FS 29er help

D

daytona

Member
I am thinking of buying a FS 29er and since I ride Chimney Rock the most I wanted to get some opinions on what type of 29er is best suited for the rock. I just wanted some feedback from people who already ride a FS 29er here.

Is 100mm travel enough? Should I step up to 120mm? Currently I ride a 140mm 26er. I like the slack angle and geometry I have. I enjoy bombing down more so than climbing up.

Did switching to a 29er help you clear stuff you had problems with on a 26er? Is it worth it to switch to 29er if you ride her the most.

Thanks

Larry
 
120 u will have more fun andget to be a bit more aggressive and xpand your riding areas to up north comfortably

100 limits you to boring stay on the ground

140 too much for the rock
 
daytona said:
I am thinking of buying a FS 29er and since I ride Chimney Rock the most I wanted to get some opinions on what type of 29er is best suited for the rock. I just wanted some feedback from people who already ride a FS 29er here.

Is 100mm travel enough? Should I step up to 120mm? Currently I ride a 140mm 26er. I like the slack angle and geometry I have. I enjoy bombing down more so than climbing up.

Did switching to a 29er help you clear stuff you had problems with on a 26er? Is it worth it to switch to 29er if you ride her the most.

Thanks

Larry
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Hey Larry, I have a medium 29er with 120 mm travel front and rear. If you want to give it a try you can borrow mine. I live in hillsborough as well. Let me know. Todd
 
THATmanMANNY said:
100 limits you to boring stay on the ground
Click to expand...

The limiting factor is the person and their abilities and if the part can take the abuse. 100mm is plenty get off the ground, I'd say up to 4'. Above that become iffy unless there is a good landing and runout. If you have anything of a landing, 100mm will take you far, especially on a 29er.
 
once you ride the 29er, especially downhill you will never ride the 26 again, makes it feel like riding a big wheel when you try the 26 again. 29 makes the ride smoother so you don't need a huge fork, 100mm is fine for me anyway.
 
Maybe I'm stuck on my thinking, but I think in NJ we really need short chainstay bikes on our techy rocks, especially FS 29ers with ridiculous wheelbases.
Lenz Leviathan or the SC Tallboy come to mind.
 
Lenz Leviathan or the SC Tallboy come to mind.


I was looking at the Lenz Behemoth online. I wonder where I can demo them?
 
If you find a place, take me with you. I want to ride one really bad. I forget which Lenz is the longer travel one, but that's the one with the shorter CS's I want to try. Maybe it's the behemoth. I want to try both of them anyway, and the Tallboy in my size.
 
my 2cents...

2 seasons ago I switched from a 4" Santa Cruz Juliana with 110-120-140 adjustable fork to the Turner Sultan (5.5" and 120 fork). I have never looked back! I climb better, go over things better, do flats faster. I absolutely adore my "do anything go anywhere" bike. I have taken it on canal paths (with the kids) and all trails from fast twisty Allaire to Allamuchy to Sourlands and even took it to steep rooty Fernie, British Columbia and its perfect. When its non-techy I lock out my rear suspension and it rides kind of hard-tail-y. I also swap out the tires (between Mavics and Nevegals) depending on the terrain. I can do little drops (that is all I the rider am capable of) but have seen it ridden with ease over much bigger stuff.

HTH
 
2Julianas said:
my 2cents...

2 seasons ago I switched from a 4" Santa Cruz Juliana with 110-120-140 adjustable fork to the Turner Sultan (5.5" and 120 fork). I have never looked back! I climb better, go over things better, do flats faster. I absolutely adore my "do anything go anywhere" bike. I have taken it on canal paths (with the kids) and all trails from fast twisty Allaire to Allamuchy to Sourlands and even took it to steep rooty Fernie, British Columbia and its perfect. When its non-techy I lock out my rear suspension and it rides kind of hard-tail-y. I also swap out the tires (between Mavics and Nevegals) depending on the terrain. I can do little drops (that is all I the rider am capable of) but have seen it ridden with ease over much bigger stuff.

HTH
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Uh oh, Maybe Norm should change your screen name :)

I have the same bike with an adjustable talas fork (90-120). It's an awesome setup. If you want a good suspension bike, Turner's f*cking rule. Anyone who has ever had one will agree. (Made in the USA!!! For now...)
I ride this bike at CR all the time. There aren't any drops there. My buddy with the same bike hit the jump at 6mile headed to the 27 lot and landed close to the bottom. He broke a spoke. Point being, your drop capabilities are going to depend on your wheel choice. Some flows or velocity p35s should do.
 
daytona said:
Did switching to a 29er help you clear stuff you had problems with on a 26er? Is it worth it to switch to 29er if you ride her the most.

Thanks

Larry
Click to expand...

There's a few obstacles that I can clear on my 29er that I had problems with on my 26er, also taking big drops is much more comfy with the big wheels
 
I own a ti hardtail 29er and FS 29er and I feel like I can ride either bike at most parks. It's really a matter of what you prefer. Another thought if you don't wanna go full 120 front and rear is to do 120 front and 100 rear. I ride a pivot 429 that way and absolutely love it. I don't have any problems climbing with the slacker HA of the 120 fork and it has a more enjoyable downhill ride. I've ridden my buddy's tallboy with 120 fork and it also rides great. If you are set on 120 front and rear I don't think you can go wrong with turner sultan or rip 9. Also, not sure if you had a weight that you wanted to keep the bike under, but some of the 29er FS bikes can be on the heavy side.
 
stb222 said:
The limiting factor is the person and their abilities and if the part can take the abuse. 100mm is plenty get off the ground, I'd say up to 4'. Above that become iffy unless there is a good landing and runout. If you have anything of a landing, 100mm will take you far, especially on a 29er.
Click to expand...

true. but u dont mean 4' at sourlands right? cause 140 bottoms out easy unless u dial it up and have a very stiff ride

just dont want op to go drop a scalpel and have it shatter in pieces...
 
THATmanMANNY said:
true. but u dont mean 4' at sourlands right? cause 140 bottoms out easy unless u dial it up and have a very stiff ride

just dont want op to go drop a scalpel and have it shatter in pieces...
Click to expand...

All I have is a 4" fork, actually I have a rigid right nt, so I guess that will have to do
 
If my intention was to do drops and ride sourlands all the time, I would not have picked my scalpel 29er, or epic 29er.....However, the nice part about an FS29er that is designed for XC is that it climbs and turns really well. I feel that both my epic and now my scalpel turn as well as any 29er HT I have ridden. Best of both worlds, IMO. I dont feel I have to give up anything in speed vs the HT, and I have the benefit of full suspension. Both bikes I run the rear suspension about as stiff as I can make it and im perfectly happy with it at jungle, ringwood, waywayanda, whatever....The only downfall of XC fs29ers is the low bottom bracket. Helps them turn really well, but it does also makes it harder to get over big logs.

Lenz Leviathan or the SC Tallboy come to mind.
Click to expand...

You can add the scalpel to those as well, same chainstay length/seat tube angle/head tube angle/wheelbase
 
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