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ok everyone i dont know if this has been done before biut its time to see what type of suspension on a bike you like to ride or would rather ride if you had the chance to ride that mudd eating, singletrack ripping steed of a bike 😮
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Is there really any need for full suspension bike?
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I can’t wait to replace my front suspension with a full. In Massachusetts, we’ve got more roots and rocks than I know what to do with — I’ve more than plenty of times come back with a sore back from riding due to the SHOCK of bouncing the whole time… good stuff! I’ve got a hard tail right now that I’d keep, but when money isn’t an issue, you can bet your booty I’m upgrading to full suspension!
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I’m doing a swap from a hardtail to a FS next month. I can’t wait. My tail-bone can’t wait either.
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lol sounds like a plan i get beat up pretty bad on my hard tail but if i had the money id be all about a FS bike..i.e cannondale prophet my dream bike.. 😎
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I can’t believe that many people are riding softies. Maybe I’m too old fashioned with my hardtail. I have a klein and absolutely love it. I’ve ridden a full suspension and liked the ride but I couldn’t climb as well. Maybe the weight??
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hard tail single speed, have the super duper squish. But I always grab the S.S.
But I’m not to bright
Riding is life all else is waiting
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Full suspension Stumpjumper FSR. Can’t beat it.
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full suspension for teh win! no way in hell would I ride with anything else! I don’t peg-stand as much as I should so when I hit a bump I really feel it, even on a f.s. bike (750 pound test weight rear spring makes the rear suspension all but useless, but it still exists) plus for a trail/prefered riding area that has alot of bumps (roots, rocks, or in the case of more urban/suburban locations, curbs, potholes, assorted branches (from the trees that almost certainly overlook the road, or come close to it) and ofcourse, the random speed bump lol)
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Hell yes, for full suspension! 😼
With the advances in suspension and shock designs, it’s becoming more and more evident that hardtails no longer have the monopoly on pedalling & climing efficiency that they once had.
Once you get set up on a quality FS bike, and learn how to ride a FS bike, going back to hardtails is an exercise in anachronisim. That doesn’t mean that anachronisims don’t have there place, as evidenced by those weird 29’er fully rigid singlespeeders. 😼
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I ride a hard tail right now but I’d much rather ride a full suspension bike, as long as it is light enough.
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And how light is light enough?
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Around 25 pounds, I’m thinking about saving up for a Yeti ASR SLC. 😃
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At 25lbs for a FS ride, you’re pushing the edges of race-only XC bikes. There are some bikes on the market right now that come in between 26-28lbs, which allows for some added durability, and they hide those few extra pounds well.
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I have checked out a bunch of reviews, and it is hard to find something bad about the Yeti ASR-SLC. It may be as light as a race bike but it is still fine for trail riding and can take a beating. It really looks like a great bike, a little expensive though. But, it does weigh around 25 pounds and I can use it for just normal trail riding, so it doesn’t seem like a bad investment.
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The Yeti ASR is a very good bike, you get what you pay for. The old Fisher Cake, and the new Hi-Fi are also very light bikes, as well as the SantaCruz Superlight. All of these bikes are 27lbs or less, and are capable of regular trail riding, while retaining the ability to take on the occasional XC race.
I’d suggest staying away from the current rash of all carbon bikes. They’re not all that much lighter than a high quality aluminum frame, and you end up paying more for CDI factor basically.
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There is also that fact that carbon can crack easily.
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Carbon can fail, yes…. And when it does, it does so spectacularly. However, the the usage of carbon fiber has come a long way recently; the bonding and lay-up manufacturing processes particularly. Unfortunately, in order for carbon fiber to approach the durability of aluminum, it needs to be a lot thicker than was normal in previous years. This adds a lot of weight to carbon components, which kind of negates the whole lightweight thing.
Now, I’ve only heard of carbon failing in situations that would cause aluminum to fail as well. Aluminum can crack fairly easily under certain circumstances as well, and if it doesn’t crack, dents cause stress risers that will eventually lead to component failure. Deep scratches on carbon fiber has the same effect.
