Originally Posted by
Wilfred Laurier
Of course, if your WayBack machine is operating, you could go the early days of the 'freeride' trend (mid-late '90s) and people were doing chairlift assisted downhill runs all day long on their 75mm travel bikes.
If you have enough skill and patience, you could still ride one of those without going OTB or tacoing a wheel. But it wouldn't be very enjoyable compared to a modern bike.
If you're XC racing, you should have an XC race bike. If you aren't, a mid-travel 'trail' bike will be better suited to handle a variety of trails. Short-travel bikes are generally cheaper, but not always. Take the Giant Trance for example.