So who else wants to go back to a hardtail?

Ian F

Well-Known Member
Hmm... Some drops I prefer to do on a hardtail. Mainly those to a flat landing. Mostly because I use an entirely different drop technique than I do with full suspension. I'll generally go a lot slower, and wheelie-drop landing on the back wheel first, absorbing the landing with my legs and then putting the front wheel down. In a way, that is probably the one "trials" move I can do - mainly because that technique is muscle-memory from my childhood doing stair drops on my BMX bike. I haven't really tested how big of a drop I can do this way (and turning 51 in less than a week, I'm not looking to find out...), but up to 3 or maybe 4 feet.
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
the 429 is not for you. If you want to stick with a good climbing FS, you need to look at the pure XC Bikes (blur is somewhere in the middle). Otherwise, just get a hard tail.
This might be advice worth considering. My Spot Ryve 115 is an incredible climber, but I have it set up to be a light weight climber above other attributes and definitely have to take it easy during other parts of a ride. I can do very technical rides on it, but I just don't "monster-truck" through sections the same way I would on my enduro bike with more travel and much beefier wheels and tires.
 

Ron

Well-Known Member
Where do you ride?

I like to pick the bike for the trail. Hartshorne, hardtale. Ringwood/Allamuchy/Mahlon full suspension.

If you love climbing get a SS, they are light and force you to maintain a cadence pedalling up, regardless of your gear...there's no easy spinning uphill.
Main places I ride are Allamuchy, Stephens and Kittatinny. Before I sold my SIR9 it was set up SS, and mostly with a carbon fork. Kittatinny is really the only place that I felt I needed front suspension.

For a little background I have been on a singlespeed since 2000, I believe. Jason built me a White Industries ENO hub for a Kona Kula Deluxe. Around 2005 I bought a Cannondale 1FG.

The Trail429 is an amazing rig for how it is built. But at the end of the day I am not a downhill speedster or jumper.
 

ryderX

Well-Known Member
Some of us never left the world of hard tails. Though I do have a full suspension bike my go to for Stephens and Allamuchy is a 2019 Cannondale F-si.
 
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