Full suspension or Hardtail

npowell28

I'm looking at buying a mountain bike on the cycle to work scheme. I already have a GT transeo 3.0 which has skinny tyres on which i use to commute to work. I want the mountain bike for doing some off roading. I'm not talking anything serious and not particulary fast, Just bridle path etc etc. Do i need to buy one with full sus or just front sus. There are some rocks and roots on the paths i ride but nothing major.

Thanks in advance.

cullen_bay

lol, hardtail for that, you dont need full suss unless your racing downhill, or you want to spend (alot) extra for some speed/comfort doing xc/trail/am.

counterculture

hardtail will do you for what you say your gonna use it for, that way you can get better spec for the cash your planning to spend

npowell28

That seems pretty clear cut then. I've looked at the Boardman bikes in Halfords(yes i know they are a bunch of jokers), they look wonderful and seem to be a fairly good spec. I looked at the HT sport and the next one up which i think was the comp. Any good?

llamafarmer

You won't here many negatives about the Boardmans on here, great bikes and really good value.

Stoo61

Think the general consensus is that they are well spec'd bikes at good prices. However, it seems that the Sport is the poorer relation to the the rest. Would stick to the Comp upwards.

The Northern Monkey

If your mainly doing canal paths with a few bumps but are worried about comfort you could get a suspension seatpost like the one reviewed on BR.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... r-lt-10308

Sponging-Machine

I'd steer well clear of suspension seatposts as they alter the distance between saddle & pedals which can place stress on your knees. They're also bloody heavy.

HT would definately be my choice. It also means that if you get into some more advanced mtb riding, you learn essential skills, rather than allowing your rear suspension to just 'blag' you through technical sections. Hardtails are also loads of fun and much easier to maintain.

Northwind

I'd say hardtail without hesitation, full suss can be nice but you need to be doing some pretty silly stuff before it comes into its own. For me, the point at which a good hardtail stops doing the job well comes after the point I say "**** this!" and get off and push My Scandal will do anything that I'm brave enough to try!

If you've got a good budget, these days you can get really good, lightweight, efficient full suss bikes which really do close that gap, but for a grand and under the full suss will always be struggling because the budget has to go that much further. Though Boardman do have an £800~ bouncer which has been getting great reviews.