[blaireau]

hi everyone,
i live in norcal and have ridden/raced road for the last 20 yrs. i am looking for a fs 26er that is light and doesn't bob. currently im on a soft tail w/ 1.5" of travel but there are times (descending and climbing rocky stuff) when i wished i had more suspension. do you recommend 4" or 5" of travel? i have been thinking 4" as it is more similar to my road position.

i liked the ibis mojo but i don't know if i really need all that travel plus the placing of the water bottle is a negative. i rode a tricked out scott spark but it bobbed too much. im curious about the trek top fuel 9.9 ssl, turner flux, pivot mach 4 and santa cruz blur xc. i think there is something to the dw link suspension as the ibis rode so well.

lastly i am looking to get up the climb faster than getting down it. i may do some racing but that would be secondary to just having fun. any and all comments would be appreciated!

 

[mimi1885]

Flux or Pivot would work nicely for you. None of the bike on your list really bob unless you are a masher.

 

[blaireau]

thank you for the reply...from what i have read the flux and mach 4 are solid bikes but not too light. if i wanted to get down to the 20-22lbs range what would you recommend?

 

[mimi1885]

20-22lbs range narrow it down quite a bit. Trek fuel, epic, scalpel, mojo SL(I know water bottle) SC bxcc, Titus x. All are fast bikes but at that weight you are taxing the fun factor side of it.

When I first got my mojo I built it 23 lb, but ended up adding more fun back into the bike with 2.35 knobby tires, adjustable post bringing it up to about 26 lbs is more fun.

If you are selling your sparks then I can understand but if you are adding to your stable then spend a bit more on weight. 23-25lbs bike still fly up the climb. Of course you can build both flux and m4 22 lbs but it will cost arms and legs.