How much stress can my XC mtb handle?
 

Hi I am rather new to mountain biking. I have a Giant XTC 29er 0 mountain bike http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-nz/...r/10520/53236/

Just wondering, what kind of stress am I able to put the bike under such as bumps and drops without causing the frame to form cracks etc. The bike size is 18inch, and I am about 65kg.

Cheers!

Some of the industry technical terms like Bulletproof to Bombproof come to mind.

The A word (Aluminum) is kinda the Red haired step child of frame materials these days. Discussions usually involve CF Steel (its real) and one of my favorites, titanium. I have seen aluminum bikes since the early 90's. I rode with former Cincinnati Bengal lineman, Ben Musgrove, he had oversized Aluminum in the way backs. He was 300 pounds and very athletic. Seatposts were the only problem for him. Materials have enjoyed tons of improvements since then.

That being said, keep checking your bike over, ride within your skillset and post some reports on how things are going. What did the bike weigh when you got it home?

I would keep your loading-dock-to-flat drops under 5 ft. and your jumps to under 15 ft. gaps ;).

A lot. I'm going to guess a lot more stress than most people can throw at it.
My five year old StumpJumper has been mine for two years, and in those two years it has been raced in XC and DH (yes, a hardtail on the DH trails) and has had many spectacular falls in it's life, all it has is minor paint damage and a slight bend in the top tube. I'm sure a newer bike would be just as strong, if not stronger.
Throw all the abuse you can at it, ride it like it you stole it!

Try this

http://en.webfail.com/53e41b1486f

and let us know how it goes.

BTW, welcome to the forum!

Ok thanks guys, just that I heard some ppl saying that xc bikes are more fragile or something in comparison to I guess all mountain. But yep will let you guys know my progress! Cheers~

I didn't weigh the bike aye but it's hellish light comparing to my old bikes! Feels about 10kg?

Oh, and don't try this . . .

Or...
You could ride it like you want and replace parts that break (yes, even the frame)

I value my life too much :P

Hopefully I won't have to replace things anytime soon, especially the frame >< still need the money to buy food hehe.

Definitely don't do any of these things

Man is that guy still alive?

All moderate level bike parts from shimano (deore/slx) are relatively cheap. Just broke my front chainring and front mech and replaced both with 40 bucks. New steel big ring and slx front mech.
Frames can be had for cheap (e.g. on one inbred). Self built wheels can be cheap especially if the hub is still good after the crash. Forks are not cheap but spare parts can be bought. Brakes are not cheap but again, spares.

For a low budget beginner i would keep in the middle price range since after deore function or durability does not really increase but weight will go down. I just got new 2014 deore brakes and could not be happier with power, quietness or reliability

It's more like what can YOU handle on a hard tail with only 100mm fork travel? You'll get beat up easier and faster than that bike. That's a XC race bike. Can you launch and land 4 feet of air? The bike should be able to handle it but 95% of riders probably don't have the skill or guts to pull that off on a HT. "All Mountain" or "Trail" bikes are always full suspension with 120mm minimum fork travel--most are 130mm+. They're made to launch off big features. Like I mentioned, anything big enough to injure you will do so before the bike frame fails. Of course, any bike's controls like shifters, brake levers, seat post, saddle rails will bend of break even on simple crashes if the bike lands hard enough.