Funny, I had this discussion with our "esteemed leader" the other night and I think I got a grudging "maybe you're right but ....." out of him!
If money is not an issue then I don't believe that there is much argument - a "top of the range" short travel FS bike will do everything a hardtail will do and then quite a bit more! But, and it's a big "but", these bikes cost in excess of â¬6,000!
With a more realistic budget, say â¬2,500 things get a lot more difficult! The FS bikes at this price point tend to be quite a bit heavier than an equivalent hardtail and the components tend to have a lower spec level!
There is also the "added complexity" argument ..... Don and his DU bushes!!!
Personally I would always prefer to ride a FS but those that know much better than me would strongly disagree ....
HT till I can afford a fancy bouncy bike. If I reach that point, I'll be buying a downhill bike though. So it is HT for me and stand up when you see a bump.
...though since i got the Anthem X the carbon HT has been left gathering cobwebs...its the best all-rounder for me! Might dust off the HT for the club race later though... :-)
I think for the more mature rider whose back gives him grief then the FS is the way to go but only if you have the money which I don't so it's the HT and Nurofen for me...
well i have raced on a carbon hardtail for a few years and this is my first season racing on a full suss.
although i have gotten better results this year than ever before i wouldnt put this down to the bike.(this is down to training)
recently built up my old ht for caroline,took it for a short spin just to check it over it gave me goose bumps! so much more responsive than the full suss,so much more aggressive and so much faster.if it wasnt for my back issues i would definitely be racing a carbon hardtail.
if you have the ability to ride one well then it should be ht all the way.
if you are any fookin use then you will be better on a Hardtail !!! If there was no internet everybody would be riding hardtails and only downhillers would be on full suss jobs. Its only people who constantly need a shortcut or who have no minds of their own that put up these ridiculous V's posts.
It doesn't matter what you ride once you are deadly !! People who are sh1t will always sit at computers and ask better riders for advice or clump together in broods of losers to bolster each other.
Don, how did you ever get such an attractive woman to marry you, did you spend ages pulling the todger off yourself looking at secretly taken photos before you made your decision or did you just find the one that was " just right "..
apply the same black magic to bicycles !!
I love riding my hardtail..I like riding my short travel fullsuss and I love riding my 6" Bike..
if I could just have 2 bikes it would be the hardtail and the long travel.
If I could only have one bike, i would have a 6" travel bike and abandon XC..
does that help you in your idiotic quest ?
I am lucky enough to have 2 bikes, a HT and 5" FS and I know they are the only bikes I'll ever need despite there lure of the myriad of yokes in between. I have a dodgy back too and the HT kicks the hell out of me, but I love it, even the shortest spin becomes a thrill ride. But I can easily see why, for our trails how a bike like Fergals makes perfect sense.
Get yourself a nice Cannondale Scalpel Don... the best of both worlds.. basically a short travel hardtail...
Or if you wanted to stick with a true hardtail you could get a Cannondale Flash with S.A.V.E technology built in.. it has received amazing reviews since being released..
"So it was with the new Cannondale Flash. Cannondaleâs PR proudly trumpeted the gossamer 950g frame weight and some waffle about it having an amount of rear suspension âbuilt inâ.
Weâve ridden superlight carbon hardtails before â the Scott Scale and Tomac Type X come to mind as alpha male examples â that let you gallop over smooth trails, even if your lower back and dentures pay a price.
Surely the Flash would be just the same? No. It's in a league of it's own."
Did I mention I'm selling my Flash Carbon S.A.V.E Hardtail..?
I wouldn't go back to racing a HT
My new yoke goes up as quick as the HT did, and if I'm going up rough stuff - then it goes up it better because it sticks to the ground better than the HT which liked to buck itself about, and in order to counter the bucking action - I had to crouch like a ...well...a Crouching Tiger I suppose (the Dragon was Hidden in my pants)
It goes across the majority of XC stuff faster (except a grassy field maybe) and down rough stuff much smoother
take the IMBRC NPS for example - roots to beat the hell out of you all over the shop and I could accelerate across all of them vs on the HT if I tried the same then ole buckaroo started kicking my arse and my spine would feel like it was gonna burst outta my back like a f**ked-up scene from Aliens
I still would never give up my Ragley HT though, feckin great bike, and I'd always hang onto the 6" too, all that travel, 35mm forks, and the 2.4 tyres - it laughs at everything
funny to read all this and look to see a bike with no suspension at all coming in 3rd in the vets.
it's the rider not the bike, and it's different for everyone. simple as that.
