looking to get Off-road
cab7220
Posts: 8
I mountain biked as a kid. Been road riding for the last two years (loving it). The last few winters of 2-3 months on the trainer have been pretty lame. I'm looking for a bike for the colder rainy months to get off-road(keep the wind chill down). I was wondering if a Hardtail or FS will be better fitting. I don't plan on doing any hard/technical downhill stuff (no drops or steeps).
Also anyone else gone from road riding and added a mountain bike to their mix? I group ride with a lot of folks who came to road riding from mountain biking for the warm months/dry days.
-cheers
Also anyone else gone from road riding and added a mountain bike to their mix? I group ride with a lot of folks who came to road riding from mountain biking for the warm months/dry days.
-cheers
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There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda
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Parktools
I might go test ride a few HT and FS 29ers
What is your budget ?
Giant Defy Advanced 2 (2013)
Giant Revel 1 Ltd (2013)
Strava
I ride road and mtb. When riding for pleasure (not commuting) I would never ride road. Mountain biking is just so much more fun.
I've got a 80mm hard tail 29er & a 120mm fs 29er
My fs is way faster on rocky stuff though and less tiring on these types of surfaces(N/A to you)
Hard tail is a lot lighter.
Generally on the smoother stuff I find the hard tail fine and for most red graded trail centre runs and easy blacks. But I don't take the the fs on easy stuff much. If you end up doing harder stuff you just have to go slower where m8s crash through big rock gardens on lots of travel you pick your line and think a bit more.
Generally I prefer the fs because it gives me more options and even though the hard tail can ride pretty much everything the fs can the fs is more fun and faster on harder stuff.
The greatest difference between my hard tail and full suss is geometry. My hard tail is set up more for pedalling so there is a slightly lower more road stance so long off road routes with no major trail objects and more climbing is less tiring on the hard tail as the full suss is more up right and so less efficient for pedalling, but then it's more fun going down hill and that extra travel pushes you into taking the harder lines or going off a natural trail u'd think twice about on the hard tail.
You do feel a little more connected to the trail on a hard tail. It's a more raw experience and don't forget a lot of wheels can run tubeless tires so if the trail gets technical lower the pressures to 20 psi or lower and in the words of a m8 who had a giant trance 26er 'it feels quite like my fs' (with 30psi in the tires) because the low pressure 'acts as suspension'
You generally have to pay more to get into a good full suspension bike. You might love mtb so much that you might wish you had a fs to do rock steps and crash through rock gardens with a stupid big grin on your face wearing knee pads and spd pedals. (oh wait, that's me :P)
If you have a bit bigger budget and want more comfort then maybe a FS MTB is for you.
Have some test rides and see what you think. Hard tails will be better on road and the better ones allow you to lockout the front suspension so the bike becomes fully rigid.