Full suss or hardtail

joshposh

Ok i know this is going to proibably spark controversy but i would ideally like an honest answer from people who know what their talking about. I am a youth racer and mainly do road racing and time trialling. This year however i have done a bit of mountain biking and have won a few races due to my fitness rather than technical ability. My technical ability is a bit limited but i can just about cope with most things. I have been riding a hardtail for most of the season but i have also ridden a full suss (namely a specialized epic expert 2008 and a stumjumper comp 2008, both heavily upgraded!) Now for next season i have a choice of either an aluminium epic expert with xtr, sram x0 and rockshox sid team forks or an equivalent hardtail (must be a specialized as im sponsored by them). I am planning on doing the youth national champs next year and have noticed that most people ride hardtails. Should i opt for a full suss or a hardtail? Any advice would be great!

The Northern Monkey

well what does everyone else race on? FS or HT?

joshposh

Well mostly hardtails but the odd full suss crops up sometimes. I expect its cause full suss bikes cost more!

The Northern Monkey

Or because they're not needed

joshposh

Could be whats your opinion?

The Northern Monkey

I doubt you can go wrong if you're being given a bike.... why not ask specialized what they'd offer you as a HT first, and ask which they think you should have?

joshposh

I could do that except i dont really have much contact with them (its mainly my team boss) so i was hoping for some opinions on here first.

Georgeb

It seems that alot of xc racers ride ht, so assume thats the best choice. Maybe because of lighter weight, and better pedaling effeciency?(although there probably not much difference)

Airienteer

A HT will pretty much always be lighter and more efficient. However a FS will give more traction going up so therefore transfer more of your power to the ground and will be better downhill.

TBH if I wanted a racebike I'd go for a HT. But you're sponsored and therefore bloody fit! That means you could probably handle the extra weight of a full sus and you would benefit from the extra security it gives you on the techy sections.

Swings and roundabouts.......

EDIT: I don't know if you can get any bike you want from Specialized but basically for a FS go for the highest spec Epic you can get your hands on, and for a HT the highest spec Stumpjumper.

nfrang

I'm not a racer so this probably doesn't qualify as advice

But being sponsored you must get time to train on different bikes and see which you feel suits your style the best? I would guess as well the type of racing which i assume is xc will be a big factor in that decision.

The general consensus on bikeradar to this question(daily) is it's best to cut ya teeth on a hardtail.

Major respect for getting sponsored and doing so well from the get go 8) 8) 8)

passout

In reality the course you are riding should determine the choice - can you get both?

A FS bike offers greater traction (especially on steep climbs/technical) and can mean less fatigue over longer rougher XC courses. They can also mean less punctures and/or slightly faster descending depending on riding style, skill levels but mostly the course.

Hardtails are lighter and I think that standing on the pedals when climbing/sprinting is more effective on a HT. HTs are popular because of weight, cost and the fact that many XC racers are roadies at heart

If we are talking short travel FS (80-100mm) then I think tyre choice is going to be a more important decision to be honest.

I'd go for FS if I could only get one.

llamafarmer

joshposh wrote:

I have been riding a hardtail for most of the season but i have also ridden a full suss (namely a specialized epic expert 2008 and a stumjumper comp 2008, both heavily upgraded!)

You probably have more experience than most of us when it comes to racing these bikes then Which did you prefer?

bomberesque

in the words of Fernando Alonso "which is faster?"

sounds like it's possible that a FS would be faster for you as you admit you have technical shortcomings.

*however* once you get better, you'll be faster on a HT in most XC race conditions