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Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 8th 08, 09:24 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike
Hober
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension

Hello Everyone,

I'm certain this question gets asked ad nauseum, but I'm newly back here.
(I see that a certain Mikey V. is still here as well.)

Anyway, I want to try trail riding more. My old ride has approx. 1" of
front suspension and is a hard tail with V-brakes. I want to get approx.
4' or 5" of front suspension plus disk brakes in a quality package.

How important is a full-suspension? The guy at the bike shop said that
full-suspension was six of one, and a half-dozen of another.

The guy at the bike shop has years and years of experience and used to
ride and even race and downhill on bikes with no suspension at all.
Let's face it, a pro on a totally non-suspended bike would certainly be a
lot better than me on the fanciest bike on the planet.

I'll be doing trail riding, some gravel roads, certainly around town,
maybe very occasionally take a chair lift ride up and coast down.

I don't think I'll be needing 6" or more of front suspension.

The idea of a hard tail appeals to me in terms of a little less weight
and less mechanical stuff to go wrong. If I had some money and was going
to buy a new hard tail today, I'd probably be looking at something like a
Felt Q720.

Any comments or suggestions? Thank you.

The Rocket Man



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  #2  
Old August 9th 08, 01:15 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike
(PeteCresswell)
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Posts: 2,790
Default Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension

mPer Hober:
How important is a full-suspension? The guy at the bike shop said that
full-suspension was six of one, and a half-dozen of another.

The guy at the bike shop has years and years of experience and used to
ride and even race and downhill on bikes with no suspension at all.
Let's face it, a pro on a totally non-suspended bike would certainly be a
lot better than me on the fanciest bike on the planet.

I'll be doing trail riding, some gravel roads, certainly around town,
maybe very occasionally take a chair lift ride up and coast down.

I don't think I'll be needing 6" or more of front suspension.

The idea of a hard tail appeals to me in terms of a little less weight
and less mechanical stuff to go wrong. If I had some money and was going
to buy a new hard tail today, I'd probably be looking at something like a
Felt Q720.

Any comments or suggestions? Thank you.


I've got all 3: FS, hard tail, and rigid.

FS is the one I ride the most by a wide margin.

Periodically I go on a hard-tail kick knowing that, for some
unknown reason, I'm supposed to wean myself away from an FS that
I don't, by any stretch of the imagination, need.

But I keep coming back to the FS as my favored ride.




--
PeteCresswell
  #3  
Old August 9th 08, 01:28 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike
The Rocket Man
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2
Default Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension

Thanks, Pete. Having all three 'flavors' at your disposal and chosing
the FS indicates a definite favorite.

The weight difference between a FS and hardtail seems to be a few pounds
at most. A few less trips to the pizza place for me would seem to take
care of that !!



"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in
:

mPer Hober:
How important is a full-suspension? The guy at the bike shop said
that full-suspension was six of one, and a half-dozen of another.

The guy at the bike shop has years and years of experience and used to
ride and even race and downhill on bikes with no suspension at all.
Let's face it, a pro on a totally non-suspended bike would certainly
be a lot better than me on the fanciest bike on the planet.

I'll be doing trail riding, some gravel roads, certainly around town,
maybe very occasionally take a chair lift ride up and coast down.

I don't think I'll be needing 6" or more of front suspension.

The idea of a hard tail appeals to me in terms of a little less weight
and less mechanical stuff to go wrong. If I had some money and was
going to buy a new hard tail today, I'd probably be looking at
something like a Felt Q720.

Any comments or suggestions? Thank you.


I've got all 3: FS, hard tail, and rigid.

FS is the one I ride the most by a wide margin.

Periodically I go on a hard-tail kick knowing that, for some
unknown reason, I'm supposed to wean myself away from an FS that
I don't, by any stretch of the imagination, need.

But I keep coming back to the FS as my favored ride.







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  #4  
Old August 9th 08, 01:53 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike
(PeteCresswell)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,790
Default Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension

Per The Rocket Man:
The weight difference between a FS and hardtail seems to be a few pounds
at most. A few less trips to the pizza place for me would seem to take
care of that !!


There's a perceptible diff in responsiveness going up hills:
FS:HardTail:FullRigid.

But I find myself unaware of it until I ride a different bike.

There is also a diff in reliability: there's that much more to go
wrong in that rear sus. I've had two "walk home" suspension
failures. Both sheared off sus bolts. But I think I provoked
both through cruel and unusual treatment.
--
PeteCresswell
  #5  
Old August 11th 08, 07:01 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike
MattB
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Posts: 747
Default Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension

Just to show it's a personal thing, I'll add that my most-ridden bike
these days is a hard tail single speed. But just yesterday I had a great
ride on my FS bike, and I like to ride my fixie around town.
So yeah, get one (or more) of each!

Matt

The Rocket Man wrote:
Thanks, Pete. Having all three 'flavors' at your disposal and chosing
the FS indicates a definite favorite.

The weight difference between a FS and hardtail seems to be a few pounds
at most. A few less trips to the pizza place for me would seem to take
care of that !!



"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in
:

mPer Hober:
How important is a full-suspension? The guy at the bike shop said
that full-suspension was six of one, and a half-dozen of another.

The guy at the bike shop has years and years of experience and used to
ride and even race and downhill on bikes with no suspension at all.
Let's face it, a pro on a totally non-suspended bike would certainly
be a lot better than me on the fanciest bike on the planet.

I'll be doing trail riding, some gravel roads, certainly around town,
maybe very occasionally take a chair lift ride up and coast down.

I don't think I'll be needing 6" or more of front suspension.

