"P e t e F a g e r l i n" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:34:30 +0200, "Dave Stocker"
wrote:

|From googling a bit, I can say that the generally accepted behavior
traits
|of the URT a
|- It is immune to bob on out of saddle sprints. good

Bull****.

Perhaps "immune" is a strong word, but standing does act as a lockout.


|- Supposedly they bob (especially low pivot designs) bad

All FS bikes bob to some extent.


Yup. What I should have said was the "URT bikes are especially prone to
bob". My four bar is far more prone to bobbing than my URT.

|- It has no pedal kickback. good
|- Prone to brake jack bad
|- BB-seat distance varies bad

Very bad.

|- Only active if rider remains seated (rider stands on swing arm when out
of
|saddle) bad?

Not necceessarily.


Actually true. I have never ridden a Mantra, but from what I have heard
about its behavior, this is a prominent feature. Some like it, some hate
it.

huge snip

|In short, it URT has shortcomings, but the vilification of URT has more
to
|do with fashion than anything else.

URTs have many shortcomings when compared to four bar bikes.

The "vilification" isn't always based upon fashion issues. Many times
it is based upon the fact that there are much better full suspension
designs available.

But Pete, what I am trying to say is that many of the supposed problems of
URT stem from specific implementations of it, not the principle itself. Is
my FSR a better trail bike than the Katarga? You betcha. It is smoother
and faster over the rough stuff and I do steep technical climbs better with
it than with the URT bike or with a hardtail.



But- if I were entering a race, I would have to think long and hard about
which bike to use, even though the Katarga weighs 5lb more. The FSR climbs
and descends better, but the Katarga sprints better and bobs less. Also
smoother and more active is not necessarily better. There are people in
this NG who advocate rigid. After riding the FSR for a couple of months now
I can see how it can lull me into bad habits and I understand this rigid
advocacy much more.



What I tried to say in my original post was that URT, like any other
suspension type, has its pros and cons and it has its niche. When people
say URT sucks, they are usually extrapolating the shortfalls of a particular
design to the principle.

-Dave