Hard Tail vs. Dual Suspension

[redman27]

I’m fairly new to mountain biking- I currently have a Mongoose wing comp with dual suspension that I have had for about 6 years, but have only ridden on singletrack trails for about 2 and it is wearing out. I am 6’1′ 245, in decent shape and I lift/ cardio at least 3 times a week. I feel like I get gassed super easy with a dual suspension and I am wondering if a hard tail is better for somebody of my size. It seems like so much of my energy/ weight is being absorbed by the dual shocks. Any thoughts?

[Dorado]

Supposedly a hard-tail is more efficient, but with today’s tech its mostly a moot point for casual riders. However hard-tails have fewer moving parts and therefor have less to worry about, in my book at least, but also are less expensive. I’d probably be looking at spending a little more and get a good hard tail from someone like Giant, Trek, etc. They’re a bit pricey but you do get what you pay for. When I got started someone told me to go to a reputable bike shop to get one and ride as many different ones as I can before I buy, best advice I’ve taken so far. With my old one I’d get winded going down my street and back, now I have a basic Giant hard-tail and can ride several miles before I need to stop.

[KatS]

First of all, you are getting gased because mtbing is hard dude. Any bike you get, it is still going to kick your butt until you get in mtb shape. You should probably focus on that before dropping cash on something. That will also give you a chance to figure out what style you want to ride (xc, all-mountain, dh, freeride, w/e). I wasted a good deal of money going from full-suspension, to killer superlight hardtail, back to full-suspension, to all mountain.

[redman27]

What is considered mountain biking shape? I feel like I am in good shape, but sometimes when I am dogging it through a 5mi trail ride its hard to enjoy myself! My cardio is basically running 5K type distances, maybe some incline or faster speed interval training in between. This is in WI so I have Nov-March where I am mostly indoors on a treadmill or lifting, including legs. I love to mountain bike (including feeling the burn) but don’t enjoy spinning or biking much outside of trail riding. I’m guessing that is a problem?

Would it be unreasonable to tighten my rear suspension to the max to simulate a hard tail?

[limetownjack]

One of the major mistakes I’ve noticed that some people make is that they don’t focus enough on breathing when they ride. People tend to focus so much on balancing and on the lines they "forget" to breathe efficiently. You want to try and breathe just as you would for a long distance run, in other words, try to take slightly larger breathes at a normal rate. Even if you have Michael Phelp’s lung capacity, if you’re not breathing efficiently you will get "gassed" very quickly. I don’t know if that helps with your situation but it is something to think about. Locking out you’re rear suspension when you don’t need it will make it easier to climb, at least that seems to be the case with my bike.

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