Originally Posted by
calstar
quite a few new mtn bikes, especially downhill bikes, are being designed with more trail than just a few years ago for more stability at speed. Perhaps your MTB rides as it does due to other factors.
I think he has it right, his bike has a lot of trail and it also has a lot of flop. Thus it's hard to ride no-hands. There are other advantages to slack geometry and long travel forks on an mtb. The geometry isn't constant, and sagged geometry is fairly important.
I don't have much experience with small wheeled bikes, but I suspect high trail makes the steering too heavy.