Dual Suspension MTB?
#1
Life Feeds On Life
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Hondo,Texas
Posts: 2,143
Bikes: Too many Motobecanes
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4388 Post(s)
Liked 4,499 Times
in
3,011 Posts
Dual Suspension MTB?
Any of you 50+ ride a dual suspension mountain bike? I have never ridden one so I am clueless about the ride over various off road terrain. I would love hear you’re two cents about these bikes.
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Land of Cheese
Posts: 1,162
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 111 Post(s)
Liked 213 Times
in
105 Posts
Try one out. I picked up FS Diamondback Catch 2 last year and it's fun, fun, fun. It's a plus-sized 27.5 with a nearly 3 inch tire.
I've been slowly adding different terrain to learn the bike and learn handling.
Have fun!
I've been slowly adding different terrain to learn the bike and learn handling.
Have fun!
#3
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Woodstock, Ga
Posts: 9
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I ride a Salsa Spearfish (among other bikes). The rear suspension really helps with my lower back issues, especially traversing rock gardens. For me, it’s the sudden jolts that I didn’t see and anticipate that the rear suspension helps most. Most FS MTBs will allow locking out the suspension when on pavement or smoother surfaces, too.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,453
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7628 Post(s)
Liked 3,453 Times
in
1,823 Posts
I have an old Cannondale Rize 4 F/S (full suspension or full squish) and it is wonderful. The suspension makes up for a lot of the bike-handling skills I lost in the nearly two decades I was off the trails, and since my legs lack the strength and suppleness needed to act as shocks ... I have shocks. Less physical abuse and more obstacles cleared = fun to me.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: San Mateo,Ca.
Posts: 4,349
Bikes: TRIMMED DOWN THE HERD
Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1088 Post(s)
Liked 928 Times
in
594 Posts
Yup. Been riding a 2011 Trek Fuel EX8 for a few months now and love it. It rides on Fox 32 full floaters. Definitely more fun now on my rides. Jumps are easier.
I transitioned from years on hardtails so it wasn't that hard an adjustment. Still learning on how to fine tune my sag and rebound though. Before hardtails I was on full rigids.
Test ride one and see if it's for you.
I transitioned from years on hardtails so it wasn't that hard an adjustment. Still learning on how to fine tune my sag and rebound though. Before hardtails I was on full rigids.
Test ride one and see if it's for you.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: In the foothills of Los Angeles County
Posts: 25,107
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8191 Post(s)
Liked 8,849 Times
in
4,396 Posts
A lot depends on the terrain you are riding on. Some trails are so smooth you can ride a road bike on them. Other trails have ruts, rocks, and soft dirt or sand.
To me, rear suspension make a big difference on square-edged type stuff, both climbing and descending.
In March I bought a 6 inch travel "plus" bike, (2.8 inch wide tires). That thing is really fun to ride and I find myself trying things I wouldn't try on other bikes I've had.
I also feel more confident in the traction of the wide tires. I'm 64 and I thought it would help with my lack of skill and it has.
If you do mostly smoother trails and fire roads you can get a bike with less travel and save some weight.
To me, rear suspension make a big difference on square-edged type stuff, both climbing and descending.
In March I bought a 6 inch travel "plus" bike, (2.8 inch wide tires). That thing is really fun to ride and I find myself trying things I wouldn't try on other bikes I've had.
I also feel more confident in the traction of the wide tires. I'm 64 and I thought it would help with my lack of skill and it has.
If you do mostly smoother trails and fire roads you can get a bike with less travel and save some weight.
#8
Senior Member
I've ridden full suspension almost exclusively since I got serious about trail riding in 1995. It has always worked well for me, and these days it's even better because the bikes are soooo good! Seriously, the technology had some hiccups early on, but the designs and technology available these days is amazing. Full suspension is much easier on the back and body and it also climbs better (the rear wheel tracks over stuff instead of bouncing around and slipping). Seriously, it's hard to think of a downside except maybe the increase in maintenance and potential for funny noises. (even these have been minimized lately with the advances in pivot design and materials.)
#9
Senior Member
They are so much faster downhill on dirt, gravel, rocks etc than a rigid bike. Worth the slog up hill carrying the extra weight to do the downhill.
#10
Senior Member
My wife and I have carbon fiber Specialized StumpJumper 6Fatties. 3" tires, quality drop seat post, and reasonably light for how robust the bikes are. You can ride over most anything on these bikes. Like 5teve said, modern dual suspension bikes are pretty amazing.
#11
dollar-store reject
Yoosa mite'n be sayin' that...
