Amount of travel

mattyfury

Member
I'm in the hunt for a new bike.. I've ridden a Stumpjumper for the past 7 years. 140 up front 120 in the back. I want larger wheels, updated geometry.

I ride around Jersey from Jungle Habitat to Six Mile Run.

I'm interested in a Santa Cruz 5010 (130/130) which is similar to the amount of travel I have now. Or possibly a SC Bronson / Spec Stumpjumper (150ish all around). But do I really need that extra travel. I don't do much jumping.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
At a certain point more travel is counterproductive. The trick is to determine where that point of diminishing return exists for you.

You noted the Bronson and I’ve owned one and I miss it. If considering this bike. I’d encourage you to wait just a bit longer. While I enjoyed the Bronson up north, it was pretty silly, but still fun at the smoother parks.

As you said larger wheels, I’m going to assume yours has 26”.? The 29er wheels do in some way increase the perceived wheel travel.

The bike I’m riding now is a trail 429 which has the same travel you have now 140/120 w29er wheels. I’d look closely at that. We’ve also had really good luck with the Orbea Occam at 140/140. People love it and it comes well spec’ed. Also look at the Kona process 134

bikes in general will be in short supply this season. Feel free to come by and spin a few in the lot when you get a chance.
 
Last edited:

Ian F

Well-Known Member
I agree - more travel is fun if you're riding trails were it can help. My Ryve is 115 rear / 120 front and thanks to modern geometry it seems to punch well above it's weight class. It feels so capable I often find myself needing to hold back on aggressive trails - partly because of the fairly light XC tires I run on the bike. If I'm travelling and can only take one bike and I'm not sure what kind of trails I'll be riding on, I'll take the Megatower since it can absolutely do everything, but for local riding the Ryve has proven to be more than enough and the weight savings is welcome.
 

a.s.

Mr. Chainring
The answer is no. 120-140mm with 29er wheels is more than enough for what you say you ride. Add to that modern geometry and boost spacing - your stumpy will feel like a decade old XC bike. I ride an Orbea Occam with 140mm F&R. It’s a beast that blows away my previous bike, which was a Norco Sight. The Norco had 27.5 wheels and 150mm of travel. See if you can demo one from @jdog.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
The answer is no. 120-140mm with 29er wheels is more than enough for what you say you ride. Add to that modern geometry and boost spacing - your stumpy will feel like a decade old XC bike. I ride an Orbea Occam with 140mm F&R. It’s a beast that blows away my previous bike, which was a Norco Sight. The Norco had 27.5 wheels and 150mm of travel. See if you can demo one from @jdog.
I wish I could get Demos or any bikes at this point. We have a good amount on hand on and and more on order, but the shortages are real and they are about to get a LOT worse. We have been having great luck with the Occam and I’ve already converted a few otherwise Xc focused riders with this bike.

Santa Cruz just told us that they are only taking orders on a few Models of 2021 bikes, otherwise 2021 is capped. I have a lot of bikes on order with uncertainty that I’ll even get them. I have heard (rumor) that sram is delivering better than Shimano and rock Shox better than fox.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Sram stuff has been available, I've been ordering direct as QBP usually shows no stock. Shimano sends all their stuff to Amazon first, then bike Manufacturers, then Amazon again, then online retailers they missed, then Manufacturers, then eventually distributors, where it's sold 150% more than Amazon.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
The 5010 is a super fun bike and I love mine after 3 years. It doesn't feel dumb to ride it at six mile.
 
  • Like
Reactions: don

Tim

aka sptimmy43
...It doesn't feel dumb to ride it at six mile.
I think this scratches the surface of another valid point that was not brought up. From a utilitarian standpoint @jdog hit the nail on the head. At some point more travel is no longer helpful and will actually hinder you. But, from a more abstract point of view you need to be happy with the bike you buy and what it means to you. I had a 150/160 enduro-ish bike but I'm not a smasher or one to hit big jumps so I always felt dumb riding it in most of the parks I ride. On the other side of the coin I would also feel dumb on a 100mm XC race bike.

I'm currently on a 130/140 29er and love it. I no longer feel dumb at six mile...or anywhere for that matter 🤘 😝 🤘
 

mtbiker87

Well-Known Member
Pick a bike that's best for the places you ride the most, not one that's best for the places you ride only once in awhile. Over the years on here I've seen so many so riders ask for recomendations for a bike that "they can ride at thier local trail, but will also work at bike parks like Mt Creek." They end up with some 160mm enduro bike that is beast to climb with, and has geo that they seldom go fast enough to get the full benefit of. While today's enduro/trail bikes can climb better than ever, today's short travel bikes, sporting big bike geo yet reasonable amounts of travel , seem to be the best way to go. After getting my Cotic FlareMax (130 front/125rear 29er) earlier this year, my 160mm Knolly has seen mostly only bike park use. And for reference, I live up north, and Wayway is home park. There hasn't been anything I can't ride with my short travel bike, that I rode with the big bike, and I'm almost always faster on it.
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
This is why some have multiple bikes that are quite different in geometry and travel. But if you're limited to just one bike then pick one that's best for the place you ride the most.
 
Top Bottom