Which bike would you? XC racing

SSmtbr

SSmtbr

Well-Known Member
After a handful of years of non racing, I'm looking to get back into XC in the Cat 2 and/or Endurance categories after checking out the race thread and seeing a lot of potentially good races to enter. To avoid cluttering up the race thread I figured I'd throw it out here in general...

I've got 2 bikes at the moment and no way or budget to get a third one specifically for XC racing; a 2013 Crave hardtail that I used to race SS rigid (but can run 1x with squish) and a 2021 Stumpjumper.

For the vast majority of my regular rides I'm in the north riding the rocky tech of Ringwood, Jungle, Mooch, etc. that my Stumpjumper with 140/130mm travel and having done some upgrades (somewhat light but trail oriented durability at a somewhat moderate weight penalty), but will it be a nuisance racing over a lighter and racier hardtail with a 100-120mm fork?

Essentially I'm sort of battling between a lighter, versatile older xc oriented hardtail or a modern full suspension that's over-suspended for traditional XC racing at weight and somewhat geometry sacrifice. What's the consensus?
 
In your case, I would take both to a venue and then decide after pre-riding the course. In general; hardtail (with gears) for lap courses and full-squish for point-to-point. But in reality it'll depend on the course. Or race single-speed class if available.
 
XC racing, I'd always lean towards which bike got me uphill the fastest....Then work on making that bike more livable on downhills.....On my XC bike...over the years that meant adding a dropper, little better tires and some light tire inserts.
 
The Kalmyk said:
Id take @rick81721 fs bike or the newer version for sure.
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My storied career as a racer precedes me!

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For reals, do you plan on winning or having some fun? If the difference is between 9th or 6th place and one bike is going to kick your ass and the other will be slower but less dangerous, that would be my thought. That said, a truly fast XC bike can make a mediocre racer significantly less bad. Or maybe just use the right tool for the job, racing Lewis Morris or Kitatinny? Crave. Mooch? Stumpy.
 
extremedave said:
For reals, do you plan on winning or having some fun? If the difference is between 9th or 6th place and one bike is going to kick your ass and the other will be slower but less dangerous, that would be my thought. That said, a truly fast XC bike can make a mediocre racer significantly less bad. Or maybe just use the right tool for the job, racing Lewis Morris or Kitatinny? Crave. Mooch? Stumpy.
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You nailed my feelings on this.

If you're serious about racing, buy a fast XC bike. If you just want to go and see how you end up, hardtail at the tame parks, FS at the rougher ones. Spend the money on tacos after.
 
There’s so much to racing…. it’s not all about the bike.

You can race both your current bikes. Hard tail for smooth stuff, FS for chunky or endurance stuff. Or however you decide to race where.

Work on stuff like nutrition, feed zone, tactics, pacing, what gear to wear, tire pressure, suspension setup…getting in better shape...the list goes on. You could race for 15 years and still learn new things (ask me how I know).
You can still work on this stuff regardless of your bike. If you decide you like it, trust me you’re getting a new bike. :)
 
I’d ride the hardtail. Technically my race bike is still my 2011 stumpy hardtail. Besides less technical courses, I raced blue mountain and ringwood on it and it felt great in race mode. Wouldn’t be my pick for a “fun” ride, but it was fast on race day.

Any reason you don’t want to race SS anymore? It’s not dead as some would like you to believe.
 
Cat 2 here....
Hardtail - Giant XtC
Mayhem, LewMo, Stewart, maybe Kittatinny

FS - Pivot Trail429
Port Jervis, Jungle, Wayway, Mooch, etc
 
I've always made it about challenging myself rather than where I place. In the past, bike would be chosen based on terrain and my current fitness.

First half of '22 and prior years of racing XC, Endurance and stage races.
- Clydesdale for Cat 2 XC, or
- Rigid SS for Cat 2 XC
- FS 100mm XC bike for 45+ Endurance and 5 day stage races

2nd half of '22 and into '23
- Rigid SS for Cat 1 XC and Endurance races
- FS 130/120 trail bike stage racing
 
Another question for you OP, can you swap tires on the SJ and firm up the suspension a bit? A set of Aspens or Rekon Races would make that bike plenty fast regardless of the suspension numbers.
 
Thanks for all the info! Sort of summarizing my replies; I'm definitely not going for a podium but out there for a good race to compete with anyone in the field, sort of like cross where I'm happy battling for mid to 2/3 back of the pack. I'm familiar with all the NJ and H2H courses and could definitely prepare better for those venues with bike choice, but new to the MASS series courses so I have no idea what to expect in terms of tech or flow or gearing if I go SS.

Currently the Crave is SS rigid and I definitely lost a lot of steam on it during the pandemic leading me to buying the stumpy which I never would have thought I'd do and still occasionally take it out, but have become much softer which is sort of why I am resisting converting the Crave back to gears and suspension if I could have a bike at each end of the spectrum and working toward getting myself back to those days, although still not fast by any means but feeling confident enough to show up and give a good hard race out of it.

I'd definitely get some different tires on the stumpy if I race it as they're near the end of their life and quite chunky so they'll be replaced before race season.

Many good points made and I think I've got some more info to help with my decisions for racing this year!
 
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