[Closed] Can your body be too old for hardtails?

What on earth are you blathering on about then?

GO and buy yet another full suss then and stop moaning. How about a Blur 4X? Have you ever had one of those? Oh yeah.... about 6 of them

I agree with Klunk, if the saddle is hitting your arse then your riding style is all wrong, probably not adjusted it from FS riding. Your probably not picking a line and there's the obvious sizing issue.

Can your body be too old for hardtails?

Am I a clueless woose in search of a reason to once again change bike?

did you write the latest C456 Bikeradar review? 😉

I've been riding a full sus for the last few months because my Soul developed a crack which took a while to get welded, powdercoated and put back together.

But I took the Soul to Long Mynd last week for a 7 hour blast, then have been on Cannock Chase a couple of times since with it (after re-converting it to singlespeed.

Apart from my mistake of using a roadie saddle (because it looks prettier than my old WTB) I'm glad to be back.

59 in June.

[i]I experienced the same on a 18" 456 was that also too small[/i]

If you're 6'2", then probably, yeah. I'm 6'1" and had an 18" 456. Always had a sneaky suspicion it was too small as I always felt a bit over the front of it. A week in the Italian Alps decided it for me. I'm now on a 20" 456 and now get that near-mythical feel of being 'in' the bike rather than 'on' it.

16"? Behave.

It would be so much easier if the folk who designed these frames gave some indication of the size of frame a rider should buy based on their height.

Hora, seriously if you are riding a 16''456 it is way too small for you.
you are the same height as me and i ride a 20'' with plenty of post out.

[i]It would be so much easier if the folk who designed these frames gave some indication of the size of frame a rider should buy based on their height.[/i]

It would, wouldn't it.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROO456/on_one_456_steel_hardtail_frame_2011#Sizingguide

Hora could have a bike custom made for him, and there would still be issues.

is it sinking in yet?

[img] [/img]

I hear em bitchin'..

Years ago I got on well with my Rocky Mountain Vertex and then Santa Cruz Chameleons' then on a revisit I started picking up niggling pains, injuries etc. I never have any of this riding a full sus. Its just not for me anymore.

As for the 'look at the sizing guides'. Rioght. Furry muff' but shouldn't you also ride the frame that feels most comfortable to how you like your bikes? 🙄

Soul on Long Mynd? Long Mynd was designed for the Soul! 8)

shouldn't you also ride the frame that feels most comfortable to how you like your bikes?

Not if the way you 'like your bikes' is two sizes too small. Think of applying the same concept to underwear

[img] [/img]

hora - Member
shouldn't you also ride the frame that feels most comfortable to how you like your bikes?

Long Mynd was designed for the Soul!

True. It was them rocks at the top of Stiperstones on our little detour that beat me up.

[i]Should one buy a gate and not enjoy anything vaguely technical?[/i]

Hora

I'm the same height/build as you, here's my old gate/20" 456 - seems plenty of seatpost showing.

[IMG] [/IMG]

Yes it felt right but on the same descent I didnt feel the slightest bit weary or tired if I'm on a full sus. On the hardtail its a different story.

I went back to HT a few months ago after years of FS only (at least 7) It beat my back up for the 1st 2-3 rides but soon adjusted.

Had a play in Delamere at the weekend which involved quite a few drops (took HT instead of FS) - really felt it in my neck afterwards but again think I just need to adjust. (42 in July and riding FS less and less)

I was forced to stop riding my Intense Spider after the bearings ate themselves, so while im waiting for new bearings to be made i had to 'modify' my Santa Cruz Chameleon back to XC.
Yesus! I couldnt have chosen a worse bike- stiffer than a .... very stiff thing 😯 .
Good acceleration though, but over rough ground be prepared to get chucked all over the place. I didnt have this problem when i was chucking it over jumps, but then dirt jumps are generally smooth 😆
Now i yearn for the '96 Cinder Cone that i shamefully sold to get my original Chameleon. Steel is real and i dont recall having these problems on a steely hardtail.
Mind you that was 15 years ago!

my oldest HT riding buddy is 59

im only 6'0" and ive never fitted anything under 18"/M frame,

seems you have fallen for the internerd hype that anything above a medium is a 'gate'
so buy a full susser that looks nice.

And elves.

Don't forget the elves

sry druidh, edited to stop me getting another email slap from the slap happy mods.

Now i yearn for the '96 Cinder Cone

Lol don't recall having any problems with my GT Timberline (steel/rigid) or Zaskar (Alu/HT crap forks) before the days of full suss - we have been spoilt and become softies 🙂

soobalias - Member
sry druidh, edited to stop me getting another email slap from the slap happy mods.

b r - I've got a monkey build. I wouldn't get comfortable leg extension on your bike!

