Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)
  • An observation……….nothing more
  • stevepitch
    Free Member

    When riding around my local, Swinley forest, I see a vast array of high end exotic with 150mm travel which help ‘tame the trails’

    I’ve just spent three days in the peaks (chuffing awesome for what it’s worth) riding some frankly bonkers stuff and yet most people seem to be riding hardtails!?

    Surely it should be the other way round? Or am I confused, like I said its mearly an observation!

    Oh and hats of to the geezer on the carbon 456 riding down from lords seat to Edale your super wide bars were awesome 😀

    frazered
    Free Member

    just come back from the peakdistrict on my c456 – was not me with the wide bars though

    agree the peaks are great – so much variety

    simondbarnes
    Full Member

    We’re all poor up North but hard as nails so hardtails are more than up to the job of riding tough Northern trails.

    Down South you’re all overpaid namby pambys so need 150mm of travel to ride tame trails 🙂

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    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    [generalisation]Southeners=soft as shite.Northeners=hard as nails[/generalisation]

    davidtaylforth
    Free Member

    People down South are much closer to The Alps. The terrain there requires a long travel bike so its sensible to invest in one, especially if you plan on going upto once per year like most of them do.

    druidh
    Free Member

    Surely a trip to the Alps is longer travel from the North?

    Suggsey
    Free Member

    Hardtails encourage more thought and finesse over what lines you take and just add to the fun, plus there are no pivots to wear out!!

    fizzicist
    Free Member

    Try owning a 150mm FS in the peaks for 18 months.

    Once you have replaced every bearing and bushing, dinged the down tube on rocks, scratched the crap out of the swing arm and generally wrecked a really nice bike, you’ll quickly go back to a steel hardtail!

    I have about three weeks left with the peaks on my doorstep :o( Just sampled my new riding territory (Yorkshire Dales) today and came back disappointed. Could end up a roadie :o(

    yunki
    Free Member

    Hardtails encourage more thought and finesse over what lines you take and just add to the fun, plus there are no pivots to wear out!!

    and they’re less of a burden to lug up to the top..

    mountain goat versus tractor is a good analogy IMO..

    I’m from the SW though, which has a completely different terrain and culture to ‘the south’

    stevepitch
    Free Member

    Considering the amount of fine grit up there I wouldnt fancy owning a full bouncer, in fact I’ve never felt more at home riding in the peaks and my ht was amazing, I felt like I fitted in and everything 😀

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    Do-it-all bikes basically. That combined with more money 😀

    But really, it matters not. My Nomad rides as well in the flats and hills of Surrey & Berkshire as it does in mountains. And there’s plenty you can find to justify bigger suspension.

    Then again, I also like taking the C456 out round the same trails and surprise myself how much it copes with the same trails. To be honest I tend to do the hard tail round Swinley more than the full sus. I like both, and I like mixing it up. I’d like to take both to the mountains and hard tail and big up on the full sus.

    It doesn’t matter. When you see someone hitting bermy sweeping singletrack descents on a Brompton, fair play.

    davidtaylforth
    Free Member

    Surely a trip to the Alps is longer travel from the North?

    Yes, you’re right. But theres no need to go when you’ve got proper trails to ride on.

    druidh
    Free Member

    🙄

    shortcut
    Full Member

    I live in the south & have a hard tail!

    stevepitch
    Free Member

    ^^ Thats two of us anyone else 😆

    patriotpro
    Free Member

    shortcut – Member
    I live in the south & have a hard tail!

    POSTED 4 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
    stevepitch – Member
    ^^ Thats two of us anyone else

    Then you must be of Northern descent…

    footflaps
    Full Member

    I ride SS HT pretty much everywhere….

    cinnamon_girl
    Full Member

    I’m a girl – one bike is not enough. 😀

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    cinnamon_girl – Member

    I’m a girl bike whore – one bike is not enough.

    Too f’ing right. 😀

    cinnamon_girl
    Full Member

    😆

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    I’m in the South and have a Hardtail – 100mm too!

    Not only that, a year ago I went from 150mm to 120mm on the FS :-/

    anotherbike
    Free Member

    Who cares what bikes people choose to ride? Not me…

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I’m a Northerner, but ride a Pitch.

