Great review, guys. This is some of the best mtb content on KZfaq. Hope your channel goes from strength to strength. PS: it’s difficult to find, almost impossible by chance.

Shopping for a Titan and this is exactly the comparison I was looking for.

This is a great video! First time here, instantly subscribed. From the first few minutes I knew I'm gonna like this. Even 4k here, nice.

Finally found a good comparison review,

thanks for bustin it for us, i am looking at the intense, similar.

Nice work mate, you sure can ride, I was impressed, also the evaluation was what I thought might be the case.

South African living in Sweden for the past 24 years. Hadidas still giving me ptsd, lol! Great comparison btw. On thr fence at the mo whether to get a lomger travel xc/"down country mtb" Been riding a 100mm Trek Superfly for the last five years. Looking for something thats a little more exciting on the rooty, rocky and wet technical stuff with a more xc geometry. Cheers boet!

very helpful review

Fun video. A bit misleading though. The title says this is about 100mm vs.120mm. All other variables should be identical if suspension travel is the focus. Both should/should NOT have droppers, same handle bars etc. Trail looks fun and you rode both bikes really well. No dropper... respect!

Still trying to decide over a xc n DC. Getting closer to what I want. Leaning to that 120 or 130 front travel.. over a 100mm due to my 215lb weight. This video helped me alot with finding a xc bike. Already got 2 Enduros. Need something for the flats and a change of trails. Thankyou for this informative video video

Try putting dropper post in 100mm travel bike. 😁 It will change the result I guess.

Great review 👏👏👏

The trend towards better downhill performance seems to be pushed by the fact that on the whole, people vastly prefer cycling downhill, probably combined with the increasing prevalence in bike park lifts. I think there's a balance point, obviously -- getting shaken to pieces on a hardtail and needing to take a break takes the fun out of things, but even a small penalty riding uphill on a 140mm bike makes the pain so much worse. I think there's a mentality of either: do you live for those golden 4 minutes, or the whole ride? That is of course just one perspective. You can ride basically anything on any bike, but to ride a trail at speed is a different matter entirely. So a long-travel bike could shoot down an incredibly technical trail almost like it's a flow trail -- it makes it a lot more exciting. Often people criticize the need for full sus / longer travel not realizing how much faster they could be going down that dark blue or black trail. That said, particularly if the types of trails in your area are steep or full of features, a dropper post must make by far the biggest difference. With enough skill, you could pick the best lines and hop over the worst of the rough. A dropper is the difference between catching yourself on the seat whenever you try to shift your weight to balance grip correctly, feeling like you're about to fall over the bars, and having total control. No doubt you'll have more confidence on cushier suspension and fatter tyres, but my theory is that a dropper post (or frankly, a lowered seat) will give you the greatest potential increase in speed. And there's a final point -- that strapping on knee & shoulder pads and full-face helmets will REALLY slow you down, and when you're riding an enduro bike with such express intention of going downhill fast, you're just opening yourself up to more serious injuries if you do crash. It's better to have fun testing the limit at 20kph than 30kph.

Awesome video! It's been a slippery slope since I started on 100mm hardtails, then 120mm front and rear spark, then another spark with 130mm front and 120 rear, and now I'm on a 150 front and 140 rear holding on for dear life since the day I swung my leg over. My big(ger) travel bike is taking me through the Trailseeker marathons and similar races much faster than my other bikes, and I'm having more fun. Would I change back in the name of a few minutes? Nah.

Wish I could do the Orbea Oiz 100mm vs 120 tr Version both the same frames would be a great way to compare

Cool video. Though definitely would have been better if they both had the exact same tyres and both had dropper posts, same bar setups etc etc

Would like to see test with same tires.

this is a hard tail to gravel bike up hill. It would be nice to see a thicker corse.

Wow so many things were different not just the suspension.

I have a GEN 3 and GEN 4 Santa Cruz Tallboy. My GEN 3 weighs 25 lbs. The Gen 4 weighs 31 lbs. The GEN 3 has 67.5 headtube and the GEN 4 a 65.5. Even though the GEN 3 is more XC like I can ride the GEN 4 significantly faster. On average 2 minutes faster on a 24 minute, 5 mile lap. The best I figure is the slacker bike is just more confidence inspiring at high speeds which allows me to carry more speed into climbs.

My new winterbike is a hardtail with 2,8 inch spiked tyres and 140mm Marzocchi. Is it to much damping for a middleaged careful rider? Too me this big damper gave me extra safety. Its not fast, but its safe. Its been a happy winter and the damper was tuneable to give me nice flow over millions of footsteps in the snow/ice.

Technical climbing section would change a lot.

Solution: put a dropper post and riser bars on the 100mm bike - I have just done this on my XC bike and shortened the stem by 20mm (and changed from 2x10 to 1x10). My alloy Giant Anthem X weighs 11kg. The carbon bikes you show are heavy for carbon - what a waste of money.

Seems the obvious solution is 100-140 adjustable travel forks.

Good biak

Hello :) can i have an opinion on my bike XC KTM phinx 291?? 100mm rear and 120mm front shock. I see people dont buy european manufacturers as much (at all) so I'd like to hear some opinions if there is any. Thanks

100mm is gonna be faster if you are fit enough to not die on the climbs, being tired on the descents can make or break a race, hence why mega-fit xc racers use 100mm

what is at 100mm? is it the BB, the suspension? something else? i'm lookin for a 120mm BB bike to slap my BBSHD on.

Hi I Want To Ask You My Question Hardtail with fork Is Travel 100mm and the tire with 29er is it high? Or d best I should buy 27.5 but travel 120mm. My height 68.1 inch (173cm)

I have one question what if you 120mm fork bike is the same weight is that going to be faster ?

Just put a 2.35 front tire and a dropper post on the 100mm for the best of both worlds

can i put 160mm fork on my xc scott scale 770? i dont have enough money to buy enduro bike

For uphill city travel wirh some rough pavement should i go with 100mm or 120mm?

Hi. I'm running a 120mm travel fork for XC & light trails. Is that more than enough or should I buy a 100 for backup too?

am a newbie ... what is the 100 mm vs. 120 mm ... fork travel? if so why not just lock it on the climb? video totally lost on me 😟

Nino schurter already proven it... Lol

So the winner is the 100mm bike(s). Why? because, the mechanics of 100mm beat the "throw caution to the wind and send it" posture...and that's only in downhill...of a 120mm bike.

Is it just me or was the 120mm fork quicker in the turns??

I think if he road the 120mil first it would have won. But a 120 is a very capable alround

I wonder if your 120mm climb would have been faster if the order was reversed (fatigue). I suspect “yes” and then the confidence in the downhill leads to a faster bike.

120 mm all way!

Is that a Reba on the 120?

Why couldn't you just swap in a dropper on the RS? AxS 100mm would make descending so much better than that straight post.

Full rigid and more training is fastest!

100mm better for climbing 120mm more descent capable

Im sorry 120 mm of what? Stem length? Clearance? Shock absorber?

unfair test