Yes, I am also worried about future back problems. At the end of the day, I've tried different sizes but I've never felt beat up on a full suss.

Listening to my body I think I'll go with the route that lessens or increases the chances of future back or knee issues. Hopefully we'll all be riding when we are 60 still.

You're worried about future back problems, yet you're riding a frame that's miles too small for you? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Do you think there could be any connection between these two things? You really aren't very bright are you Baldrick?

[img] [/img]

Hora - to put it bluntly, are you a shite rider? You seem quite fat, do you have any core strength to support your mass?
How do you think that you get used to a bike? get riding it for more than 1 ride!

[i]You seem quite fat[/i]

😯

I think binners gets away with this stuff 'cos a) he knows hora and b) we all know he's not *that* serious and c) he's quite funny.

the pictures back it up as does his facebook profile

Another alarming thing (for me) is the pain in my hands when I ride a hardtail.

that will be the fork.

I love these threads 😆

[i]Another alarming thing (for me) is the pain in my hands when I ride a hardtail. [/i]

That'll be because, wait for it, your frame's too small. Your weight is right over the front of the bike and a lot of it being supported by your hands. On a larger frame a greater proportion will be supported by your arse. I speaketh from experience here young grasshopper.

Another alarming thing (for me) is the pain in my hands when I ride a hardtail.

OI!! Planet-head!!! My forehead is bleeding now, as I've just repeatedly headbutted my keyboard

[i] “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”[/i]
? Albert Einstein

Hora you can be such a bellend some times 🙄 😆

😉

Should one buy a gate and not enjoy anything vaguely technical?

I have seen you ride get a gate

Years ago I got on well with my Rocky Mountain Vertex and then Santa Cruz Chameleons' then on a revisit I started picking up niggling pains, injuries etc

We all have bits of this niggly pain it is partly age , partly bumpy terrain and not really the bike.

TBH if the main sensation is not the burning in your legs and lungs then you are just not trying to pedal fast enough so MTFU

but shouldn't you also ride the frame that feels most comfortable to how you like your bikes?

Well yes but not when you are this wrong.
Your bikes are too small you are 4 inches taller than me and on the same size bike

TBH mark you like swapping bikes - not my think but free world.
The dream bike you seek is not here
hardtails hurt your back a little more than a FS but fitness will combat this.

i get the feeling you wont listen though

Is it possible that he is over-thinking this..?

I know that would seem highly unlikely given the level of under-thinking displayed in the more anthropological threads..

do you suffer from headaches Mark..?

My tuppence here. I rode an 29er Inbred when I first experimented with the whole concept. The first thing I noticed was just how bloody stiff the rear end was. It was great for sprinting away from the lights, but after 30mins of riding your back knew about it as well as your arms and so on. I picked up a secondhand Niner MCR 853 and within the first few pedal strokes the difference in the back end was amazing. Now I'm not about to suggest that it was different purely to the material, but more to the design. The MCR has S shaped seat and chain stays which must help to deal with the vibrations. At the end of the day the Inbred is cheap as chips gas pipe tubing with the cheapest way of constructing the back end. You truly do get what you pay for. My Soul has a nice slim back end with S stay chain stays and it too is really comfy on long rides.

i get the feeling you wont listen though

You're clearly familiar with his work 😉

Riding s bike too small is like a 50 yo wearing teenage fashion, looks and feels wrong and everyone laughs at you

Isn't he a recruitment consultant? So he must be used to people laughing and being rude to him

RichC, no offence fella but you follow me around on STW quite abit. Are you infatuated with me. I'm not interested if you are or are you one of those IT helpdesk bods frustrated that you never mad it off the deck?

I know nobody's going to listen but...

Over 3 inches shorter than Hora here at a smidge under 5ft11. Used to own a 29er Inbred... Ummed and ahhhed for a while over sizing as wasn't sure whether I should buy the 16" (obviously too small but I'd have ran a longer stem to compensate) or the 18"... In the end common sense prevailed... I bought the 18" and ran it with an 80mm stem, and it fitted like a glove. The 16" in hindsight would have looked ridiculous, and been less comfy!

Technical riding has FAR more to do with your ability rather than riding a bike that's too small for you...

Not getting beaten up on a hardtail has for more to do with your strength and fitness than your age...

I can understand if you can't be bothered to get stronger/fitter and just want to buy a full sus for comfort, that's totally fine, this is a hobby and is supposed to be fun not a competition. But FFS buy a bike that fits properly otherwise you're going to have the same problems again and again!

What a load of bollox Junkyard. I'm 5'11" and ride a tiny 14" 4x style bike as an all rounder, 6hr rides are fine and I'm older than hora.

No. With age (should) come skill and finesse so you don't get beat up.

Just my 2 cents.