    And moving back to Reading next month.

    Where does this leave me? Should I ride it more or less?

    I agree with the comment about mainenance though, I ride my rigid SS up north more than anything else! Although the Pivots in my Pitch have so far resisted wearign out, but it is mainly kept for high days and hollidays rather than being dragged through the mud for the sake of it on an evening ride.

    stevepitch
    Free Member

    Who cares what bikes people choose to ride?

    Like I said it was an observation and nothing more 😛

    geetee1972
    Free Member

    Hardtails encourage more thought and finesse over what lines you take

    But either way you still end up riding slower than on a FS. Oh and…

    plus there are no pivots to wear out!!

    Bollox – what do you think your knees, elbows and back are?

    patriotpro
    Free Member

    anotherbike – Member
    Who cares what bikes people choose to ride? Not me…

    Or me but it’s fun to talk about it and besides we are on a MTB forum so….

    plus there are no pivots to wear out!!
    Bollox – what do you think your knees, elbows and back are?

    That’s why i take my cod liver oil capsule… 😉

    geetee1972
    Free Member

    That’s why i take my cod liver oil capsule…

    Very wise

    epo-aholic
    Free Member

    hardtails = fun 😀

    thepodge
    Free Member

    I seem to destroy my bb bearing far quicker than my frame bearings up here in the Peak

    fizzicist
    Free Member

    Bollox – what do you think your knees, elbows and back are?

    Sealed units with no grease points 🙂

    Scapegoat
    Full Member

    I’m a midlander originally, but live in the South Pennines. Is that why I have both? 😀

    weeksy
    Full Member

    patriotpro – Member

    shortcut – Member
    I live in the south & have a hard tail!

    POSTED 4 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
    stevepitch – Member
    ^^ Thats two of us anyone else

    Then you must be of Northern descent…

    I’m in the south and have a HT..

    Although yes, i’m a Scouser 🙂

    gribble
    Free Member

    Hard tail with a 115mm fork, from the south west, live in the south east and have one bike and no Audi. It is an easy decision of ‘which bike to take’ when you only have one.

    Tom83
    Full Member

    South east, 100mm ss hardtail, own a fiesta (old one at that!) 😉

    llamaknob
    Free Member

    singlespeedstu – Member

    [generalisation]Southeners=soft as shite.Northeners=hard as nails[/generalisation]
    Posted 11 hours ago #

    I’m from the midlands does that make me hard as shite or soft as nails??
    I ride hardtail cos i can only afford one bike,like i say i come from the midlands 🙁

    _tom_
    Free Member

    East Midlands here and currently the only mtb I have built up is a 180mm full sus 😆 tbh I am thinking of going back to a HT for the majority of riding and saving my FS for the rare opportunity of going on holiday. I do enjoy riding FS but it doesn’t jump or climb nearly as well as a hardtail.

    stevepitch
    Free Member

    I’m a Northerner, but ride a Pitch.
    And moving back to Reading next month.

    You’ll fit in great at Swinley! :p

    Don’t get me wrong tho, I do miss my pitch and I would love a transition bandit but my alpine handles everything I could ever do and is fun to boot

    HermanShake
    Free Member

    I think maintenance is a big part of it as said before. Although there are a number of well off riding-what’s-trendy folk in the sport, some people just have a single bike (FS) and take it everywhere…like me!

    When I rode at Swinley I wished I’d been on a HT due to the flippin’ sand, it gets right in your crannies.

    By the way it’s the Peak, not the peaks 😉

    Can’t wait ’til the missus and I move to Sheffield, I may see what the 29″ steel LTHT (equivalent) options are for a build and keep the 140 bike for the fairer months.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Peak eats bikes. HT’s are better if you live there. Also we are harder up north.

    I have both which was perfect for being in the lakes. The full sus went to the Alps which in the grand scheme if it isn’t that much further for us lot.*

    *(well it wasn’t until I moved to Oz)

    soundninjauk
    Full Member

    I live in London and ride in Swinley, and I’m on a 140mm hardtail. Although I did buy it while I was living by the Lake District…

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)

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