There's nothing wrong with "over-forking" a bike, and plenty of companies offer models with 10 - 20mm more travel up front than out back. But while an extra 20mm of travel might save your ass every now and then, it's not going to instantly allow you to ride faster and go bigger. Skill trumps travel, of course, but it's the slacker head angle that comes from the additional 20mm that might actually make a bigger difference than the travel itself. Likewise, installing a stem that's 10 - 20mm shorter than what you might currently be using will likely give you more confidence than just adding travel. It's not a bad idea to go with a bit more travel if you need a new fork regardless, but I wouldn't recommend spending that kind of money purely to have the extra travel if your fork is functioning well. - Mike Levy |
Rocky Mountain specs their 120mm Thunderbolt with a 130mm travel fork, and they're just one of many companies that offer ''over-forked'' bikes that best suit aggressive riders.
It is unlikely that you will find an enduro-specific shock with a true lockout because the typical leverage rates of popular suspension systems nearly triple the compression forces inside the damper - which can balloon the casing and damage the seals in a worse-case scenario, like a botched landing or a bike park hero's "Watch This" moment. For those reasons, suspension makers use a blow-off feature that prevents the shock from "hydraulic locking." Some XC shocks have higher lockout thresholds, and the RockShox Monarch is the "enduro-type" shock that I have used that comes closest to a locked-out feel. Fox takes a more conservative approach with the Float X. Its highest resistance, as you noted, is more like a super firm platform setting. The one AM/enduro shock that does match the nearly rigid XC types in lockout mode is Scott Sport's TwinLoc, made by DT Swiss and featured on its Genius range. The bottom line, however, is that unless you ride paved roads to get to your downhill tracks, a completely locked rear end is going to slow you down on both the ascents and the flats. XC racers ride rigid rear ends because they need the momentary bursts of acceleration they offer more than the rolling efficiency that suspension brings. If it's rough, they ride out of the saddle and use their muscles for rear suspension, which reflects upon how crazy fit XC pros are. - RC |
For a first set of clipless pedals, I'd recommend the Shimano M530. They're tough, reliable, reasonably light, and at $55 USD or less for a set they fall within your price range. It's easy to be tempted by pedals that only have a clip-in mechanism on one side, but those pedals are best left for commuters, not mountain bikers who need to be able to get in and out as quickly as possible - there's nothing worse than trying to step into a pedal only to find that it's flipped to the wrong side. You're correct about Shimano pedals possessing adjustable tension - there's a hex bolt on each side of the pedals that can be turned counter-clockwise to reduce the amount of force that's needed to release from the pedals. Start with it almost all the way loose (make sure to adjust both sides of the pedal evenly), and as you become more comfortable you'll be able to increase the tension to suit your needs. Before heading out onto the trails, I'd recommend practicing clipping in and out with your bike mounted in a stationary trainer. This will help you get used to the location of the cleat on each shoe, as well as the motion required for entry and exit without needing to worry about tipping over in front of your buddies. Once it starts to feel natural, head to a grassy field for a little more practice, and then you can take your newfound skills to the trails. - Mike Kazimer |
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Dont. Only ride flats.
Correct technique is overrated and misconstrued as the hard way always being the best. Just like people who say 'you have to ride a hardtail for x amount of years before you're allowed anywhere near a FS...etc etc'...it's all rubbish. Get the best bike you can, ride the shit out of it and have a blast. Don't let anyone tell you there's a wrong way. I'm not sure who I'm preaching to here but whoever you are thanks for listening!
Try not thinking about it all so much and just ride the bicycle. The more you ride, the quicker you get, the better your technique will be, whatever type of bike it is and whatever pedals you're using.
Correct technique involves riding awesome.
@waki I didn't mean to be defensive dude, I respect your opinions (and sometimes even agree!). My comments shouldn't be directed at you personally so I apologise. The whole world of skills courses, correct technique and so on puts my back up. I see people rolling ruts and stuff at 3mph with their "elbows out, knees out, heels down, eyes up" as I'm sure they've been told by an 'instructor' and I can't help but think if they just got on with it and rode some more they'd be eating sections like that for breakfast.
Just for the hell of it: I ride flats for life.
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I'm running Mavic/Time pedals and am wondering if the spring tension is too weak for me because I often unclip in the of when getting rad. Anyone switch from Times to something with more tension?
Why debate? Know how to ride both and what situation demands it.
BTW - can we stop calling clipped-in pedals clipless yet? Clipless was a name given to pedals with binding-and-cleat engagement when they were the alternative to the cage and toe clip (strap) that preceded them. That was 25 years ago.
I don't know what @anchoricex is speaking about. I'd guess that Vans makes shoe soles with several different rubber compounds and some work better than others for MTB? Or maybe his trails are much more smooth than mine? In any case, given then choice between "any old Vans" and "any old 5.10s," I'll take one pair of the 5.10s before I'd take 5 or 10 pairs of the Vans.
Hmm, a angle headset???
I bought m737 new, massive improvement to the toe clips I used before. Toe clips were dangerous!
Highly recommend it. But as stated in the article, the taller fork slackened the head angle which is also a bonus.
Only time my feet come off in rock/root gardens, steep tech stuff is when its my mistake or I want my foot off
I'm using shimano Saint flats at the moment.
I'd go as far as to say, you never NEED to clip in, how many trials riders use clips? Does Sam Hill for example use glue or Blu Tac or something? No, he uses his feet properly, there are tecniques to keeping your feet where you want them, from blazing down the steepest roughest downhill to having full on trials foot/bike control mastery, clips are never necessary, and are a bit gay. Nothing worse than watching someone lose time on a run coz they can't get there gay little clips in their gay little pedals.
Actually there is, stacking hard coz you couldn't get your foot out fast enough