I’m shortly due to rebuild my 45650b with the lovely NS Eccentric hard tail frame that I purchased a few weeks ago from CRC.
However, having ridden hard tails my whole riding life I’ve inevitably fancied scratching the FS itch for years. Reasons I haven’t done so is: a) easier to maintain a hard tail, b) cheaper to own hard tail, c) I’m a heavy rider so doubt I’d gain as much advantage from rear travel

Now, the FS frame I’ve had half an eye on all year has just been slashed in CRC sales – Mega TR-275. In theory I could faff around and send back my Eccentric frame (which is a lovely frame in the flesh) and dropper, and for minimal additional outlay I could take the FS plunge on the 275.

I’m worried about being completely underwhelmed by the 275 on my first ride out, especially with the shock set up firm to carry my weight.

What do you guys think? Avoid FS if heavy rider, or snap this frame up whilst available at this price and enjoy the trails more than ever?

The shock won’t feel firm! It’s relative!
That mega is a ridiculous deal, I’d say do it. If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t lose too much money resale. Tough bike too, so ideal for a larger rider.

If you are short there is a killer deal on kona process 111’s on wiggle. 4600 down to 1500. It’s worth it just for the kit hanging off it.

The mega is a lot of frame for a 1st full sus… Going from a lifetime of riding HT’s to a 6″ travel frame will be quite a shock.

But that said you may love it and wonder why you’d never taken the plunge before… There’s only one way to find out!

130mm travel on the TR, probably modest by today’s standards?

Being a heavy rider does not preclude you from full suspension. What a strange perception. Sure, it places more of an emphasis on stiffer, more robust frames to resist flex and failure from the extra mass, but that’s all.

Full sussers are ace. They make going uphill* and downhill easier. Get one.

*seriously. When I when back to a hardtail after a few years on a FS, I missed the ability of a good full susser to climb up technical climbs more effectively than a HT.

FS will be well worth while. 130mm travel should be fine, specially after a hardtail! I ride 120mm on a 26″ and have a great time. Kit on with a pack I am over 100kg so really the only thing you need to be concerned with is shock set up. Go for it!

Na, stay with the HT 🙂

No reason why heavy riders can’t use full suss bikes. If the shock tune is not good for you there are many things you can do to make it suitable. There are relativly simple changes such as adding volume reduction spacers to make the spring more progressive. Failing that you can send the shock off to get a full custom tune for your weight and riding style.

The Nukeproof Mega frames are on sale quite often so don’t feel pressured into making a choice now. My advice would be to demo a few different bikes and see what you like or don’t like. Each suspension design has different characteristics so every bike is different and some may or may not suit you.

But saying that the Mega is a great all rounder bike built slightly on the heavy side and really comes alive when ridden aggressively. It might only have 130mm of travel on the rear but has 150mm on the front and is designed to be able to take a real good beating. If that sounds like your type of bike you’ll probably get on well with the Mega.

My advice would be to demo a few different bikes and see what you like or don’t like. Each suspension design has different characteristics so every bike is different and some may or may not suit you.

+1

I remember my first full susser. It was a revelation and I loved it for years. It wouldn’t be right for me now though.

My pre-conceptions on rear suspension are lack of any small bump sensitivity, I always tune my air fork to over the recommended max weight in order not to lose 50% travel on sag (insert embarrassed emoticon).

I did have reasonable success with a single pivot Prophet a few years ago but only used it for a handful of rides as it was too small (short) for me.

My riding is generally nimbying around trails, but have taken a few lessons over the last couple of years and now like to get air on occasion and love hitting corners hard. I’d say I was an aggressive xc’er!

The Mega is probably a bit on the beefy side for my style but I figure it would at least hold up to my bulk and may encourage me to get a bit more aggressive – perhaps not such a bad thing. Ultimately it would be used for 20+ mile loops though, so ideally not built like a tank. I’ll be switching 1×11 onto it.

Being a heavy rider does not preclude you from full suspension. What a strange perception

This. I’d say get the FS and keep the 456 frame, perhaps ride the 456 till the spring ? You don’t need a FS to get a little air of course, it will help carry more speed on the trail in general and soften the landings especially if you get the take offs a bit wrong. I would also suggest you’ll want to push your riding on a bit, try some new venues and why not ?

Forget about guide pressures in my experience they are rarely accurate. Just put what ever pressure you need for the required sag. Again in my experience this usually means good small bump performance but poor large bump performance but that can be solved with volume reducer and if the shock still feels bad you still have the option of a custom tune.

if you are full suss curious get some demos sorted and see what you like. Don’t jump on the band wagon just because you’ve see a frame on sale. It’ll be on offer again and you’ll have another chance to snap it is for a good price.

Edit: I think demos for full suss bikes is more important than hardtails as you have the extra layer of suspension kinematics to take account of on top of geometry, fit, fee etc…

Also, I have a new Thomson covert waiting in the wings in 30.9 flavour, if I go for the Mega then would I be OK to shim the Thomson out to 31.6?. Or maybe I should just send it back for an exchange!

Mega tr is a great choice for a biffer, nice burly frame.

Time to scratch that itch I reckon.

It won’t feel like a revelation on the first go, but give yourself some time to learn how to get the best out of it and you’ll be flying.

Try and find a giant trance to fit your seatpost then! 🙂

I lovedmy steel HT, I ran it alongside a bunch of FS bikes, these days it’s been in the shed, in bits and never put back together.

Try a few bikes, they are all subtly different and better for different things, the first one you ride will feel awesome it might not be the best in the long run.

I don’t know how heavy you are op but I’m close to 100kg and I bought a Camber evo a few months back and it copes fine with that kind of bulk for xc/out in the hills riding. I came to that from a 456 (26) and it didn’t take much to get the basics sorted and go riding. I still ride the 456 too but the camber is both quicker and surer footed in just about every interesting situation but not in a way that ruins the fun.

I’ve gone the other way after years of tidings full sus!

I ran various hardtails alongside my bouncy bike but kept changing them due to boredom etc and ended up with a Slackline 853 which reawakened my love for hardtails. Gradually the full sus got used less, I bought another Stanton that gutted me which became my main bike. In the end, both got sold for a Ti frame.

Full sus bikes are amazing things these days. You can pretty much have you cake and eat it; they’re not that heavy these days, pedal well, climb better on technical climbs etc but I just find a hardtail on my local trails more fun. Admittedly I was lugging around a Banshee Rune which was a whole lot of bike. It as great on the right trail but a bit meh on tamer stuff. If you want a full sus, just be honest about your riding etc (which I probably wasn’t).

Without knowing how heavy you are, it is hard to say whether a tr275 would be ok for you or not….although unless youre over 25-26st then you should be fine.

This…

It won’t feel like a revelation on the first go, but give yourself some time to learn how to get the best out of it and you’ll be flying.

and this…

Try a few bikes, they are all subtly different and better for different things, the first one you ride will feel awesome it might not be the best in the long run.

One of the reasons I wouldn’t pay money to demo a bike, If I’d demo’d my Yeti I’d never have bought it, as it felt like a pig. Changed a fair few things on it, best bike I’ve had.

If I’d demo’d my Yeti I’d never have bought it, as it felt like a pig. Changed a fair few things on it, best bike I’ve had.

I think this is a common experience for people. I had a crap hardtail that became a fantastic mile-muncher with some judicious component changes. In contrast to Nobeerinthefridge I think this is a very good reason to pay money to demo a bike. In my mind it makes more sense to pay £100 to demo 3 or 4 bikes than buy a bike “blind” then spend invariably more than £100 to get it right for you.

OP, as always on STW you’ll get conflicting opinions of what’s best to do. The best advice on this thread has been

just be honest about your riding

Buy the bike for the riding you do, not the riding you dream of doing. I dream of riding rocky Alpine singletrack and big mountain descents, but if I bought the best bike for that it would likely be a bit crap for the Peak District riding I actually do.