Is the 100mm travel hardtail dead?

[FLV]

I recently spent quite a while looking at / for hardtails designed specifically for 100mm forks.
There are plenty of bikes that state 100-120mm but tthats not what i mean as these are generally designed for the higher number.

Just doesnt seem very common to stick to 100.

Did i miss the memo?

[ton]

no i dont thinks so.
i have been hovering over the buy button all week, on a specialized chizel 29.
it is a 100mm forked hardtail.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've no real idea whether they're dead or not but it strikes me as perhaps odd (or unusual at least) that rigid bikes are reasonably easy to source?

[Scud]

I think that the common travel even for an XC bike now is 120mm, i think that with weights coming down and change in geo, good xc racers are often racing full suspension, 120mm travel bikes with dropper seatposts these days, instead of 100mm hardtails, and what the top guys and girls race tends to trickle down, i may be wrong, but like everything, these trends come and go.

[slarge]

I guess with modern decent forks etc there is little disadvantage to a 120mm travel front end. Is it important to have 100mm Dave?

For what it's worth my hardtail and Epic FS are both 100mm, and I don't run out of travel (not round the muddy fields of Warwickshire anyway!!)

[FLV]

I can't see that many rigids around, one or two I suppose.

Steve,
Only really browsing as I have a complete set of parts including Sid or carbon forks sat in a series of boxes. If I had a frame... Well, then if have another bike

Not that I need another bike, but why should that stop me

[lune ranger]

Isn’t the important number the a-c measurement rather than the travel. Afaik quite a few 120 and 100mm forks come up with the same a-c and are therefore interchangeable. At least that’s what I found when looking for a 100mm fork last year.

[PaulB2]

I know my current 100mm fork can be converted to 120mm with a fairly simple air spring change. Well, simple for a bike shop

[Bearbonesnorm]

I can't see that many rigids around, one or two I suppose.

Well, there's more of them than there is 100mm hardtails Maybe they just catch my eye but there always seems to be a few on offer - I quite like the look of the Kona Unit X*







*I'm allowed to say that because I don't think it's yet appeared in 'new stuff coming' thread

[faustus]

The Unit can take a 100mm fork, and the Sonder Frontier is designed for one too. Then there are still a fair few XC/race hardtails at 100mm, including the Orbea Alma, Vitus Rapide, Canyon Exceed, Chisel mentioned above etc.

I agree above that rigid bikes are more available, there are lots of options like Sonder, Bombtrack, Nordest, Brother Cycles, Surly to name just a few...i'm sure you could find something to hang those parts on!

[FLV]

I actually like the look of the unit too. Looks good value also compared to some.

[jameso]

generally designed for the higher number.

They will need to be tested for that longer fork at least. People tend to go for more travel (at least as a future option, it sells) and you can design for a 20mm range of fork travel change w/o issues. It shouldn't mean the bike won't ride well set up at 100mm. I'd just check the numbers if you had the shorter fork on - from a static 120mm fork on an average trail/XC geometry it'd be about a degree steeper overall, 10mm more reach and 7mm lower BB. All things you may want on a more XC-biased bike.

[GregMay]

The Unit was always a wonderfully capable bike. That one, looks a bit slacker, but no bad thing TBH.