I rode a full suspension bike today...

[petitpal]

To be fair, there's a difference between using a specific bike for a certain type of racing and buying one for personal 'all terrain' type stuff. If you gain an advantage from using a hardtail on a world cup track, that doesn't necessarily equate to it being the best thing for your average rider to go chucking off whatever they happen to be tootling past that day (and I say this as a hardtail fan, btw)

 

[wynne]

I've never ridden a full susser.

I've just gone back to a rigid frame with a rigid fork and v-brakes, from my modern Nicolai hardtail with 140mm fork and 203mm discs brakes.

I like the fact that riding the bike I've gone back to makes everything more difficult. I also just like having fewer moving parts.

Reading this thread does sort of make me sort of want to try a full sus though, perhaps.

 

[yo-eddy]

notice that most of the World best XC racers still use a hardtail......

Therefore?

fastest option for a more comfy ride you might opt for a fully but if only speed counts a hardtail will most of the time be quicker on a XC track.

For me, still riding rigid, it also counts that I want to be punished for any mistake I make so I can keep improving

 

[highlandsflyer]

notice that most of the World best XC racers still use a hardtail......

Therefore?

fastest option for a more comfy ride you might opt for a fully but if only speed counts a hardtail will most of the time be quicker on a XC track.

For me, still riding rigid, it also counts that I want to be punished for any mistake I make so I can keep improving

Got to agree 110%.

My main reason for using full suss day to day is a niggling back injury, my wife, etc. are usually all on hardtails. My rear is usually on full lock out opening it full or pro pedal for a rocky or rooty section certainly helps out more than the weight penalty, which I reckon is a couple of kilos.

The way most of the XC courses are set up hardtails certainly are the way to go.

For man made forest trails with little technical interrupting the flow I cannot see full suss having any advantage to outweigh the penalties, given a like for like machine.

 

[petitpal]

Reading this thread does sort of make me sort of want to try a full sus though, perhaps.

I hadn't ridden full suspension until last weekend either; it did really open my eyes though. I've ridden hardtail all my life but because I was on full suspension it made me re-think lines and try different things; was really interesting and, I found, lots of fun. One section of the demo track I tried had a a series of sharp, alternating corners with rocks off line. On my Zaskar I would have ridden the corners: right, left, right, left. On full suspension I just whacked straight through the middle. It's not that I couldn't have gone straight through on the Zaskar but I know how the rear end would have behaved and kicked around and going around would have been quicker. Certainly worth trying a good full suspension bike (some dodgy ones in the 90's put me off which is why I say 'good') just to see what you reckon.

 

[gradeAfailure]

Riding a good modern FS doesn't necessarily make you lazy though - which a lot of people on here, dare I say it, think - it's just a different set of skills. Because you can carry so much more speed through technical sections you need to be that much faster at picking lines and reacting to stuff (yes, you do still pick lines on FS, just different lines ).

I've actually found that since getting a FS I'm much smoother on the FR (fully rigid, see) as I've learned to flow more rather than riding the trail in sections as opposed to as a whole.

 

[not_fat_matt]

I seem to remember i was a demon on my old fully rigid Diamond Back, it all went wrong when i brought my FSR, i struggled to adapt, my mates were stopping riding and i more or less gave up on riding

10+ years later im neither physically competent, nor talented enough to make a blind bit of difference :roll: i would say the FS is more forgiving though

 

[02gf74]

There's only one way to find out........FIGH, I mean RACE!!
I agree with JB here though. I know the route he rides and its mainly flat gravel tracks.
I bought my first full sus bike this year and cant believe how much quicker I am on it compared to my other bikes.

..... your buddy has gone very quiet. :shock:

name the place and date (on a Sunday), I even let him choose the weapon, I mean FS bike.

1. light FS - carbon goodness with twin lock out
2. heavy cheapo-ish FS :shock:
3. v. heavy pre 98 FS

So if he is
a) feeling confident, then it is 1.
b) not feeling confident and need an advantage then 2.
c) for retro theme its is 3.

...... waiting ..........

 

[makster]

There's only one way to find out........FIGH, I mean RACE!!
I agree with JB here though. I know the route he rides and its mainly flat gravel tracks.
I bought my first full sus bike this year and cant believe how much quicker I am on it compared to my other bikes.

..... your buddy has gone very quiet. :shock:

name the place and date (on a Sunday), I even let him choose the weapon, I mean FS bike.

1. light FS - carbon goodness with twin lock out
2. heavy cheapo-ish FS :shock:
3. v. heavy pre 98 FS

So if he is
a) feeling confident, then it is 1.
b) not feeling confident and need an advantage then 2.
c) for retro theme its is 3.

...... waiting ..........

Poor Jonny works a very strange shift pattern, so I doubt he's gone quite
I'd say a better idea would be for you to come along to the next IOW ride on a full sus and see how it compares to jb on one of his (many!) rigid or hardtail bikes.
That way we can discuss the merits of both over a pint and pub lunch, while also ogling the barmaid

 

[Russell]

I'm on the isle of wight now, sat eating some toast looking at the hills and believe me, most of the trails I ride down here would be faster on a FS