FS vs 29ers

R

Rooster00

Guest
As I continue my quest for finding the perfect bike for me, I have come up with a new dilema. A Full Suspension or a 29er, will the larger wheals be more benificial making a FS not as necessary? Very curious to hear what everyone has to say on both ends. Thanks.
 
the short answer is no, the wheels won't compensate for travel. the long answer i don't have time to get into right now b/c my pasta is boiling.
 
Why not buy a FS 29er?

A 29er hardtail is a large improvement over a 26er hardtail, but it's still a hardtail.

In the interest of full disclosure, I ride a full suspension 29er, which I bought after riding a hardtail 29er for 2 years...
 
Well, I have recently purchased a 29er. It is SS and full rigid and I don't think the bigger wheel completely makes up for the lack of suspension. Perhaps I just need to get used to it. :hmmm: It could also depend on the places you ride. I usually ride all the rocky spots Ringwood, Blue, Skyline, Wayway, Mooch, so I do see myself getting a front suspension for this bike in the near future. However, a buddy that rides with me is pretty comfortable in all those places without any suspension at all (also 29er SS). It would be great if you could test ride some bikes in the places you want to ride. A LBS should be able to hook you up.

So perhaps 29er Hard tail is the way to go...at least for me. I don't think I will ever get another FS 29er nor 26er.
 
if you found that your previous rides on fs bikes led you to think they were a little too much, but you still like how they smoothed stuff out, then a hardtail might be a good option. if you like the feel of a fs bike and are looking to a 29er hardtail to smooth out the trail just as much, it wont. it does make a big difference, but it is maybe like 1" of extra suspension over a 26 in wheel, as far as trail feel goes. i ride only 29er hardtails.
 
Cush cush

For the time being my thought is that the heavier and more complex design of a dual suspension makes it less appealing to me.

That being said I was just talking to a customer about the Cane Creek Thudbuster.

We were both wondering if they do anything at all..

Anyone tried one??

They make both a long a short travel version.

I tend to ride with my saddle higher than some and I rarely stand. For my needs this might make some sense.

I am waiting to get some serious local trail time on a Jet Nine to see what the fuss is about.
 
Rooster00 said:
A Full Suspension or a 29er, will the larger wheals be more benificial making a FS not as necessary?
Click to expand...

No. My 29er does not feel like a FS bike. It may soak up a bump slightly better. It may roll over obstacles slightly better. A FS bike does much more than that.
 
jdog said:
For the time being my thought is that the heavier and more complex design of a dual suspension makes it less appealing to me.

That being said I was just talking to a customer about the Cane Creek Thudbuster.

We were both wondering if they do anything at all..

Anyone tried one??

They make both a long a short travel version.

I tend to ride with my saddle higher than some and I rarely stand. For my needs this might make some sense.

I am waiting to get some serious local trail time on a Jet Nine to see what the fuss is about.
Click to expand...


I have a Thudbuster (longer travel version) on my old hardtail and I would say that it takes some of the edge off. It came with a series of elastomers of varying firmness according to a rider's weight. There's no noticeable bob once your on the trail and the linkage is pretty smooth in its movement. Had the seat clamp explode at Allamuchy 3 or so years ago, though, and had an interesting ride back to the car, but got a complete replacement from Cane Creek that week.

Now the Rock Shox seat post - that was totally useless. Telescopic posts seem to move in a path that is not consistent with how a riders weight is exerted against the seat and seat post, up and down (telescopic) versus down and back (linkage).

Just my 2 cents.
 
i had the rock shox post and loved it. i've never ridden a thudbuster to compare it too, but it worked great for me. the reason i got rid of it was the need to set my saddle 1" higher than i need it for seated pedalling because of sag. made it difficult to get behind the saddle and mounting the bike was a little more awkward. it was a dream in 24 hr races and for touring though.
 
Why are people afraid of full suspension frames? Thudbusters are an inelegant and inefficient solution to the problem of suspension because they do nothing for you while standing...
 
Maybe I'm just a minimalist or I've just had a bad experience with my FS but I'd rather have less to fail, and less weight to push around as well. I'd go for a hardtail every time. I don't care if it's for stewart, or blue mtn. They are just so much more responsive, and much more fun to ride. I love bombing down hills and wondering where my rear tire is going to end up...seriously. Maybe its because I'm a rider that likes to punish myself on hills and doesn't want to carry the 30 lb bike with me. It's something like that...
 
xc62701 said:
Maybe I'm just a minimalist or I've just had a bad experience with my FS but I'd rather have less to fail, and less weight to push around as well. I'd go for a hardtail every time. I don't care if it's for stewart, or blue mtn. They are just so much more responsive, and much more fun to ride. I love bombing down hills and wondering where my rear tire is going to end up...seriously. Maybe its because I'm a rider that likes to punish myself on hills and doesn't want to carry the 30 lb bike with me. It's something like that...
Click to expand...

I agree...
Less things to worry about with a Hard tail. I had a hard time justifying going to a FS, but since I got a great deal a few yrs ago, I went for it. So I was alternating rides between HT and FS and the only difference I found was that I could go a little bit faster on the rocky downhills with the FS, but I only have about 3" and change of rear susp, which isn't much. Everything was fine until last year when I had all sorts of problems with the pivots and bolts and what not's. So I decided that I would never buy FS again.
Unless you are doing DH you can get away with a Hard tail for XC or I guess if you want a more comfortable ride ;), but that is just my DOS CENTAVOS...

So, bottom line...save some money and weight ;)
 
My $.02

My fav, bike is 8 & 8, inches that is; but I cant ride that bike when the DH resorts are closed. I tried to fill in the down time with some urban, dirt jump, and light freeriding...........but I couldnt get a good enough workout.

I really didnt miss XC riding because I find it rather boring:sleep: My friends were making invitations for trail rides but my quiver wasnt all that inviting (8''DH rig, 6&6 FR rig, and a full on DJ SS rig) so I went on a few(more like 2)rides and was miserable.

Fast forward to Jan 07, I walked into one of my LBS and snagged a SS 29 off the rack, paid for it, called my XC friends, and rode that night with a flash light taped to my helmet.

Guess what?, I am back, a XC weinie just waiting for the phone to ring. I am weighing bike parts, dieting, and happy. I contribute alot to the 29er, its simple, fun, light, and easy to ride.

A FS bike is all than a 29 is not. Expensive, complicated, sorta heavy(in comparison). But a 29 in not for every one, I know guys who are too short for big wheel bikes, yea its a bold statement but true, those fvckes are big, almost to big for me, so with that said..........29 is cool, real cool, but not for everyone!!
 
In a previous thread I asked the opinoin on a few HT's and if it was really necessary to get a FS. I ride mostly Allamuchy, Rindwood and Ramapo and the majority seemed to think FS was the way to go. Now I am thinking maybe HT really is the better choice. I'm not worried about having the softest/most comfortable ride, I want to get the bike that is best for the the trails in NJ. So the question is do I check out the 29ers or stick with the norm and go with a 26. Decisions decisions.
 
psst- roster, that was this thread... ;)

it all depends on what you prefer. alot of people prefer hardtails and/or rigid bikes and do fine with them in really technical terrain. alot of ther people prefer full suspension bukes and do fine with them in the same terrain.
 
anrothar said:
psst- roster, that was this thread... ;)
Click to expand...

Too funny!

Rooster00 - you can think all you want, but until you spend a fair amount of time on every option you'll never really know what works best for you.
 
Pssst, Nope...there was a thread a week or so ago, where I specified the HT's I was checking out. This one is similiar but it wasn't this one.
 
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