Hardtail vs full suspension for my terrain?
07-22-07, 10:04 PM
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Hardtail vs full suspension for my terrain?
My local riding spot varies from huge freeride jumps to tame trails.
I ride the stuff in between. I love challenging trails with some dirt jumps.
Would a full suspension or hardtail fit best for medium level terrain?
I currently ride a hardtail but people say full suspension is the way to go
I ride the stuff in between. I love challenging trails with some dirt jumps.
Would a full suspension or hardtail fit best for medium level terrain?
I currently ride a hardtail but people say full suspension is the way to go
07-22-07, 10:07 PM
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it depends on your weight. if you are a big guy the suspension will give too much and make climbs more difficult unless u get a shock with lockout. the best thing is test bikes on that trail.
07-23-07, 03:59 AM
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I've never found a trail where I did not prefer my full suspension over my old hardtail. That's from Utah, the SE mountains to Florida. But, that's a personal thing. I meet folks with hardtails and even no-suspension single-speeds almost everywhere.
Al
Al
07-23-07, 07:39 AM
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Why not?
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I'm a hardtail guy. Al is apparently a full-suspension guy. You may be a rigid guy for all we know at this point. It's all about preference
07-23-07, 09:52 AM
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try to find a friend who will loan you his full suspension rig for a day and go from there. if you have a specialized dealer in the area, you can act like you are a serious about buying a new bike and they may have a demo bike they will let you ride for the day. it's all preference and the best advice is to get out there and try one out to see if you like it. happy trails!
07-23-07, 10:30 AM
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let's talk about budget. how much are you willing to spend? that could be the deciding factor.
07-23-07, 02:49 PM
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07-23-07, 02:57 PM
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Full-suspension seems to make a broader amount of terrain doable and certainly more comfortable. Given sufficient practice, one could probably navigate the same rock garden on a full-suspension or rigid bicycle.
07-23-07, 08:02 PM
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I'd go full suss every time if you're going to have one bike. At least then you can go anywhere on it.
07-24-07, 11:36 AM
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I've never not been able to ride anything because I didn't have a full suspension. Anything I can ride on FS i could ride on HT, just more painfully 
nutz!
for me, FS isn't worth the extra weight and inefficiency, but some FS's are getting pretty light and efficient these days. Then there's the price tag, i drool over the nice FS's but i have a $400 bike with $200 parts added and it does arguably well in any situation, and not bad in any situation.
nutz! for me, FS isn't worth the extra weight and inefficiency, but some FS's are getting pretty light and efficient these days. Then there's the price tag, i drool over the nice FS's but i have a $400 bike with $200 parts added and it does arguably well in any situation, and not bad in any situation.
