Originally Posted by CrankshaftYQX
Can anyone who is active in the race scene explain the standard classifications for downhill racing? I will be getting a Giant STP 2 fairly soon and I'd like to know which class(es) I could be competitive in a year or two down the road. I love downhill, but I won't be getting an FS bike for it. If there's no way I could be competitive in downhill on a hardtail, can someone recommend a racing type for me?
Thanks and sorry about the beginner questions.
Ethan
To paraphrase: There's no such thing as a beginner question; only amateurish answers."
Ethan, with any luck you will be racing where there is a hardtail class (we have them at our DH races here). The drawback to the HT class, though, is that it is usually not age-/experience-specific; in other words, you may be up against Expert racers who chose to run the HT class.
For Beginner through Sport DH racing your STP will do you fine - -especially if the courses have good flow and/or are particularly jump-infested.
As far as being race-ready, I'd recommend some 2.5 tires. They won't roll quite as fast as 2.35s but they'll give your hardtail just a little more 'suspension' to take some of the edge off the harshness and be a little more forgiving.
Have fun and lets know how it goes.