Marin ti & Kona ti return for 07

...careful Scant!!
Needed? not sure, but deffo quicker and more fun

yup, needed! ..but then i'm a weak DHer

Climbing back must be the hard bit with a 140mm fork .
Scant probably do it on the rear wheel , so no worries there .

firstly this is totally in my opion
hardest part about changing from a hardtail to a XC FS bike was the bottom bracket height. yup, not the small amount of pedal movement (not really bob), you get used to that fairly quick & most decent shocks have really reduced any bob these days. The higher BB height really alters the feel of the bike, esp in slow speed corners, thats the hardest part to get used to.

I took curlys patriot (140mm forks, 6in back end) out to the french alps & was amazed at how well it climbed. for extended road climbs lock both ends out.
on real steep climbs (I live 1/4mile from a 1in4 climb) yeh the front end wants to lift, but thats more to propper body positioning than fork height.

I rode fully rigid from 85-95 & hardtails from 95-01 (intense tracer was a mistake!). aside from glass smooth trails quality XC FS bike will always be quicker/ more confidence inspiring/ more efficient. Luckily we've finally reached a point in MTB evolution where XC FS bikes are fairly reliable! yeh it does take a while to get used to the non road bike instant power transfer of a hardtail. but I'm now converted & once you go through the intiation process theres no turning back (anyone want a titus titanium :roll: )

I'll still ride hardtails & fully rigid time to time. on the 1% of glass smooth trails they are enjoyable. maybe i'm gettin old? I just want to ride as far & fast as possible with the least effort!

Anyone who ever wants to meet up for a ride my way are more than welcome.

I ll just add that weight of full Xc bikes has gone down a lot as well , which makes things a bit easier .

Scant/Chris
This seems to be turning into another thread but has raised some points I've been mulling over for a while. You're obviously both into your bikes so I've got to give due regard to your views on FS but the following has been bugging me whilst considering buying one:
1. All Mountain/Enduro/XC. I just like to ride as much as I can and wonder if all this categorisation is just a desperate attempt to flog more irrelevant bikes.
2. Lock down/threshhold damping/pro pedal/terrain specific damping. Although I appreciate the fork lock down on the Hei Hei as it's a bit slack uphill without it, I can't help but feel all the technology is getting in the way of why we all started riding in the first place. I don't what to stop at the top/bottom of every hill to twiddle.
3. You may go faster but is it the bike and not the rider? I'm a very average rider but I passed a lot of FSers at the Twentyfour12.
4. Most of them look bloody awful.

I'm sure this has been discussed to death before I joined this forum and anyway what do I know, my only FS experience was a '96 Sex One which I think has put me off for life.

categorisation is just marketing. dont let the terms worry you. far too many people have been buying with their heart! buy for how & where you actually ride.

technology when done properly should only help not hinder. when the suspensions dialed you should never need to touch it! I use the lockout on the longer steeper road climbs (if i come across any) 2seconds to turn the on/off. but i dont use it much.

obviously it'll always be down to the rider when it comes to speed. no matter how bling the bike, the rider will always be the engine

i had an intense tracer that also put me off for some time. I make a point of frequent test rides of new bikes, you should try it

I agree on the looks, most XC FS bikes are ugly! as I said earlier, retro bikes are pretty

Funny enough I only rigid bikes with a sus fork .And I dont do that many miles ( 70 a week max ) . Where I ride does not need a full sus bike . The only other place I have been to ride is cannock chase and i dont see the interest of a full sus bike there either . But recent XC full sus bikes have improved a lot . If I was riding as much as some people do on here in more mountain country, I would deffo buy a full sus bike .

I dont like these new words like Enduro , marathon etc....
But I am now wise ( old ) enough not to fall in it .

Interesting thread this is becoming.

I am of mixed opinions, basically coz I've yet to ride a full sus modern "xc" bike. I remember blasting past some guys on modern full-sus Kona Kikapus in a forest in Gisburn on my old Kilauea with a whopping 0mm of travel on the old P2s! I nearly died but boy did it feel good seeing them "dick around"!

To a large extent it's got to be about rider skill and/or stupidity.
Mountain biking to me will always be about xc not downhill / freeride / dirt jumping. So I vote for hardtails everytime.
But then again, reading about the Giant Anthem at sub 27lbs - I'd like a go!

What do you think? A resurgence in the hardtail ethos could lead to BMX type prices for all our retro-lovelies? I am still amazed by the prices some of the old BMXs fetch. But then, they have a few years head start mainstream I suppose.

Yeah and me. Hardtails all the way.

Unless of course its a nice simple xc light design - and then I might be interested.