Hardtail vs. Full suspension ...

Mare

Well-Known Member
Inseams! Post your inseams here!

With all this 29er talk, I am afraid to try one cuz if I like it I will buy one and be broke. The story of my life with bikes...

But uhh... I'd still try one if anyone had a little one for me to try. I am 5'5" with 30 inseam :)
 

hardtale70

She's Gone From Suck to Blow
Shop Keep
i was reading around on mtbr, and one thing that i found that seemed to make sense to me was the fact that many people found that riding a hardtail helped them pick out better and smoother lines on the fly than on a full squish. especially on rockier trails because of the naturally less forgiving ride of a hardtail. so, i guess training on hardtail could be beneficial to your speed...

So true!! 99% of the hundreds(maybe thousands) of people I've ridden w/ absolutley SUCK at line choice.Lift your vision even 10 feet more in front and you will get faster up and down no matter the bike.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
So true!! 99% of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of people I've ridden w/ absolutley SUCK at line choice. Lift your vision even 10 feet more in front and you will get faster up and down no matter the bike.

i don't fall into this category. brett told me so. :D

that is one thing i can say about riding the rigid...line choice becomes a BIG factor. it's something that i can only assume has improved by riding the bike i do.
 

jbogner

NYCMTB: President
JORBA.ORG
You could improve your line choice on a fully just by working on it. This idea that hardtails make you better at line choice is a little weird. Yes, they force you to be better about line choice, but if you're coming off a full suspension bike, you're either going to:

A) Crash a lot or
B) go a lot slower

as you work on finding those "better lines."

There's a lot of merit for learning to ride mountain bikes on a hardtail rather than fully, but if you started out riding full suspension and have developed your own bad habits, it's a bit specious to claim that going back to a hardtail will automatically make you a better rider.

I also don't get the people who talk about hardtails making you more skilled, then tell everyone to ride 29ers. If 29ers make tough trails easier, shouldn't you encourage people to ride 26er hardtails to build those skills? 29ers are just another crutch! ;)
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
But uhh... I'd still try one if anyone had a little one for me to try. I am 5'5" with 30 inseam :)

Mine is pretty small, I'm only 5'8" but my inseam is about the same...Fisher does one size smaller, which is claimed to fit riders down to 5'3"...The kid I work with is 5'5" and he rides a 17.5, same as me, the standover is very low, you're more than welcome to try it next time I see you...

-Jim.
 

warcricket

Like a Jerk
You could improve your line choice on a fully just by working on it. This idea that hardtails make you better at line choice is a little weird. Yes, they force you to be better about line choice, but if you're coming off a full suspension bike, you're either going to:

A) Crash a lot or
B) go a lot slower

as you work on finding those "better lines."

There's a lot of merit for learning to ride mountain bikes on a hardtail rather than fully, but if you started out riding full suspension and have developed your own bad habits, it's a bit specious to claim that going back to a hardtail will automatically make you a better rider.

I also don't get the people who talk about hardtails making you more skilled, then tell everyone to ride 29ers. If 29ers make tough trails easier, shouldn't you encourage people to ride 26er hardtails to build those skills? 29ers are just another crutch! ;)

na na na na! not listening, not listening!:mad2:
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
So true!! 99% of the hundreds(maybe thousands) of people I've ridden w/ absolutley SUCK at line choice.Lift your vision even 10 feet more in front and you will get faster up and down no matter the bike.

If you go fast enough you don't need to pick lines anymore, it all just works itself out:D

-Jim.
 

secondspeed02

New Member
hardtail

Don't mean to cut in... I agree that hard tail makes you hit lines even better - Very true - I've been riding hardtail since 1995 but now if you throw in a hard tail single speed 32X19 wow what a difference, damn you really gotta stick to you're line for real


but Im still thinking of getting a full tho...

So true!! 99% of the hundreds(maybe thousands) of people I've ridden w/ absolutley SUCK at line choice.Lift your vision even 10 feet more in front and you will get faster up and down no matter the bike.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
That was the advice that Brett gave me many moons ago. It took me a while to really figure it all out but I have to say I dont find myself in as many trees, bushes or streams anymore!
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Yeah you gotta look further than 2 feet up the trail. Trust your shock to do the work it's supposed to do. If you don't have a shock, you're not reading this thread and looking for advice from dopes like me.
 
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