Funny, I had this discussion with our "esteemed leader" the other night and I think I got a grudging "maybe you're right but ....." out of him!
If money is not an issue then I don't believe that there is much argument - a "top of the range" short travel FS bike will do everything a hardtail will do and then quite a bit more! But, and it's a big "but", these bikes cost in excess of â¬6,000!
With a more realistic budget, say â¬2,500 things get a lot more difficult! The FS bikes at this price point tend to be quite a bit heavier than an equivalent hardtail and the components tend to have a lower spec level!
There is also the "added complexity" argument ..... Don and his DU bushes!!!
Personally I would always prefer to ride a FS but those that know much better than me would strongly disagree ....
HT till I can afford a fancy bouncy bike. If I reach that point, I'll be buying a downhill bike though. So it is HT for me and stand up when you see a bump.
...though since i got the Anthem X the carbon HT has been left gathering cobwebs...its the best all-rounder for me! Might dust off the HT for the club race later though... :-)
I think for the more mature rider whose back gives him grief then the FS is the way to go but only if you have the money which I don't so it's the HT and Nurofen for me...
well i have raced on a carbon hardtail for a few years and this is my first season racing on a full suss.
although i have gotten better results this year than ever before i wouldnt put this down to the bike.(this is down to training)
recently built up my old ht for caroline,took it for a short spin just to check it over it gave me goose bumps! so much more responsive than the full suss,so much more aggressive and so much faster.if it wasnt for my back issues i would definitely be racing a carbon hardtail.
if you have the ability to ride one well then it should be ht all the way.
if you are any fookin use then you will be better on a Hardtail !!! If there was no internet everybody would be riding hardtails and only downhillers would be on full suss jobs. Its only people who constantly need a shortcut or who have no minds of their own that put up these ridiculous V's posts.
It doesn't matter what you ride once you are deadly !! People who are sh1t will always sit at computers and ask better riders for advice or clump together in broods of losers to bolster each other.
Don, how did you ever get such an attractive woman to marry you, did you spend ages pulling the todger off yourself looking at secretly taken photos before you made your decision or did you just find the one that was " just right "..
apply the same black magic to bicycles !!
I love riding my hardtail..I like riding my short travel fullsuss and I love riding my 6" Bike..
if I could just have 2 bikes it would be the hardtail and the long travel.
If I could only have one bike, i would have a 6" travel bike and abandon XC..
does that help you in your idiotic quest ?
I am lucky enough to have 2 bikes, a HT and 5" FS and I know they are the only bikes I'll ever need despite there lure of the myriad of yokes in between. I have a dodgy back too and the HT kicks the hell out of me, but I love it, even the shortest spin becomes a thrill ride. But I can easily see why, for our trails how a bike like Fergals makes perfect sense.
Get yourself a nice Cannondale Scalpel Don... the best of both worlds.. basically a short travel hardtail...
Or if you wanted to stick with a true hardtail you could get a Cannondale Flash with S.A.V.E technology built in.. it has received amazing reviews since being released..
"So it was with the new Cannondale Flash. Cannondaleâs PR proudly trumpeted the gossamer 950g frame weight and some waffle about it having an amount of rear suspension âbuilt inâ.
Weâve ridden superlight carbon hardtails before â the Scott Scale and Tomac Type X come to mind as alpha male examples â that let you gallop over smooth trails, even if your lower back and dentures pay a price.
Surely the Flash would be just the same? No. It's in a league of it's own."
Did I mention I'm selling my Flash Carbon S.A.V.E Hardtail..?
I wouldn't go back to racing a HT
My new yoke goes up as quick as the HT did, and if I'm going up rough stuff - then it goes up it better because it sticks to the ground better than the HT which liked to buck itself about, and in order to counter the bucking action - I had to crouch like a ...well...a Crouching Tiger I suppose (the Dragon was Hidden in my pants)
It goes across the majority of XC stuff faster (except a grassy field maybe) and down rough stuff much smoother
take the IMBRC NPS for example - roots to beat the hell out of you all over the shop and I could accelerate across all of them vs on the HT if I tried the same then ole buckaroo started kicking my arse and my spine would feel like it was gonna burst outta my back like a f**ked-up scene from Aliens
I still would never give up my Ragley HT though, feckin great bike, and I'd always hang onto the 6" too, all that travel, 35mm forks, and the 2.4 tyres - it laughs at everything
funny to read all this and look to see a bike with no suspension at all coming in 3rd in the vets.
it's the rider not the bike, and it's different for everyone. simple as that.