this category. They absorb big hits and smooth out rough terrain.

Is 150 mm travel too much?

150mm is absolute overkill for every trail in the lower peninsula . Get a downcountry bike instead if you want to go the full suspension route. Or a rowdy hardtail.

What does 130mm travel mean?

~130mm Travel: “Trail” Bikes

Around 130mm travel is what most companies would call a “Trail” bike. These are generally designed for all around riding. They climb pretty well, and they descend pretty well. 130mm is also about the longest travel fork that you’ll commonly find on a hardtail.

Is 150mm travel enough for bike park?

150 mm travel fork is plenty ! You will have fun for sure. If you are the biker for big jumps & drops and bike parks the Swoop is a great bike. But takes fun away when doing trail biking on tamer trails.

Is 170mm travel too much?

But Yeah, 170mm will still be fine , you are getting on for DH-esq travel, however if you think you might make use of it, or it will help you man up a shade more then there’s no harm in giving it a whirl.

How much travel should I be using?

Set sag between 20-30%. If you only ride smooth trails, you should still use about 3/4 of the travel . Measure this, since the exposed stanchion is longer than fork travel. If you start to ride harder or start to ride rougher trails and bigger drops, you will need to add air.

Is 100mm travel enough?

yes, it’s plenty . pro-Dh’ers need/use 200mm-ish. mere mortals will be riding stuff that’s half as gnarly*, half as fast*. that’ll be 100mm being plenty for us then.

Can I put a 120mm fork on a 80mm bike?

120mm would be long for an XC frame that came with an 80mm fork. I doubt the manufacturer would recommend this , however lot’s of people do those kinds of swaps without significant issues. It is pushing the design limits of the frame, and if you’re pushing the limits of what the bike can do, you may run into problems.

Can you put a 130mm fork on a 100mm bike?

at 130mm you’ll probably be fine, I wouldn’t put anything bigger on there . The kona frames are pretty strong, I used to run a 130mm fork on my 100mm jump bike for AM and a lottle more FR riding, I was fine.

Can I put a 140mm fork on a 100mm bike?

There is no good reason to slap 140mm fork on a frame that is designed for 100 . It will no ride better and it may break, like many other already noted.

What does 120 mm of travel mean on a bike?

travel is how far down the fork can compress (how much shorter it will get when it is pushed as far as it will go) like spawne said, short travell (usually 120mm or less) is for cross country , medium (130-160mm usually) is for trail, or all mountain riding. anything 160mm or more will be for downhill or freeride.

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Is 80mm travel enough?

I rode it for 3 rides and came to the conclusion that 80mm isn’t enough . I have to run too much air in it to allow it to be plush. Upping the travel to 90mm made a noticable difference in plushness. If your frame will accomodate, I’d suggest 100mm.

Can you put downhill forks on a hardtail?

you can always do downhill on a hardtail you dont have to pull the speed you normally would on a dh bike. but like another member said on the singletrack you glide away. and about frames breaking you dont really change the head angle that much with a 6 inch fork.

How much does fork travel affect head angle?

Bumping the fork travel up by 20mm, to 150mm, will slacken the head angle by approximately 1° and increase the front centre measurement by 10mm.

Can you reduce MTB fork travel?

Yes, your a2c will change by whatever you reduce the travel by . The spring rate will also be affected so you will have to add a few more psi to achieve the correct sag (according to the Fox link below). Keep in mind that reducing the travel will also change the geometry of your bike. Take a look at the link below.

Are 32mm stanchions enough?

Thirdly, axle dimensions and interface makes a bigger difference than stanchion diameter. For most riders (really heavy guys excepted) – a 140mm / 32mm fork – particularly the Rev is plenty stiff enough .

What is travel on a mountain bike?

Travel is simply the maximum distance that either the front or rear suspension of the Mountain Bike can compress, when absorbing force, before bottoming out . The higher the travel the more force the suspension can comfortably absorb. The lower amount of travel the lower amount of force absorbed.

Emily Lee
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Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.