Also, carbon handlebars & seatposts are vulnerable to crushing or scoring by the stem or seatpost collar, but the amount of force that it takes to do this will usually cause a frame seat-tube to crack when using an aluminum seatpost. I’ve never heard of an aluminum handlebar failing due to overtightening a stem alone, especially with the oversized bars common today. Proper torquing of the fastening bolts will alleviate a lot of these problems.Before I bought my Nomad, I seriously considered buying an Ibis Mojo, and I could have got a Scott Genius in Germany before I left, but I have a personal preference for aluminum. There’s a lot of pros & cons for each material, but I think aluminum will still edge out carbon in the durability versus weight department for a long time to come.
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Yeah, the carbon swingarm is the only thing I don’t totally love about the ASR SLC. But, it is lighter than an alluminum swingarm and I haven’t found any complaints of it breaking. So, that is good. Thanks for doing what you do, and maybe we can ride sometime when you get back. 😃
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Carbon seatstays don’t make me nearly as nervous as a full-on carbon bike. You just have to be a little more careful when laying the bike on the ground.
When we get back to Colorado, I’m not going to accept any excuses from any of you that live there…. we’re going for a ride! I know I’ll get dropped like a wet sack, but you’d better watch out when the trail heads downwards. 😼
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Is there really any need for full suspension bike?
Hell, why do you need any suspension on the bike when you have two arms and two legs?
Rigid and SS is the only way to ride.
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[quote:3f9jn2ob]Is there really any need for full suspension bike?
Hell, why do you need any suspension on the bike when you have two arms and two legs?
Rigid and SS is the only way to ride.[/quote:3f9jn2ob]
Subversion and Lies! All of it! Don’t listen to him! Don’t give in to the Dark Side! 😏 😃
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[quote:2cw6al1f]Is there really any need for full suspension bike?
Hell, why do you need any suspension on the bike when you have two arms and two legs?
Rigid and SS is the only way to ride.[/quote:2cw6al1f]
Hell, for that matter why do we need a rigid SS, a GPS let alone 3, Disc Brakes, or a Singletracks web site?
BECAUSE WE C A N 😬
Long live the dual suspension bike….unless they invent a triple squish…cause you know I’ll be on it 😉
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Hell, for that matter why do we need a rigid SS, a GPS let alone 3, Disc Brakes, or a Singletracks web site?
BECAUSE WE C A N 😬
Long live the dual suspension bike….unless they invent a triple squish…cause you know I’ll be on it 😉
Well, Bombardier can probably attest to this, having more than 1 GPS is called redundancy. Always ride (most times) with a back up. More than two, is just borderline decadent.
You know, the Dark Side ain’t half bad. I pick clearner lines, I rarely endo (only once on each bike) and my quads are getting beefy!
I be going back to squish soon, though. Going to try SSing with a 130mm soon and probably get a full suspension 29er next year.
Hmmm, triple suspension, now that would be a concept. You could have two wheels in the back, kind of on a universal joint and each triangle can move indepently of one another. The drive train would run through the center and it would be dual drive to some sort of internally geared hub. OK, maybe this concept would work better in a lower gravity environment.
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Okay, you invent it, if it’s fun I’ll ride it.
As for your rigid SS fetish, I have seen the MBA photo of you and the bike is not rigid, and has about 26 speeds more than the normal SS.
It’s okay to say you like squish…It is the first step in recovery back to a normal FS life, and we’ll be here for you.
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[quote:t18nslsp][quote:t18nslsp]Is there really any need for full suspension bike?
Hell, why do you need any suspension on the bike when you have two arms and two legs?
Rigid and SS is the only way to ride.[/quote:t18nslsp]
Hell, for that matter why do we need a rigid SS, a GPS let alone 3, Disc Brakes, or a Singletracks web site?
BECAUSE WE C A N 😬
Long live the dual suspension bike….unless they invent a triple squish…cause you know I’ll be on it 😉[/quote:t18nslsp]
I can’t remember the name of the company or the name of the bike but back in one of the recent MBA’s (either from November 2006 to April 2007) there was an article about a tripple suppension bike. It had a normal dual crown fork in front and two shocks in the rear for a combined 15 inches of travel in the rear of the bike. It looks cool, but you would never see me on it, way too much travel.
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To be completely honest with you guys, for all my talk, I’ve been seriously considering a singlespeed 29’er bike for a while. Not fully rigid, mind you, that’s just a little too far for me.
