Originally Posted by
samburger
I know I'm going to get **** for this but I'll ask it anyway. What, other than more suspension travel, makes a DH bike so different than a FS XC bike? Is it so much heavier because it's that much stronger or does it have something to do with the physics of actually going downhill at fast speeds?
Geometry and the amount of travel are the biggest differences. Geometry maybe even more than travel.
The bikes are heavier because they take a beating and lightweight XC parts wouldn't hold up as well (though some DH parts are getting pretty light).