80mm rear travel, 50mm front travel is all I need..
I don't have the skillz to ride the technical stuff at the State Rec Area.. and as such, I don't have the need for a longer travel bike for the bike park..
I can ride around the pasture checking fence, I can ride the two-tracks scouting for turkey season.. about all I do..
80mm rear travel, 50mm front travel is all I need..
I don't have the skillz to ride the technical stuff at the State Rec Area.. and as such, I don't have the need for a longer travel bike for the bike park..
I can ride around the pasture checking fence, I can ride the two-tracks scouting for turkey season.. about all I do..
Last edited by JLDickmon; 09-08-18 at 03:04 PM.
#12
Full Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Grass Valley, Ca
Posts: 387
Bikes: Surly Cross Check, Specialized Enduro Pro, Lemond Tourmalet
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 105 Post(s)
Liked 192 Times
in
94 Posts
Went through the same recently. Really wanted to try to keep it simple with a hard tail. After a few rides, I starting to wonder if I wouldn’t be able to ride the mountain bike at all. It was beating me that badly. I’m 64, and getting back to mountain biking after having both knees replaced. Tried a full suspension bike and it was a night and day difference. Better control, and I feel like I could keep doing this. Go full suspension!
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: In the foothills of Los Angeles County
Posts: 25,107
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8191 Post(s)
Liked 8,849 Times
in
4,396 Posts
I have mostly ridden road bikes but I had fully rigid steel, then aluminum mtb's, then 63mm fork hardtail, then 80mm front and rear, then 100mm front and rear and my new bike has 160mm front and 150 rear. There is a huge difference in the new bikes on rough terrain.
Now there are 170mm travel bikes in the 30 pound range. Incredible!
Now there are 170mm travel bikes in the 30 pound range. Incredible!
#14
Occam's Rotor
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 7,248
Mentioned: 61 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2366 Post(s)
Liked 2,331 Times
in
1,164 Posts
I have one. The shocks help counter the adverse affects of an aluminum frame.
#15
Life Feeds On Life
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Hondo,Texas
Posts: 2,143
Bikes: Too many Motobecanes
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4388 Post(s)
Liked 4,499 Times
in
3,011 Posts
Thanks everyone for the replies and the pictures. Having the rear suspension would give my behind and back less punishment. I shied away from the earlier full suspension bikes but as you all have stated the bike industry is getting it right. I have too many bikes already but I’m still considering full suspension. I would sell some bikes off but resale prices are lousy I would rather give the bikes to underprivileged kids that would really love to ride them not just ride a few times throw it aside.
#16
feros ferio
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: www.ci.encinitas.ca.us
Posts: 21,765
Bikes: 1959 Capo Modell Campagnolo; 1960 Capo Sieger (2); 1962 Carlton Franco Suisse; 1970 Peugeot UO-8; 1982 Bianchi Campione d'Italia; 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10;
Mentioned: 44 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1384 Post(s)
Liked 1,294 Times
in
819 Posts
I guess it depends on the type of riding you do and the types of trails and roads you encounter. I still like my non-suspension mountain bike (and road bikes), but almost all of my offroad cycling is on relatively tame, very non-technical multitrack trails. When I tried my elder son's Cannondale Rush (his college graduation present from me) and a friend's early full-suspension mountain bike, I was unable to get used to the up-and-down "squishy" feeling, but "chacun ŕ son goűt," as Strauss's Prince Orlovsky would say.
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,453
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7628 Post(s)
Liked 3,453 Times
in
1,823 Posts
Modrn MTB engineering has dramatically reduced the amount of useless bobing and bouncing and wasted pedaling energy. …. But still, if the trail is smooth enough to ride without suspension, why carry the weight and lose any efficiency at all?
I would imagine if a person were asking about F/S, that person would be planning to ride trails where suspension was pretty much necessary to hold an speed at all, and the person would be choosing between front- and full-suspension.
One gets used to F/S very quickly after hammering up a few steep, rutted, root-cut climbs with nine-inch steps and such.
When I rode with XC suspension (minimal front, less rear) back in the dark ages, a climb like that was deadly, even though I was in great shape and had there-times the bike-handling skills. I had to do perfect (I forget the actual name now) lunging pedal thrusts and then try to lift the back end and get back on the power to maintain moentun over each step or root … and the slightest error meant a fall or at least, walking.
I tried a climb like that on my old Rze 4 after about two rides back on the trails after 20 years … and cleared it. One Hundred Percent due to the suspension. The back end soaked up the bumps and kept traction, even when my weak body and sloppy timing worked against the bike.
