4", 5", or 6"?

newbie04

Hello!

I'm looking for a new mtb bike that can bomb rough singletrack, climb well, and handle rough trailriding. I don't ever really encounter anything beyond five foot drops (currently, I gingerly go around them). The singletrack here gets pretty squirly and tight. And the climbing can be challenging if I decide to take the right trails.

So- I'm trying to decide between 4, 5, and 6 inch suspension systems. Kind of narrowed it down to the giant trance (4"), rocky mountain slayer (5"), and giant reign (6). I was committed on the Reign before I went into the store and found that the bike was pretty surly and beefy, atleast much more than I thought. While this might not be very indicative of its climbing potential, I'm not completely certain I need that much beef for what I'm doing.

And then I moved on to the Trance. I am really sold on the bike, but I'm not entirely sure that four inches is enough to huck a five foot drops. I think it can handle some pretty rough singletrack and I've heard it's also quite a climber.
I'm not too keen on the Slayer, as of now. I can get a much better deal on the Trance, and I'm not sure how much the extra inch will actually help- Please correct me if i'm wrong.

FINALLY: my question. Can the Trance (4") handle drops up to five feet? Can you expect it to hold up on agressive singletrack? And how much should I be considering the Reign and Slayer?

Sorry for the long post. THANKS for the help!

torrent1

I'd focus more on the something around 5". If your riding more single track and climbing 6" is more than you need.... go with 5" and fosus on your form when doing the drops and you should be fine. 6" is for the riders who take chair lifts, not climb -this is coming from some one who rides both.

trekrider4315

I personally would stick with 5. Thats what Im running right now and it stays nice and tight on singletrack and climbs but can bomb some drops if need be.

konaman132

I have a friend that owns a Kona Coiler and loves it. And he does the same stuff that you described.

Just something to think about.

Good luck with your choice!

This is the link for the 2006 model.

www.konaworld.com/2k6/preview/coiler_2k6.htm

moparchris

oh yeah a coiler is going to be mint for trail riding, wait.. no its a piece of shit for anything.

im getting a trance (4") and will be doing prettymuch everything on it. i work for a shop that sells giant and the rep that comes in is huuge, probly 6'2" roughly and probably weighs 110-120kg or something and he rides a trance 1 and you should see him ride he smashes it around, does any jumps he possibly can and the bikes fine for him.

if you dont want a bike specifically for anything then i think 4" is fine, if your going to thrash it around a bit more and do more jumps and whatever else maybe the reign or something in between.

__________________
GT Ruckus SS
2006 Giant Trance 1
Giant TCR Euro

konaman132

Sombody needs to relax!

triguy98

What did people do before big suspension? I remember easily taking 3-4 foot drops as a beginner on a FULL RIGID bike. All travel does is cover up you mistakes on the small stuff and allow you to go 10-20 foot drops. If there's lots of climbing in your future, look for a 4" or a 5" SVP. 6" is excessive and 5" is getting there for single track.

__________________
'05 GF Cake DLX SRAM X-9, 'Zocchi MX Comp, Avid BB7
Trek Equinox 7: 105, all stock, all fast
'99 GT XCR5000: LX/XT, Avid SDs, Judy XC
------------------------------------------------------
Life is short, ride hard. BONZAI!!!!

overdbar

Reign..
Reign..
Reign..
Reign!