FS VS Hardtail ( potential flamebait? )

[Erling Ringen Elvsrud]

Hello,

I know parts of this is a matter of personal taste( and maybe this post
is a invitation for heated discussions... ).
I'm going to get a new mountain bike this autumn ( lots of discounts
late in season ). I want a bike that is better in rough terrain than my
current hardtail with a 70mm manitou magnum-r fork/avid v-brakes.

A friend of mine has a Jamis Komodo wich I have tried and is tempted to
buy. What is the main drawbacks with a full suspension bike? I'm not so
far from one when it comes to price compared to the komodo and is
wondering if I should add a little more cash and gett a fs bike.

After a lot of web browsing I have this impression of fs bikes:

- a bit heavier
- looses pedaling power uphill ( suspension "bounches" )
- more complicated design -> less reliable? / harder to clean?

I guess I will be satisfied with a hardtail in the Jamis komodo range,
but well.. if I can get a fs bike for just a little more cash.. hmm

I want to ride both uphill/downhill and it should be possible to ride
10-20 km on regular road to/from the tracks.

Any advice is appreciated!

Erling

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[David Kunz]

Erling Ringen Elvsrud wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I know parts of this is a matter of personal taste( and maybe this post
> is a invitation for heated discussions... ).
> I'm going to get a new mountain bike this autumn ( lots of discounts
> late in season ). I want a bike that is better in rough terrain than my
> current hardtail with a 70mm manitou magnum-r fork/avid v-brakes.
>
> A friend of mine has a Jamis Komodo wich I have tried and is tempted to
> buy. What is the main drawbacks with a full suspension bike? I'm not so
> far from one when it comes to price compared to the komodo and is
> wondering if I should add a little more cash and gett a fs bike.
>
> After a lot of web browsing I have this impression of fs bikes:
>
> - a bit heavier
> - looses pedaling power uphill ( suspension "bounches" )
> - more complicated design -> less reliable? / harder to clean?
>
> I guess I will be satisfied with a hardtail in the Jamis komodo range,
> but well.. if I can get a fs bike for just a little more cash.. hmm
>
> I want to ride both uphill/downhill and it should be possible to ride
> 10-20 km on regular road to/from the tracks.
>
> Any advice is appreciated!
>
> Erling

I went from rigid to hard tail to full suspension. The hard tail was a
Cannondale F1000; the FS is a Cannondale Jekyll (the rigid isn't worth
mentioning :)).

The biggest thing that I miss about the hard tail is that it had more
precise stearing and better control climbing. Not just some lost power,
but when you dig for power -- you also change the steering geometry and
weight balance as you compress the rear hard. For me, the front doing
this was easy to adjust to; the back isn't. I've learned to have better
power / pedal control and timing, and I keep the rear suspension set
pretty hard.

The thing I DON'T miss is being pounded on rocky trails. Even a seat
post supension -- which helped alot -- doesn't compare.

All-in-all, I like my FS.

Yes, it's a little heavier.
Yes, it's a little more complicated.
Yes, it takes a little more knowledge/care -- you need to occasionally
lube the pivots / 3 more places to check for BB creak -- the pivot and
the shock mounts :)
No, it's not less reliable. You do have a couple of more components
that can wear out -- for me, the Fox rear shock has been back to Fox 2x
for a rebuild -- one was my fault, one was thiers. To be fair, I've put
over 14k miles on it :). And, it hasn't failed critically.
The only cleaning complication is disc brakes and has nothing to do with
the suspension -- you need to be really careful not spray from the chain
towards the discs -- oil contamination is the kiss of death (squeel
city). I also made a cover for them when I clean my chain on the bike.

I ride to and from all my trails -- sometimes in excess of 30 miles each
way. I've also done centuries on it (yea, mostly dirt and back roads,
but still roads <sigh>). For a while last summer, I did a 110 - 130+
mile ride every Saturday for about 2 months.

David

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