The other time F/S will seem like manna from heaven is on a long descent after a tough climb after a hard, hard day on the bike. One time I was doing such a descent—basically residing down a mountain, cutting back and forth across the face—and my thighs felt like someone had been beating them with a ball-peen hammer.
Standing a little, holding the seat between my thighs, nor sitting seemed to work … but without the rear suspension taking the peaks off the impacts, I would have had to walk—Downhill. Instead of getting bounced off the bike when the occasional, unavoidable big hit came, the suspension soaked it up enough that I could keep the bike pointed down the trail and not over the edge.
For flat trails, two-track jeep trails, and flat dirt work, a gravel bike is just as much fun… at least as much fun. The F/S is just baggage until you start slamming into obstacles.
#18
Banned
Me? No, but watching the UCI World championships MTB races ,
they, are on full suspension MTB,
29ers , from the looks of the wheel size (on TV, from Switzerland)
they, are on full suspension MTB,
29ers , from the looks of the wheel size (on TV, from Switzerland)
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,453
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
Mentioned: 144 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7628 Post(s)
Liked 3,453 Times
in
1,823 Posts
When I look at the terrain they ride and the apparent ease with which they ride it ..... sometimes I just watch their back wheels to see how much they absorb while the riders' bodies seem to be suspended above the bike, unaffected. I know they are working their legs and their timing is impeccable and their skill is amazing ... but what the bikes do is amazing too.
#20
just keep riding
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Milledgeville, Georgia
Posts: 13,560
Bikes: 2018 Black Mountain Cycles MCD,2017 Advocate Cycles Seldom Seen Drop Bar, 2017 Niner Jet 9 Alloy, 2015 Zukas custom road, 2003 KHS Milano Tandem, 1986 Nishiki Cadence rigid MTB, 1980ish Fuji S-12S
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 173 Post(s)
Liked 33 Times
in
22 Posts
There's nothing like a modern full suspension bike for going fast over rough terrain with roots, rocks and dropoffs. My first was a 2009 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp 26", then a 2013 Stupjumper FSR Comp 29" and now a 2017 Niner Jet 9 Alloy 29". They keep developing the geometry and shock performance to work better and better, nothing like the pogo stick bouncing of the early models.
That said, over the years I find myself riding less and less on the kind of terrain that the full suspension bikes excel at. I'm thinking about trimming the herd by selling the full sus bike and letting the hardtail plus bike handle both the trail riding and any offroad bikepacking I might want to do.
That said, over the years I find myself riding less and less on the kind of terrain that the full suspension bikes excel at. I'm thinking about trimming the herd by selling the full sus bike and letting the hardtail plus bike handle both the trail riding and any offroad bikepacking I might want to do.
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: In the foothills of Los Angeles County
Posts: 25,107
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8191 Post(s)
Liked 8,849 Times
in
4,396 Posts
When I first rode full suspension I noticed how much better the brakes work, especially the rear. Instead of bouncing around, the wheel follows the bumps and traction is better.
The other thing that stood out right away is the ability to pick any number of lines, or no line at all. Instead of having to pick my way through the rocks and bumps the bike can safely plow through stuff.
And yes, the pro racers are amazing, cross-country greyhounds or downhill juggernauts alike.
The other thing that stood out right away is the ability to pick any number of lines, or no line at all. Instead of having to pick my way through the rocks and bumps the bike can safely plow through stuff.
And yes, the pro racers are amazing, cross-country greyhounds or downhill juggernauts alike.
#22
Senior Member
#23
Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: NW Iowa
Posts: 40
Bikes: GT,Trek,Fuji,and a couple of Schwinns
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 12 Times
in
9 Posts
I bought an old GT STS bike a couple of years ago because most of my riding was on gravel rural roads. The bike is way overkill for this, but so much nicer to my knees and ass. The down side is when I get back on my road bike I forget to lift off the seat over the big cracks and rock in the pavement.
#24
Senior Member
Yoosa mite'n be sayin' that...
80mm rear travel, 50mm front travel is all I need..
I don't have the skillz to ride the technical stuff at the State Rec Area.. and as such, I don't have the need for a longer travel bike for the bike park..
I can ride around the pasture checking fence, I can ride the two-tracks scouting for turkey season.. about all I do..
80mm rear travel, 50mm front travel is all I need..
I don't have the skillz to ride the technical stuff at the State Rec Area.. and as such, I don't have the need for a longer travel bike for the bike park..
I can ride around the pasture checking fence, I can ride the two-tracks scouting for turkey season.. about all I do..
#25
Senior Member
Our bikes. Next stop - north rim of the Grand Canyon.