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I have one, like it, and think it's a great idea to reduce the sting of a hardtail, with little weight downside. Makes a lot of sense to me, but wondered why they're so niche (or commercially unsuccessful)?
It's interesting (a bit) that Dekerf, Moots, Ibis make them and they are acclaimed. Why not more popular - just interested.
I like the idea but for me it fails in the same way as it works, its neither here nor there is it, if you want the compliance get a full suss loads to choose from that are just as light as a softail but more capaple, so for me it its hartail or full sus.
Not knocking them though, just an opinion.
The Scalpel is quite popular isn't it?
Otherwise I agree with what tinsy said.
Interesting - a point I have always wondered myself........whilst never having any desire to ride one of them.
Aus - You have one of the Global softails, yes?
Must admit I'm loving mine at the moment. Beautifully composed on singletrack, but with just enough give to soften out the bumps on the rough stuff.
[img] http://www.flickr.com/photos/toretz/4043497930/sizes/m/in/set-72157622662860648/ [/img]
It was ok with the rigid forks, but I've just fitted some 100mm Pace RC36 Stealths on the front, and they suit it to a tee 8)
Unfortunately I've just buggered the rear brake when shortening the hose (the hose hex nut snapped while trying to undo it at the lever end - figure it had been overtightened in the factory) so it's off the road while CRC sort out the warranty on it 🙁
What about the explosiv frames 😉 neither softtail neither hardtail
Yes I think they offer sufficiently little advantage over a hardtail to justify the extra cost and (admittedly small) weight gain, but offer few of the benefits of a FS.
I toyed with getting a Trek STP back in the day, but decided against it, they were nice bikes though.
AJ - yep, got a Global (and think I may have had time with yours a while back) - be interested to see your bike - can you email me pics?
And agree with others comments that benefits are modest, but over the course of a few hours, I think the slight compliance helps (at least with my aged back). The other thought is that we spend huge amounts on Ti frames to get a degree of spring, but a softail does this (more effectively?) and cheaper. They'll certainly never do a FS job.
Because to build a durable one you need either Ti or carbon stays - neither of which are going to make for a cheap bike. KHS did some a few years back with steel stays but they had a bad habit of breaking.
You can achieve more or less the same thing with a carbon post and a forgiving saddle for a fraction of the cost? As njee suggested, all the expense of looking after a rear suss, but without the dramatic performance improvement...
Sam I disagree. I have a Dekerf Team ST. There are two versions of this bike. One with ti chainstays and one with steel. The ti stayed ones did have a reputation for breakage at the BB end. The steel stayed version doesn't have a reputation for breakage. I guess it all depends on the design.
Because to build a durable one you need either Ti or carbon stays - neither of which are going to make for a cheap bike.
Using some spare parts, buying second-hand and getting some bits in the sales. I 've managed to build a Ti Softail with Pace forks and XT/XTR for about 600 quid - bargain'tastic 8)
With proper full-suss getting lighter and with technologies like pro-pedal or the Specialized Brain then I suspect there is less of a gap in the market for them to fill.
Plus the couple i've seen have had pretty buggered looking shocks from taking lateral loading that they weren't design for.
Oddly I found a new brand and soft tail today
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Long stem but I think it's lovely
[url= http://www.paduanoracing.com/home.html ]Paduano - In Italian[/url]
Very expensive and require more maintenance than a comparable hardtail with a fat rear tyre.