Mountain Biking - limits of xc

what would you say the limits are. No small jumps? no drops? I was at site reading about what everything is and it sorta scared me. My cinder cone is xc but i like small drops and small jumps and some aggresive riding. hmmmm am i pushing the limits? and whats the difference. If I convert my fork to 100mm than the only difference between it and freeride bikes would be the frame. The frame has gotta be able to handle that? anyone wanna ease me on my decision of my bike.

You are pushing the bikes limits. Xc does consist of some rought riding but there are limits as to what the bike can handle...but small drops and jumps are within its limits I would think. Don't go big and avoid drops to flat.

Meh, I think the new "classifications" of mountain bikes are lame. Unless you're hucking off huge building and doing stuff that you KNOW your bike wasn't mean for, it will probably be fine. I've ridden lightweight cross country frames way harder than they should ever be ridden without any problems. But what do I know.. I ride Cracknfails :rolleyes:

I break frames Jim...the new classifications aren't lame (ok not all of them). Xc frames won't do what I want them to....neither will xc forks...there are labels that need to be there in order to clear up what works for what people. Obviously the lighter a person is the better off they are. If you are a lightweight doing 5 ft drops than yeah a xc will work, but if you are 6ft 200pound landings a little rough than that same frame WILL break. Thats why there are overbuilt 'fr' ht's. :)

I agree, but it should be pretty much understood that if you weigh 250 pounds and huck off houses that you aren't going to be riding a XC frame. XC frames are tough, but everything has its limits. It's just that some people make XC frames out to be gossamer when that's really not the case.

Well I had to look up gossamer (interesting word)....ok sorry I misunderstood your first post, we agree then. Yeah xc bikes are far from the fragility of a road bike. Xc bikes are still meant for 'offroading' haha :)

good thing i ride my road bike WAY too aggressively since i came from a mountain biking background.

logs in the road. no problem. bunny hop.
off road section. why dismount? plow right through.
grate in the road. vroooooommm! flat tire.

i guess i pay with flats though.

I'm really really lazy. What does gossamer meen?

gos·sa·mer Audio pronunciation of gossamer ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gs-mr)
n.

1. A soft sheer gauzy fabric.
2. Something delicate, light, or flimsy.
3. A fine film of cobwebs often seen floating in the air or caught on bushes or grass.

Like Stinkyonions, I ride my road bikes hard as well. That is why I ride a cross.
Bunnyhops- yes.
Off-road gravel - yes
Singletrack - sometimes
Grate in the road- dodge (sorry, I hate grates)

I also like small jumps, hills on dirt - sure. If I do it on a cross bike then I don't see why a XC hardtail can't handle it.
-Duncan

Hey slickmobster,

If you go to the post titled "Jumping Photos" in this forum you'll see some of the jumps I've been putting my XC bike through. As long as you don't weigh 200-250 pounds and aren't landing with your legs locked out (I always try to cushion my landings), you should be ok with a decent XC bike...

This is how I look at it. Ride, ride hard.. once you break something, you've gone too far. Does that mean slow down, no, buy something more rugged! :)

XC is what you want it to be. I know we had friends from Holland here over the summer, and what we consider XC, they consider DH! So it's all in perseption and how you ride with what you have.

Don't be worried too much about labels... have fun, ride hard!

Joe

Thanks.