[Closed] Will swapping to a carbon hardtail make me faster?

Would partly depend on how good a bike rider you are, if you're good + can put up with the additional discomfort then yes a carbon hardtail is probably quicker on a Merida event (at least the couple I've done). Personally I'd pick the Trance every time though as it's more fun on the downhills (and faster) + more comfy but then I just try and finish rather than place :p

No swapping to a carbon or lightweight bike won't make you faster , it might help with fatigue but the only thing that will make you faster is better/more specific training.At the end of the day both bikes would be running on the same engine (you).

Yes

I've done a bit of everything so my bike handling's ok and I placed second on the 50k at Llanwrtyd. I'm just wondering what losing all that weight could do for me really. 😕

I'm also looking at the fact I'd probably ride it more because I wouldn't constantly be worrying about wearing pivots out! 😀

I tend to ride my Trance with the propedal on full all the time anyway, although it's not a lockout.

Ooh decisions!!!! 🙄

Faster if you can hammer the hardtail and put up with it. Not sure if this is just a load of bolio's, but I always think there comes a point on stuff like Meridas were the sheer lack of weight can almost be a disadvantage? I built a superlight Carver hardtail and in the Peaks it was like a useless bucking bronco.

As someone who as has put on some weight of late I can confirm a bit less weight will make you faster up hills (reverse true in my case!).

Full suss vs hardtail speed - well there is a reason the xc boys have both but mostly ride the hardtail. When I switched from full suss to hardtail it gave me a real understanding of how lazy I'd become with lines etc. If your skills are up to it and you are prepared to adapt your riding it will probably be quicker.

Yes +1 😆

you sure you can lose 4lb in that frame swap?

I was thinking of this?

[url= http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/scott_scale_rc_frameset_.html ][/url]

If you are getting podium places then I would guess you might be one of the few people for whom a light bike is worthwhile!

I race a 25lb ful sus, and a 22lb hardtail. and have used both on NPS, Midlands XC, many 24hrs and eduros (Dyfi, Merida etc.) and IMO on the right course then a hardtail is faster, but on the wrong course the hardtail in definitely slower. i.e. it depends how knarly and root riddled it is (the worse the ground conditions, then the more benefit a full sus makes as it can ride at high speed across them. as a rule of thumb (which I don't always follow) then I use a hardtail for short courses (upto 2.5hrs) and a full sus for long courses. and on 24hr events I'll often swap machines mid race as conditions change. personaly I'd say keep both a HT and a FS in the stables. but if you want a single lightweight bike that'd race all courses, then try a a Giant Anthem Advanced.

so to answer your question about a HT vs FS on an Enduro course, then IMO the answer is no, it won't make you faster on a HT, since the fatigue and nature of many enduro courses play a big part.

Ditto the above!

I have an S-works Epic (alumin.) and an S-works carbon hardtail - both have the same forks, wheels, and similar geometry
In my experiance the hardtail is slightly quicker over a typical xc course. It feels much faster to ride, but in reality there is probably not much real time advantage - stating the obvious but quicker on the climbs while losing out on descents and rooty/sketchy pedally bits.
For longer rides/races the full suspension probably has the edge.

Thanks for the feedback guys. 🙂

Does anyone recall the test they did at the old Sandwell 24 course. Riders were asked to do a lap on both hardtails and short travel sussers. They all thought that they had gone quicker on hardtails but in fact the opposite was true.

Over a long ride like a merida I'd say the full suss may be quicker as you will get more rest or speed on the downs.

On a shorte course then the hardtail may be quicker.

Sprint- hardtail
Endurance- full suss.

Having said that whenever I see winners of 24hr events they are on hardtails or even rigid bikes.

Yeah, common misconception about what feels fast.

Anyway, the short answer is the it's really impossible to say for sure but it's likely that at 50k the difference will be fairly small - a hardtail will probably be a bit faster overall assuming not-too-bumpy-trails but the full susser will be a little less tiring, again more so the bumpier it is.

On a longer course (eg 100k) then the less fit you are, probably the more benefit you'll get from the full susser as you'll feel a lot less tired towards the end from the bumps and simply from having to get in/out of the saddle less. The fitter the rider, the better they'll cope with the fatigue so the less benefit (though the full susser will probably allow them to train harder sooner afterwards).

You may find that the best for you isn't a swap to a hardtail but rather a full susser with 'short' travel (eg 100mm) but light weight, a taut shock like an rp23 and a more racy position (longer top tube most likely).

Having said that whenever I see winners of 24hr events they are on hardtails or even rigid bikes.

Unless things have changed a lot in the past three years (since I did my last 24) then that doesn't tally with what I've seen - usally a 50/50 split.

Well I feel fast on mine, or did until Jon dropped me on his alloy singlespeed uphill!

Matthew

I reckon for Meridas you just might come out ahead- the ones I've done seem to feature an awful lot of fireroad/less technical stuff, and I reckon on those bits you'd gain more than you'd lose on the bumpier bits.

OTOH for something like a 30 mile loop in the Peak you'd probably be worse off. So... it depends!

Right, i've tested them, though not carbon vs alu.
I tested a Spesh Stumpjumper HT against a Stumpjumper FSR both were 2004 bikes, so that means F'all 2day innit.

Test part 1 - Ride a long uphill tarmac climb of 1.5 miles using a HRM and keeping as close as poss to 150bpm. The hardtail was 20 seconds faster.

Test part 2 - Ride/roll back down. There was no difference that I could measure with a stopwatch.

Test part 3 - Ride a 500m off road climb with rocky rooty bits as fast as poss. The FSR was 10 seconds faster. On the hardtail I had to choose a line, on the FSR I just ploughed straight through.

Test part 4 - Ride/roll back down. There was no difference that I could measure with a stopwatch, though I was more confident on the FSR.

I used AB, BA for the tests. Both bikes had same tyres, same pressure, etc, as far as I could.

My current race bike - carbon hardtail. I dunno why 🙂

SB