The idea of a hard tail appeals to me in terms of a little less weight
and less mechanical stuff to go wrong. If I had some money and was
going to buy a new hard tail today, I'd probably be looking at
something like a Felt Q720.

Any comments or suggestions? Thank you.

I've got all 3: FS, hard tail, and rigid.

FS is the one I ride the most by a wide margin.

Periodically I go on a hard-tail kick knowing that, for some
unknown reason, I'm supposed to wean myself away from an FS that
I don't, by any stretch of the imagination, need.

But I keep coming back to the FS as my favored ride.







----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups
---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

  #6  
Old August 21st 08, 06:36 PM posted to alt.mountain-bike
Mamba
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 17
Default Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message
...
mPer Hober:
How important is a full-suspension? The guy at the bike shop said that
full-suspension was six of one, and a half-dozen of another.

The guy at the bike shop has years and years of experience and used to
ride and even race and downhill on bikes with no suspension at all.
Let's face it, a pro on a totally non-suspended bike would certainly be a
lot better than me on the fanciest bike on the planet.

I'll be doing trail riding, some gravel roads, certainly around town,
maybe very occasionally take a chair lift ride up and coast down.

I don't think I'll be needing 6" or more of front suspension.

The idea of a hard tail appeals to me in terms of a little less weight
and less mechanical stuff to go wrong. If I had some money and was going
to buy a new hard tail today, I'd probably be looking at something like a
Felt Q720.

Any comments or suggestions? Thank you.


I've got all 3: FS, hard tail, and rigid.

FS is the one I ride the most by a wide margin.

Periodically I go on a hard-tail kick knowing that, for some
unknown reason, I'm supposed to wean myself away from an FS that
I don't, by any stretch of the imagination, need.

But I keep coming back to the FS as my favored ride.

I also have a FS and HT. The FS is an older XC model with 4" travel at
each end. I got the FS when I was starting to ride more aggressive trails,
although as you say, skill makes the most difference. I also had a chronic
bad lower back, and the cushy ride helped me get more time in the saddle.
Even with the extra weight, it can spoil you, even make you a somewhat
lazier rider.

The HT was a good high end ride in it's day. Very light, 80mm fork, V
brakes, quite minimalist. With grippy tires I can't believe how easy it is
to climb. There is probably 6 lbs difference in the bikes, but sometimes it
feels like much more.

Both bikes were bought used, and some components swapped out for their
intended purpose. The FS is a dedicated trailbike, the HT has been
converted to a townie, but doubles for off-road use on more relaxed rides or
big climbers. I have a second wheelset with knobbies for this purpose.

It doesn't sound like you'd need much suspension from the type of riding you
describe. If I were in your shoes and had to select between my bikes (with
their associated price tags), I would opt for the HT and a second wheel set.
If this doesn't work out for your trail riding needs, you will likely want
it for a city bike regardless. The added advantage is that you could buy a
pretty decent HT used for a reasonable cost, certainly less than a FS of
equal quality.


  #7  
Old August 23rd 08, 05:23 AM posted to alt.mountain-bike
The Rocket Man
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2
Default Hardtail vs. Full-Suspension -- I got the FS...

Thanks to everyone who replied to my question of hardtail vs. full
suspension.

Today, I purchased a new Cannondale Rush SL 6Z full suspension bike. So
far, so good.

However, my charming wife will be the first to ride it. She's going on a
ride around Waldo Lake tomorrow. We had the suspension set up for her
weight.


"Mamba" wrote in
:

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message
...
mPer Hober:
How important is a full-suspension? The guy at the bike shop said
that full-suspension was six of one, and a half-dozen of another.

The guy at the bike shop has years and years of experience and used
to ride and even race and downhill on bikes with no suspension at
all. Let's face it, a pro on a totally non-suspended bike would
certainly be a lot better than me on the fanciest bike on the
planet.

I'll be doing trail riding, some gravel roads, certainly around
town, maybe very occasionally take a chair lift ride up and coast
down.

I don't think I'll be needing 6" or more of front suspension.

The idea of a hard tail appeals to me in terms of a little less
weight and less mechanical stuff to go wrong. If I had some money
and was going to buy a new hard tail today, I'd probably be looking
at something like a Felt Q720.

Any comments or suggestions? Thank you.


I've got all 3: FS, hard tail, and rigid.

FS is the one I ride the most by a wide margin.

Periodically I go on a hard-tail kick knowing that, for some
unknown reason, I'm supposed to wean myself away from an FS that
I don't, by any stretch of the imagination, need.

But I keep coming back to the FS as my favored ride.

I also have a FS and HT. The FS is an older XC model with 4" travel
at each end. I got the FS when I was starting to ride more aggressive
trails, although as you say, skill makes the most difference. I also
had a chronic bad lower back, and the cushy ride helped me get more
time in the saddle. Even with the extra weight, it can spoil you, even
make you a somewhat lazier rider.

The HT was a good high end ride in it's day. Very light, 80mm fork, V
brakes, quite minimalist. With grippy tires I can't believe how easy
it is to climb. There is probably 6 lbs difference in the bikes, but
sometimes it feels like much more.

Both bikes were bought used, and some components swapped out for their
intended purpose. The FS is a dedicated trailbike, the HT has been
converted to a townie, but doubles for off-road use on more relaxed
rides or big climbers. I have a second wheelset with knobbies for
this purpose.

It doesn't sound like you'd need much suspension from the type of
riding you describe. If I were in your shoes and had to select
between my bikes (with their associated price tags), I would opt for
the HT and a second wheel set. If this doesn't work out for your trail
riding needs, you will likely want it for a city bike regardless. The
added advantage is that you could buy a pretty decent HT used for a
reasonable cost, certainly less than a FS of equal quality.






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