mtbmikeharris's Comments

One of the best Mountain Bike podcasts of the year, such a great story.

These kinds of debates are what 300 post comments are made from, there just isn't "right" answer? Haha. Who you ride with, where you live, what terrain like to ride, etc... At least there isn't as much trolling on this site vs the other one.

Anyway, I use the same argument with the lifted pickup, but more power to those guys if that's what they want and really helps up their FigJam game at the trailhead. I live in the Denver, Front Range and only have one "modern" bike a SB66c @150mm, and use for sure bikepark/burlier trail but do a lot of XC too, even a lap on WhiteRim on Minions which was a dumb choice. Interesting as well, when I got it in 2012, I had a 200mm DH bike which I sold b/c the SB66c was so much better at everything once my skills caught up, like you said about skill/fitness matters more than travel.

Spent a couple of days in Moab on the newer SB5 and while better, still similar enough to the SB66 IMHO. Also think an argument could be made about how the level of speed and aggression you put into a trail can have a big influence on bike and fun which I guess is just defacto if you race. A 8-10min run down lower Ahab is a very different experience than a 15-20min ride.

My buddies are smoking me on their long travel 29'ers on some sections of trails and they all have good things to say about the new stiffness of the newer bikes, so I can see one in my future for sure.

Jeff, have rarely seen a reviewer so responsive to questions and have such great insight, thank you!

One debate I have with my riding buddies when looking at bikes is "too much front travel", seems like this crop of 29ers have all been at 160mm including the recently released Slash but I keep hearing the argument (from guys who haven't ridden them) that's too much travel for a 29'er, too much travel for a bike that will climb so much, too much travel unless you are racing enduro. Similar argument as not using a current gen Nomad or SB6 for your daily driver. Anyway I think asking the how much travel question is often like asking the ski length question on TGR the answer is more is better but I do see a lot of people riding long travel bikes well below their potential.

Do you think the root of the argument is most people don't push the bike hard enough to use the travel, but they could progress where they would benefit?