Mountain Biking - Optimal amount of front suspension travel?

I'm looking into getting a new front fork and going with suspension, so my question is what would be a decent amount for XC riding, I don't do any downhill, but it is rocky, etc. around here.. Would 80 mm be enough or would you recommend more.. I'm about 165 pounds if that would make a difference.

for most XC 80 is plenty, if not prefered. the less travel you have the tighter steering you have. depends sometimes on the frame. if you have a frame that is made for 100mm and you put an 80mm on it might feel like the front is too low, or vice versa.

but really it's just 2 cm...

yeah i think 80 would be fine like as wearyourtruth said

i got 80 on mine, but the most ive got it was 2 cm.

I've got 70mm and I'm not complaining.

80mm is good for that frame.

I just ordered a 170mm today.

I just ordered a 170mm today.
what kind?

80mm is just right for XC. I use an 80mm fork and sometimes I don't even use the maximum amount of travel. I wouldn't go anything bigger then 100mm for XC.

what kind?

Marzocchi 66RC2X.

I'm looking into getting a new front fork and going with suspension, so my question is what would be a decent amount for XC riding, I don't do any downhill, but it is rocky, etc. around here.. Would 80 mm be enough or would you recommend more.. I'm about 165 pounds if that would make a difference.
If this is for the Timberline you don't want to do anymore than the 80mm. Your bike was designed when 80mm was a DOWNHILL fork. Personally I think you're better off staying rigid as adding a suspension fork to an older frame can have a negative effect on handling do tothe increased rake of the front end

I would go with 0mm, front or rear. But, that's just me.

Marzocchi 66RC2X.

Gods fork....

Gods fork....

I hope she doesn't mind if I get one too... :)

I hope she doesn't mind if I get one too... :)

You get all the good stuff! :mad:

You get all the good stuff! :mad:

Are you kidding? You have no idea how good you've got it.

Why, when I was your age, I didn't even have a bike, I had to ride a goat.

how far could you ride a goat wheelie?

how far could you ride a goat wheelie?
Depends on the goat

The goat was good for trials riding. Dirt jumps were tough on his knees, though.

5 INCH is perfect because you'll want to do some freeriding too.

5 INCH is perfect because you'll want to do some freeriding too.

The OP wasn't asking about freeriding.

I run 80mm on my XC bike and it is more than enough.

Interesting thread after all... I'm leaving the GT rigid and this fork is on a Jamis Dakar which was built for 100 mm of suspension so that was why I was wondering if 80 would be enough; wearyourtruth's response was what I was looking for.. I should've been more specific and I'll have to update the signiture too!

My Rockhopper originally came with a 100mm fork and I prefer the way it handles and feels with the 80mm fork on it now.

I should've been more specific and I'll have to update the signiture too!
Yes you should have.

I want to hear more about goats. Those horns musta needed bar-ends.
http://www.firstflightbikes.com/Mountain%20Goat.htm

Interesting thread after all... I'm leaving the GT rigid and this fork is on a Jamis Dakar which was built for 100 mm of suspension so that was why I was wondering if 80 would be enough; wearyourtruth's response was what I was looking for.. I should've been more specific and I'll have to update the signiture too!


if it was intended for a 100mm fork, try to stick with that. or, try to find out what the max you can run and still preserve your warrantee with. 80mm, if a short fork, may steepen your head angle, making the handling feel faster/sketchier. all depends on what you like in front end handling. what was the stock fork on the dakar models for the year of your frame? try to stick with something not too far off from that.

caveat: not always the travel you need to look at, but a given forks crown to axle height. forks of similar travel, but from differing companies may have *very* different c-a measurements. eg: fox130mm travel forks sit waaaaaay the h3ll shorter than marzocchi 130mm forks. and my rock shox pike team 140mm sits at the same c-a as my previous marzocchi z-1.

optimal means different things for different frames/riders/kinds of riding/terrains.

optimal would be a Risse Big Foot with 12" of front travel

As others have said, 75mm to 100mm is where you should be looking for an XC fork. I'm also running around 80mm of front travel with my fork. However, I do think it's a good thing that you decided to stick with a rigid fork for that bike. It's getting harder to find a nice straight tracking stock rigid rig these days. Most people end up having to re-engineer their setup and go scrounging from an ever increasingly limited selection of rigid forks in order to achieve what you already have. If you want to go front suspension then you can take what you would have spent on a new fork and use it as base savings for a new bike.