Wayne Kruger Posted March 27, 2019 Share Hey guys, Would buying a mid travel trail bike (140/150mm) instead of a short travel (120/130mm) be a bad idea if I plan to do some longer rides and races (Sani, Transbaviaans)? I have my eye on the Merida One Twenty 800 (very well priced for the spec level) but stock seems to be an issue (XL) and I'm guessing there won't be any new stock coming since the 2020 models will probably be here in a couple of months. Will it be a mistake to look at the Merida One Forty 800 (same spec but 150mm)? I am considering the Giant Trance 29 2 and Trek Fuel Ex 7 as well but they are a lot more expensive (R10k) than the Merida and spec wise lesser. Your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverInTheRoad Posted March 27, 2019 Share Hi Wayne. You will be fine with all those options. The Merida 120 would be best for what you describe. If that's not possible just get a second set of XC tires such as Maxxis Ikons or Rekons. The Scott Spark would also work well for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted March 27, 2019 Share Yes, the 140 is an excellent trail bike and will serve you well in pretty much everything but xco. The bikes are good and the spec is better than pretty much everything else in the price range. Will it be faster up the hills, or even as fast as the 120? No. But it'll be far better everywhere else. And up the hills is good as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Kruger Posted March 27, 2019 Share I'm not a racing snake, just ride for fun and fitness. Will definitely swop the knobbies for faster tyres on longer rides/races though. Just don't want to get a mid travel bike and end up wanting to throw it off the mountain halfway up a long climb. DieselnDust 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcv Posted March 27, 2019 Share Hey In December I did a lot of research into trail bikes as we wanted to get my dad a great Christmas present. I considered lots of bikes including the Pyga Stage max, Giant Trance 2, Trek Ex 8 and a Specialized (no sure which one). in the end the Giant won as it was in my mind the best value for money, comes with GX, Carbon wheels and really good Fox suspension. Also the reviews of the trance are pretty convincing. the only thing you will want to change are the tires, I think the Ikons are better suited to long rides compared to the Minions. Hope this gives you some insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted March 28, 2019 Share travel is your friend... i own a santacruz 5010c which is a 130mm 27.5" bike (I fitted a 160mm fork, so technically it is now a long travel trail bike) and I ride it with flats. I've done a tonne of long rides and races on it including a Transbaviaans and I was on track to ride a Joburg2C (until I crashed out on day 2) along with all of the training miles that it takes to prepare for these events. I might lose a few minutes here and there, but I just love the way this bike handles and wouldn't trade it for a short travel marathon bike even if I could get a R150k S-works epic free. DieselnDust, Duane_Bosch and Jako De Wet 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardgoose Posted March 28, 2019 Share Pyga Stage Max Can do cross country or enduro depending on setup, tyres etc. Marcv and Wayne pudding Mol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpelser Posted March 28, 2019 Share Pyga Stage Max Can do cross country or enduro depending on setup, tyres etc.That isn't in his price range though... You'll be fine on the Merida 140 - Just get a second set of 29er wheels with thinner tyres for the long rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Me rida my bicycle Posted March 28, 2019 Share 150mm is close to Reign territory. I have done the same ride with a Giant Reign as with my short travel xc bike and I can tell you it makes a world of difference in 40-60km rides. Yes you can do it but be prepared to put some serious extra effort in. I would suggest the Trek as their suspension setup is very efficient when open and still great on the down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duanelr Posted March 28, 2019 Share my 2cents: there are not many places in SA where you'd really actually need 150mm of travel. Unless you are a previous downhill racer or EWS racer, have serious technical skills or like bombing down 'black diamond ' routes, you'll never really need 150mm travel. for us mere mortals it's too much. Just adds weight. especially if you plan on doing longer rides. even nino doesn't have that much travel and have you seen what that guy is capable off. I have the spark 940. 