[Fast Black]

I was wondering is it me , or are we being pushed to get longer travel bikes? Where I live in south La. most people still ride hard tails and some of us ride short travel X.C. bikes like NRS , Fuels, Sugars, Scalpels , FSRs , Kikapus , and the like . yes we have people with Stinky primos and such but mostly urban assault don't really see them chugging those things on the trails . So I was wondering are we alone down here, granted it is mostly flat terrain , however there are lots of very technical tight sections littered with exposed roots to throw you of your line and short steep climbs and drop offs ; kinda like what you see those B.C. shots in some bike ads . any way I was real curios to see how the rest of ya'll were doing in different parts of the country besides the west coast and Colorado and Utah.

 

[soysurfer]

5" travel here

I was wondering is it me , or are we being pushed to get longer travel bikes? Where I live in south La. most people still ride hard tails and some of us ride short travel X.C. bikes like NRS , Fuels, Sugars, Scalpels , FSRs , Kikapus , and the like . yes we have people with Stinky primos and such but mostly urban assault don't really see them chugging those things on the trails . So I was wondering are we alone down here, granted it is mostly flat terrain , however there are lots of very technical tight sections littered with exposed roots to throw you of your line and short steep climbs and drop offs ; kinda like what you see those B.C. shots in some bike ads . any way I was real curios to see how the rest of ya'll were doing in different parts of the country besides the west coast and Colorado and Utah.

We're riding a lot of 5" travel bikes here on the North Shore (of Oahu, not BC). I've got a Trek Liquid and my buddy a 5 spot. Roots, drops, stunts, you can pretty much find it all here. 3" will get you by if you want to ride around some of that stuff but I'm getting more and more into the freeride side of things. All-mountain I guess it's called now.

 

[JmZ]

I was wondering is it me , or are we being pushed to get longer travel bikes? Where I live in south La. most people still ride hard tails and some of us ride short travel X.C. bikes like NRS , Fuels, Sugars, Scalpels , FSRs , Kikapus , and the like . yes we have people with Stinky primos and such but mostly urban assault don't really see them chugging those things on the trails . So I was wondering are we alone down here, granted it is mostly flat terrain , however there are lots of very technical tight sections littered with exposed roots to throw you of your line and short steep climbs and drop offs ; kinda like what you see those B.C. shots in some bike ads . any way I was real curios to see how the rest of ya'll were doing in different parts of the country besides the west coast and Colorado and Utah.

Here in Northern Indiana it's a mix of a few different thingys.

Lots of hardtails. (Lack of trails = lots of roadies and roadie converts)
Fewer Short travel duallies. Mostly 3-4 inches. Myself included.
A few longer travel bikes appear, know of one guy with a 5 Spot, and have seen very few other longer travel bikes.

Some of the other local trails have some longer travel bikes there, but also have terrain to use the bike effectively.

JmZ

 

[FoShizzle]

My summary. Keep in mind, in general, this is based on riding the same exact trails:

As you will see, I have come full circle! Having said that, I am keeping my Ventana for the real rough stuff or when I know my friend will be taking me on the not so friendly downhill route.

* Started with a Price Club/Costco hardtail geared rigid (0" rear / 0" front)
* Went to 2000 S-works FSR (3" rear / 3" front)
* Tracer (4" rear / 4" front)
* added Bullit to my stable (7" rear / 6" front)
* Added Ventana X-5, (now 6" rear / 5-6" front)
* added high-end full suspension Rocky Mountain (3" rear / 3" front)
* single speed (0" rear / 3" front fork
* Just today, put a rigid fork on that same single speed (0" rear / 0" front)

 

[DiRt DeViL]

My contribution,

Started with a 1999 GT Outpost Trail (3/0)
Went to Specialized Rockhopper (3/0)
Went to GF Kaitai (3/0)
Went to Jamis Dakar Sport (3/3.5)
Went to Supergo Access (3/0)
Went to Giant VT (5/5.7)
Added Kona Unit (4/0)

But yes, I do see a lot of people riding FS rigs with more than 3" of rear travel.