The most recent issue of Dirt Rag had a beautiful 29"er SS in it made by Coconino. It was fully rigid, but had the classic Stingray-esque frame and gorgeous lugwork and with outstanding custom little details.
I am DEFINITELY going to go with Coconino if I do buy a 29’er SS. Plus, the bikes he makes are fully custom, one-off creations. I will definitely be ordering one up that appears quite similar to the Dirt Rag one, but with a suspension fork and disc brakes. That bike would be my daily driver, with a cruiser geometery…. which is not to say that I won’t take it on the trails. Far from it. I just want something with more classic geometery, something closer to what Fisher, Breeze, Ritchey, & the rest of the guys used back in the day.
More and more recently, I’ve started paying attention to the work that the custom frame builders have been doing, and though they are bucking the technological wave, their work is still revolutionary and relevant. Nothing else in this world comes as close to being a work of art that also has a functional and efficient purpose…. which is one reason why I love bicycles so much.I’ll still never give up my full suspension Nomad, though. My preferred riding style precludes anything with less than 5" of travel front & rear. A hardtail would simply not hold up, and neither would my back or knees.
There’s been quite a few experiments with triple suspension linkages over the years, but none that make it worthwhile. When the only engine we have is our own body, adding a whole lot of weight with additional suspension components rapidly becomes redundant. And there were production bikes with 12"+ of travel, but they were so heavy and single-purpose, they rapidly disappeared. I believe the only fork manufacturer that made a fork with over 10" of travel was Marzocchi, and they stopped making it. The trend now is towards lighter, lesser travel downhill & freeride bikes with advancements in frame building & damper technology.
Oh…. and GPS? I don’t need no stinkin’ GPS! (But if I had one, I’d have to have two, just for the record.)
When the wife & I started riding back in Germany, we did a lot of touring before we figured out the whole singletrack thing. One of our most frequent missions while on one of our tours was to find castle ruins. We had a map of Germany that was more of a geographical survey type than a road map, and it showed nearly every little ruin, nook, and cranny possible. It also had locations of small springs and even more important, elevation lines and trails. We got really adept at finding the most forgotten ruins in the German backcountry with nothing but a map, compass, protractor, and watch.
Once we got back to the States, I went out and found maps from the USGS that have the same information and scale as the ones we had in Germany…. And to be honest, I see no need for a GPS. Sure, those nifty GPS systems have all sorts of cool features like tracks, elev. gain, distance travelled, etc., but there’s a kind of retro satisfaction for me to gather that same information just from a map and watch, with a little math. Plus a map & compass never run out of battery! 😎
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As for your rigid SS fetish, I have seen the MBA photo of you and the bike is not rigid, and has about 26 speeds more than the normal SS.
It’s okay to say you like squish…It is the first step in recovery back to a normal FS life, and we’ll be here for you.
That bike was from my brazen past. A 2005 Giant AC, which was a 40 pound pig, if you asked me. Got it because my first bike, a wimpy Trek 3700 which wasn’t really designed for the huckle and buckle lifestyle that I started leading when I discovered what singletrack riding was really all about could take the abuse. I really liked the AC but the weight issue had been nagging me too much, so that and I needed room for my frankenfurter bike project – the fetish.
The Fetish is the first bike that I mostly built up myself. The only things that I didn’t do was the Crankset, FSA Mego Exos, and the Headset, which when you look at it, are probably the two hardest areas on a bike to work on. I did, however, run into some issues, like the steerer on the fork that I wanted to use, Surly Instigator, was too short to accomodate a normal stem, so I ended up getting an Avid SAAGO (Stiff As All Get Out) to compensate for the short steering tube and I have to say that its working great!
So, the next two projects on the horizon for the Frankenfurter is adding some squish and making it a 1×9. Don’t worry, my singlespeed lust will be sated by my 29er. Which reminds me that I have not ridden on trails for awhile – using that baby more as a touring rig for riding with the kids. Pulling my son in his Burley with a 16t cog up hills is a blast!
Yeah, I will return to a FS bike next year but this time around, it will be on my own terms, because now I know how to ride and I know what I like to ride.