120mm of travel. I like jumping, doing drop offs, wheely every where, bunny hop everything etc. so i'm hard on suspension. i've never felt that the 120mm travel was not enough. in fact, sometimes i wish i had taken the scott spark with the fox32 and not the heavier, more expensive fox34 forks. to sum up; for the average joe doing the average races, you really dont need more than 120mm travel, especially on a 29er. Robbie Stewart, bertusras, gemmerbal and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted March 28, 2019 Share If you ride to finish, the trail bike will be fine. If you race for placing, it will be a bit slower - I have both and Im slower on the flats and hills on the trail vs the marathon bike - mainly due to body position. I think I can improve on this by fitting a longer stem and non-dropper post with setback, but that defeats the purpose of "trail" . The trail bike goes extremely well down technical stuff with the dropper and short stem, which is what it is supposed to do.On the flip side, descending in Helderberg farm on the marathon bike is less enjoyable - reqires a lot of concentration and margin of error feels very small.(Btw, I saw both Foster and Fumic take a tumbke where I stood at Helderberg farm during st5 of the Epic - it is challenging to ride down there fast on a marathon setup) gemmerbal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon123 Posted March 28, 2019 Share Get it an enjoy it. I use a 140mm both ends, 2.5WT tyred bike for my "long days" and still hit all the steep stuff on it. Doing S2C on it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bos Posted March 28, 2019 Share my 2cents: there are not many places in SA where you'd really actually need 150mm of travel. Unless you are a previous downhill racer or EWS racer, have serious technical skills or like bombing down 'black diamond ' routes, you'll never really need 150mm travel. for us mere mortals it's too much. Just adds weight. especially if you plan on doing longer rides. even nino doesn't have that much travel and have you seen what that guy is capable off. I have the spark 940. 120mm of travel. I like jumping, doing drop offs, wheely every where, bunny hop everything etc. so i'm hard on suspension. i've never felt that the 120mm travel was not enough. in fact, sometimes i wish i had taken the scott spark with the fox32 and not the heavier, more expensive fox34 forks. to sum up; for the average joe doing the average races, you really dont need more than 120mm travel, especially on a 29er. I agree with the above. You mention you want to do longer distances, but you don't mention why you really need the 150mm travel. If you don't need 150mm of travel, then don't get it. The bikes' intended use moves further and further away from marathon style the more travel it has, Its logical(slacker/stronger/spec etc) The only thing 6'' is better for is steep gnarly terrain. The real question is always the same, what do you ride most of? What are you currently on?(your frame of reference) One can set up a 130mm bike to go well on marathon style races, but then it wont be that much fun on the steep stuff, and vice versa. Or, like most of us try do, you'll have to come to come to a compromise. Rating a bike purely on travel is also not completely sound. Its the complete build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Ruinaard Posted March 28, 2019 Share Like the guys say the longer the travel normally the slacker the head angle and the more difficult it is to climb with. But point it downhill and you smile all the way. I have gotten rid of the race snake XC machines (Epic etc) long ago and have been riding a Stumpjumper for about 3 years for exactly the reasons you ask. It's not ideal as a stable pedalling platform and really hard XC climbing machine but that's not what i use it for. I always liked that comment, i think it was in Tread magazine, where it pointed out our obsessions locally with cutting edge XC machines and that 90% of the guys riding the latest hotshot XC optimised machines would probably be better off on a slightly longer travel, plusher and more upright machine and finish races feeling fresher. Bikes i personally think are the ideal compromise - Santa Cruz Tallboy LT 29er. About 120 to 130mm front and VPP back. The other was the Specialized Camber which has now been replaced by a Stumpjumper version. IMO you will have a lot more fun on a slightly longer travel bike unless you are in the top 100 of every XC race... Andrew Steer and Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porqui Posted March 28, 2019 Share Giant Trance = an amazing bike !! Marcv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselnDust Posted March 28, 2019 Share That isn't in his price range though... You'll be fine on the Merida 140 - Just get a second set of 29er wheels with thinner tyres for the long rides. If he buys a 2nd set of wheels then he is in the price range of the more expensive options so may as well get the better bike then... Sweet spot for what the OP wants to do is 130mm travel trail bike. Giant TranceTrek FuelEXCannondale Habit carbon 4GT Sensor ElitePyga Stage Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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