Fatty on a Full Suss

mak3m

Im a great believer of efficency hence posting a technical question in the CC, there are peeps here more than capable of answering my question and you all get the chance to take the mick more freely than you might in the main section.

Basically this is me at the moment



Minor off begininng of year, aggrevated old shoulder injury (Rugby) and put on all the weight i lost from taking up MTB.

Just getting back into it and thinking about buying a guilt bike to make sure i keep it up once the weather closes in. My Brother in law keeps banging on about getting a full sus for ride comfort etc etc (dont want to start ht/fs debate another reason for posting here)

Im looking at both HT and FS bikes but in my budget im limited to three bikes all of which use the Roxshox Ario 2.1. looking at th techmanual, it gives tips on how to set the sag etc but only offers a max psi for the shock not a max weight.

My concern is that at over 23.5 stone im going to be bouncing around like a lunatic. Have test rode a boardman, but only around a car park and the lad fair shat himself when i headed for a kerb. It felt a bit weird and a little on the saggy side but that could be sorted on set up.

What i need to know is

1) is it feasible for a fatty to ride full sus comfortably, back on diet with a realistic target of 18 stone so will always be on the heavy side.

2) Am i going to damage the shock or cause more maintenance problems at this weight.

*Mods* if peeps dont take up the opportunity of discussing the physics and geometry of my ass rippling on the multiple back end bouncyness of a fs please feel free to move to a more tech part of the forums.


TL:DR

Can a fatty go full sus

have fun :twisted:

cooldad

So compared to the average makem you are actually slim and athletic.

mak3m

they cast me out when i started reducing my carb intake :shock:

Stevo_666

I reckon you go should for a hard tail. If you're built like an average Mackem (i.e. like Mr Creosote from Monty Python), then getting downhill will be dead easy, you just need really good brakes: going uphill you'll need all the help you can short of an engine :P

montevideoguy

Get a hardtail Kona or something... those things can handle anything/one

sheepsteeth

get a full sus, they are considerably better than any hardtail i have ever seen.

i think it is pretty well agreed that a HT cant do a single thing better than a FS

MountainMonster

I'd say FS as well, a decent AM bike should be able to handle your weight, and you'll be happy you have it once you lose the weight again!

Pudseyp

And wear baggy clothes....its like looking at fat burds in those lycra joggers that resemble 10kg turkeys stuffed in 5kg turkey bags.....not nice

Though you do look a bit like...

Fully-sprung

Just face it, for you, if you get a full sus it will be like having a lowrider hard tail, so go full sus!

Anonymous

If you get a full suss, make sure you get a low leverage design. A Marin quad-link for example, will need one hell of a lot of pressure in the rear shock to get the correct sag, and it will, most likely, be several times greater than the maximum designed pressure.

Ryan Jones

That injury wasn't really an excuse for failing a drugs test and getting banned was it ?

mak3m

sheepsteeth
Ive also heard FS makes you significantly more attractive to wimmin

paul.skibum

Hardtail - if you are on a budget then not only will the Ario shock be turned inside out the first decent hit it takes with you on board you'll likely have some feeble wheels that will fold into two taco's and then you'll probably eat them in error.



Seriously though - bit of a heavier duty hardtail and some spin classes to get your legs working so you feel good riding.

tptvmbircn

mak3m wrote:

sheepsteeth
Ive also heard FS makes you significantly more attractive to wimmin

I also too am a mackem. I'm slim and athletic so obviously abandoned and CX is the ultimate women puller

Anonymous

stealthelite1986, the Crudcatcher is not the place for CX creatures. GTFO and take your fail with you.

tptvmbircn

yeehaamcgee wrote:

stealthelite1986, the Crudcatcher is not the place for CX creatures. GTFO and take your fail with you.

I did'nt mention three full sussers got taken apart last Sunday by the CX oh my, at the end of my ride i was flocked by impressive females and champagne flew everywhere

Anonymous

yeehaamcgee wrote:

stealthelite1986, the Crudcatcher is not the place for CX creatures. GTFO and take your fail with you.

tptvmbircn

haha, come to the dark side!

Anonymous

yeehaamcgee wrote:

stealthelite1986, the Crudcatcher is not the place for CX creatures. GTFO and take your fail with you.

mak3m

haha dont fancy turning a shock inside out if im bouncing around that much theres a good chance i wont be seeing much of the saddle

going to concentrate on a semi decent HT then will no doubt be flooding the buying advice section anytime soon

tnx for the help

getonyourbike

You won't need a full sus with all your (un)natural suspension. :P

What mcgee said + get riding properly again and get that weight off!

mak3m

lol went for a spin on an fs today from halfords without shop boy escort

didnt have the boardman so tried the banshee x, had a suntour epicon something or other rear shok and the dreaded (for fatties anyhoo) 4 bar horst linkage .

Ok had no way of knowing how it had been set up but

sag wasnt too bad and doing the kerb test only bounced fully once (about 1.5 times) which i suppose could be sorted out with a more personal set up

so fatties can ride full sus or im lighter than i thought :P

alas the kit on sub 1k fs seem a bit clunky so after all that palaver im sticking with HT looking at a Rockhopper comp 2011. The way i see it its reasonably specced for the price and loads of room to upgrade the bits around a solid frame

cheers for the help peeps, but cant help feeling a little let down by only mild abuse :twisted:

tptvmbircn

at the end of the day it's personal preference and what feels right for you, glad its sorted, joking aside as above and being where you are now time just tells what to go for next really.