rbrides

I do all my bikepacking on a gravel bike. To get further afield I am considering buying a mountain bike to tackle the tougher, more technical terrain.

anyone in this Touring forum have experience bikepacking with a MTB, full suspension or hard tail?

veganbikes

A hardtail makes some sense but full suspension just seems like not something I want for bike packing. For mountain biking sure but I really don't want to be schelping a bunch of gear with me. A hardtail gives me some suspension with plenty of room for frame bags and such and there are fork mounts for suspension forks should you want weight on them. Plus a rear shock is just another thing to have to deal with.

I know there are people who have done it but I would rather just have a nice hardtail. My Salsa Timberjack Ti is perfect as a bike packing rig though I haven't really used it for that just for mountain biking but I have a full frame bag (mainly used for set up so I could carry tools and shock pump and such and because it was on a deep sale and was designed for the bike)

This might be of some help:
https://bikepacking.com/bikes/full-suspension/

They generally have good gear reviews and breakdowns on some peoples bikes and kit which I always appreciate.

indyfabz

IIRC, ACA recommends not using a full suspension bike for the GDMBR for this very reason.

MarcusT

There is also the consideration of baggage. You cannot fit a frame bag, you need specialized racks, if you have a dropper seat post, no saddle bag.
Even if you solve the baggage problem, I don't think you'll be whizzing down a single track with luggage
If you really want rear suspension, IMO, the best option is a hard tail with a suspension seat post

cyccommute 

I bikepack on a Moots YBBeat. It’s a soft tail that has 1.5” of travel on the rear. It’s just enough to take the edge off hits but doesn’t have any pivots to worry about. My packing varies from trip to trip but the bike is the same.




Here it is in all its naked glory. I had rack mounts added to the bike as they usually didn’t come with them.



There are several variations of this kind of rear suspension from the mid to late 90s. Mine is a 1998 but there are other soft tails to look at. Moots still makes the Mountaineer YBB but they are quite expensive for just the frame…north of $8000

Another dually I’d consider is a Specialized Epic. I haven’t used one for bikepacking yet but I have one in Arizona that I’m going to try in February. It has the Brain rear suspension that is rigid while you pedal and opens up when it hits something. Very nice for climbing and the rear suspension isn’t always “inch worming” like more active suspensions.



This bike is missing the rear rack, of course but there now several rack attachments that could be used.

RayLee

Have a look at Giant Bikes, they were the only FS bikes I could find with large front triangles anymore.

After so many thousands of miles on full suspension bikes mountain biking (parks, jumps, drops) and only ever having one shock fail making the bike unridable I would have no trouble with using one bike packing (depending on the length and how often I would need so much bike)

I looked into this and ultimately for ME I figured I would not need so much bike for 98% of what I will ever ride.

Tourist in MSN

Here is a photo gallery of some of the bikes on the Tour Divide. Almost none with full suspension, but a few have rear suspention, thus you could check them out if you want.
https://bikepacking.com/bikes/2022-t...e-rigs-part-1/

cyccommute 

Rare but not unknown. There are 3 duallies and a whole bunch of front suspension bikes in that list. However, rbrides doesn’t seem to be asking about the Tour Divide. Just because someone participates in a race…even a long one like the Tour Divide…doesn’t make them an expert on bikepacking for those of us who are mere mortals.

I think your memory is a bit faulty. In the article titled Gear for the Great Divide, Aaron Teasdale says:

Hardly saying “don’t use a dual suspension” for the Great Divide.

But, again, rbbikes isn’t necessarily asking about that long of a trip.

rbrides

And, I’m definitely not racing. (Like many whose rigs are pictured in BPDC’s feature). An enjoyable week in the wilderness is all I’m after. Hard tail or full suspension both have their +/-

thanks for contributing.

rbrides

Thanks all for the input.

grist for the mill as I prepare for some more adventuresome BP trips in ‘23.

niknak

I think a hardtail is more versatile. If you need to take the edge off, something like Cane Creek EE Silk suspension post is nice. Or if you're planning to use a dropper post then getting a hardtail with rear rack mounts might be nice.