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RemfSS][quote wrote
That bike was from my brazen past. A 2005 Giant AC, which was a 40 pound pig, if you asked me.
You’d love my 38lb Nomad, then. 😏
Pulling my son in his Burley with a 16t cog up hills is a blast!My friend, that puts you in the "Mythical Beast" category of rider.
Yeah, I will return to a FS bike next year but this time around, it will be on my own terms, because now I know how to ride and I know what I like to ride.Your kidneys will thank you. 😉
Just curious, what was your total cost when you finished building your Fetish?
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[quote:1674dw2n]Pulling my son in his Burley with a 16t cog up hills is a blast!
My friend, that puts you in the "Mythical Beast" category of rider.[/quote:1674dw2n]
I only do this on Paved and cindered Greenways. 16t on hilly, New England Single Track? My name is not Tinker Juarez. When I go back to taking the Qball on Singletrack, I ride with a 20t or 22t.
[quote:1674dw2n]Yeah, I will return to a FS bike next year but this time around, it will be on my own terms, because now I know how to ride and I know what I like to ride.Your kidneys will thank you. 😉 [/quote:1674dw2n]
And the rest of my body, too.
Just curious, what was your total cost when you finished building your Fetish?I think the total initial build ran me 6 or 7 hundy. Got a lot of stuff off ebay, including the frame. If you buy directly from Fetish you can lose some serious coinage for aluminum tubes welded together at the Taiwan Giant Factory.
Since then, I have probably spent another 2 or 3 hundy on more parts that I want to try out. I have a SIC DH/DJ stem sitting around collecting dust, along with a 100mm 5 degree rise Misphit Psycles FUGly stem that I had originally intended on using but due to the short steerer issue I had to put that back in the box of trix.
I started out with a FUBars because they were very similar to Mary Bars without the high price tag and while they were nice, I moved them over to my 29er where they ride much better. On the fetish now, I have specialized riser bars that I am really happy with now.
Other modifications include add a canti brake in the rear to make the bike into a mullet. I know, why do that, but it was something to try and braking power is not really compromised because most your braking power comes from the front anyway.
Right now, I am contemplating getting some kind of front suspension fork that will accommodate a 29er but not ready to drop any serious bling because I want to reserve that for the next bike.
I am having fun with the Frankenfurter and learning bike maintenance at the same time..
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i switched from a fs to hardtail and the hardtail is faster and with the right seat it’s a small differnce. 😮
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Is there really any need for full suspension bike?
not in alabama
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Ride The One That Will Get You Where You Want To Go.I Think The Politically Correct Question Is, Is There A Need For Full Suspension Bikes On A Mountain???Let Your Mind Take You Where It Will From Here.Racing Wise,Technology Cannot Be Stopped.Hence Suspension.Weekend Warrior Wise,Hard Tail/Ridgid Fork Cannot Be Stopped.Hence,Your Body At Work.Hmmmm,I Wonder If This Question Is Answerable By Any One Indevidule Without Being One Sided.As For Myself,I Wonder If I Still Need My Old Hard Tail Around For Any Reason.My Full Suspension Can Be Locked Out To Ride Like A Hard Tail/Ridgid Fork.Although When I Want To Ride In Town And Need To Leave A Bike Locked Up Outside In Public,I Wouldnt Leave My Full Suspension Even If There Was A Cop Around And I Had The Best Lock Money Could Buy.My Choice In The Matter Leaves Me With Two Bikes.I See Them Both As Core Choices In Riding Practices.
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I’m still new to mountain bike riding. My old Gary Fisher doesn’t have any suspension at all. If I had the choice I think I would choose a front suspension. I really like this old bike though even w/o the suspension.
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Flip-
If you want a new bike, look into some of the bike-builders on this list!
[u:g283bbvi]North American Handmade Bicycle Show[/u:g283bbvi]
Coconino is one of my favorites, Coconino, as is Hunter Cycles
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Thanx. There are some pretty cool looking bikes on there.
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Thanx. There are some pretty cool looking bikes on there.
And the best part is that a lot of them offer custom fitted & detailed frames. For nearly the same cost as a mass-produced high-end hardtail, you can get a unique high-quality bike that’s fitted to you alone. I often wish I had gone that route when I bought my second mountainbike, since I had the cash at the time!
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