I rode a full suspension bike today...

Iwasgoodonce":3qj6m8bh said:

Cannock is where I seem to do most of my riding. The rigid 1988 Saracen managed to cope very well with 3 laps of the new Follow the Dog this weekend. I however, didn't. Sure, I managed to overtake more often than I was over taken but it hurt. I have blisters from holding the bars and I couldn't feel my arms from the bashing and braking! Damned if I could get the thing to stop when I needed to, I only managed to moderate my progress before hitting bits I would rather walk.

I pulled in on a rutted downhill as I heard another rider rapidly approaching. "Thanks mister," Came a pubescent voice as a lad went past; the shame! I did kick his sorry ass on the next long climb though.

My point is this. I have never ridden a full suss bike. I have never ridden disc brakes. Should I carry on while bike and body can (a bit) or, should I get something modern before I'm too old to enjoy it?

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I had this after riding Afan for the first time last year on my Marin (having only ever ridden retro up til then) - the bike was fine but it just utterly destroyed me. Cramp in my fingers from braking constantly, having to ride every single inch of the trail rather than being able to let it flow and enjoy it, it just wasn't fun.

£600 on a second-hand year-old 120mm travel trail bike and I haven't looked back.

Id say if you go FS - and you should definitely give it a go! - try it with flats instead of clipless as it encourages you to ride it more like a play bike...

full sus

i was the same, always had hard tails and was reluctant to have a full sus at 1st? but trying to keep up with mates on Orange Sub 5's and Norco's etc, just saw me taking a pounding even with good front suspension forks like the Sid's which i run on both my hard tials.

So anyway took the plunge and bought an Orange Sub 3 frame 2nd hand. It's only a 3" travel bike, which meant i could easily use existing 100mm Rock Shox Reba's i had. Got it built up and used it for a bit, and it was ok, but it wasn't what i thought it should be like?? :? So after replacing the pivot bearings and upgrading the shock to a freshly Mojo serviced Fox RP3, it's bloody superb!!! It climbs great with the 3 propedal adjustments and it's super plush and downhills like a demon. My only slight complaint about the Sub 3 is the very low bottom bracket height which has caught me out a few times!! :roll:

But i'm definitely a full sus convert albeit a XC focused one, max travel i'd want would probably be 140mm as i like climbing and i want to be able to climb quickly. So i'm busy narrowing down possible alternatives for an upgrade to the Sub 3, thinking along the lines of a Boardman FS Pro, Cannondale or a 2nd hand Orange 5 are some of the ones which stand out for me at the min.

'Modern Sussers Are Amazing Shocker'

They really are though, I've demoed quite a few and the capabilities are impressive, I still don't think they're as much fun though... :twisted:

02gf74":3mjeapq7 said:

jonnyboy666":3mjeapq7 said:

disagree, come ride here, you'll see what i mean! there is pretty much nothing to brake for and having done my training route of 23 miles around the new forest on almost all my 15 or so mountain bikes the fastest has been on my vitamin t2 (completely rigid)

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okey dokes - post me your route and I will do it on my FS bike but only if it is offroad not on these tarmac small roads that litter the NF ... although I am not sure how I can demonstrate the FS is quicker than your rigid (went through the NF yesterday on the way to Boscombe beach).

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There's only one way to find out........FIGH, I mean RACE!!
I agree with JB here though. I know the route he rides and its mainly flat gravel tracks.
I bought my first full sus bike this year and cant believe how much quicker I am on it compared to my other bikes.
It's a 2009 Trek Fuel EX9, so nothing too bouncy, but I even climb quicker on it than my hard tail/rigid bikes. I love it

makster":1t556chd said:

It's a 2009 Trek Fuel EX9, so nothing too bouncy, but I even climb quicker on it than my hard tail/rigid bikes. I love it

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I got a Trek Fuel EX8 this year as well and cannot believe how good it is to ride. Speed is better and although only 120mm travel at rear and 150mm at front it certainly does rule.

notice that most of the World best XC racers still use a hardtail......

Rode a Felt Edict at the Cycleshow, the weekend; first modern bike I've ridden and first full suspension to. Fantastic bike, absolutely loved it - felt really quick and loads of fun. Chucked it straight over stuff that I would have avoided on my Zaskar (or if I had hit it been suffering from a saddle rammed up my rear end) and no problems - stormed over anything and left me with a massive smile on my face. You could push it right over on dusty berms and it kept asking for more. I'm a convert now - still love my Zaskar and my Saracen, but love moderns as well.

Problem now is that I have no way of affording a modern bike £Ks are out of the question. :roll:

yo-eddy":2dpldusp said:

notice that most of the World best XC racers still use a hardtail......

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Therefore?

Russell":3srtpyg2 said:

yo-eddy":3srtpyg2 said:

notice that most of the World best XC racers still use a hardtail......

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Therefore?

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They are probably marginally faster on a World Cup XC course if you are a superhumanbeing.

Russell":uee935g7 said:

yo-eddy":uee935g7 said:

notice that most of the World best XC racers still use a hardtail......

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Therefore?

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the weight penalty and energy sapping of the shocks would make the difference between winning or not which if you are a top rider whose salary comprises race winnings, is quite important.

For mere mortals like most of us on here, it is not so critical.

^^^^ a quikc google shows that crosscountry mtb are on hard tails, well, most of the time. :shock: