Just wondering whether to make the move back to a hard tail. Had a Kona Dawg for the past couple of years, and never really go on with it – hard work & not fast enough up the hills, doesn’t feel nippy on single track. Most rides are 2 hour blasts round the woods with mates, with the occasional full day out. Not into drop offs & jumps.
Wondering whether to go for Chamelion or 456, or stick with FS but a more xc flavour.

Anyone else been here?

I have both and love both – are 2 bikes a problem ? 😉

went from a Patriot to a 456, now on a Trance-X. Have still got the 456 🙂

I did, dont regret it, dont miss it one bit

tragically1969 – Member
I did, dont regret it, dont miss it one bit

Same here, went from Stumpy FSR comp back to old Marin Pine Mountain. Had another 2 hardtails since the Marin.

pick your lines, needs more skillz, lazy full suss. blah blah blah

Tbf the dawg is not exactly a nimble beast, something like a 575 would be better for what you have mentioned in terms of a fs. Having said that my only bike is now a Ti HT and I have yet to find a situation where I wished I still had a FS.

Got rid of three bikes, down to Chameleon now. Can’t see myself going back to full suss again

Wot loddrik said, it may not just be the rear travel that you don’t like.

While I did the same (456Ti), maybe a lighter FS would be a better option for you – say Anthem X?

I have both , after a 6 year stint only riding FS bikes I was tempted into buying a P7 at what I considered a bargain price from the local paper (with the intention of splitting it to make a fast buck).

on getting the bike home I decided it wasn’t as well looked after as it could’ve been but took it for a spin in the wood over the road and loved it.
I stripped my xc FS bike of the decent bits and rebuilt the Orange.

If I’m having a gravity fuelled day the 6″ bouncer comes out for everything else the HT is my weapon of choice. You do tend to stand out at trail centres though.

yes

ride the one you want to. as long as it makes you smile 🙂

Tbf the dawg is not exactly a nimble beast,

+1

Try a lighter 5in FS bike.

Something like a Trek Fuel EX might be a good choice.

Try an Orange 5. It’s British. They win all the tests in magazines. And are the perfect UK conditions trail bike. Apparently.

I went back to HT and like it a lot, but 2 years later I am starting to consider something like a soft tail or XC FS to take some of the beatings instead of my back.

This is only really prompted by some back problems this year though

Do some demo rides on some well-regarded full-suss trail bikes and hardtails… then make your choice. Either a demo day, friendly LBS with decent trails nearby, or just try out some mates rides.

You’ll get both sides of the argument on here but not necessarily the right answer for you.

I ride a Pace RC405 and an Orange P7… love ’em both, swith between them all the time, always refreshing to get on the other one if you know what I mean. If I had to get rid of one however it would be the P7. 😯

Haha, me too down from 3 bikes to just a chameleon, never rode the others anyway other than abroad, for UK stuff hardtail is king….

Yes. I always seem to end up going back to hardtails…the amount I’ve wasted buying full-suspension frames then selling them on weeks/months later is embarrassing 😳

Currently I’m in a buying phase having blown a stack buying a Flux a couple of months ago and also wanting a Hemlock. The Flux already has the sword of Damocles hanging over it 🙄

Fortunate to have both, but find myself riding the HT more these days without missing the suspension. It certainly goes up hills better and can be thrown around more – but it is built up light.

The speed FS encouraged over technical trails just scared me, on a hardtail I can reach the same speed and the bike feels out of its depth and the back wheeel clattering into things naturaly keeps the speed down. Remove that impediment and everythig just got scary.

Might seem a silly question, but have you got the suspension set-up correctly on the Dawg? Might be worth tinkering with the settings to see if that helps.

Thanks for all the useful comments. I need to ride some demo bikes – of which there are few in N Scotland, but a good excuse for a weekend away!
I could have more than one bike – so long as I smuggle it into the shed!
Good point about the suspension setup- I don’t know – will need to have a tinker.
I remember enjoying the move to FS – and the extra speed over rough stuff. But that was much more xc orientated.

I loved my ’04 Epic but sold it a couple of years back and currently ride a Whyte 19 which is lush … and then there are the two other HT frames in the garage waiting for a bit of attention.

Go on – you know it makes sense!

buy a second hand frame, an inbred, or a soul, or an altitude/alpitude.

something like that will always be worth what you pay for it.

strip the Dawg to build up the new frame, try it, have a go. i’ve got a Blue pig that’s ready to go, and a Hemlock frame, i will be swapping them over on a 6 monthly basis.

so, in a way, i get a new bike in 3 months time!

ahwiles – thanks that was what I was thinking of doing. Benefits of 456 vs Chameleon?

The past few weeks have been spent on my old Fat Chance yo eddy because my full sus cracked and whilst it has been fun I can’t wait to get back on the bouncer. I think that’s a age and lakes rockyness thing though… if I lived in a different area I might feel different.

Sorry for the hijack but if the flux is a medium I might be interested Nuke.