Can your body be too old for hardtails?

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.

RichC, no offence fella but you follow me around on STW quite abit. Are you infatuated with me.

bless. I am just stunned by how stupid you are tbh, and I find it quite interesting as I rarely talk/hear the views of imbeciles so you give an interesting insight to what its like living with an IQ of 60.

With age (should) come skill and finesse

with age comes ‘the fear’ and getting off and walking the really tricky bits for some of us.

bless. I am just stunned by how stupid you are tbh, and I find it quite interesting as I rarely talk/hear the views of imbeciles so you give an interesting insight to what its like living with an IQ of 60.

Start growing up.

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

With age, some are blessed with better longevity and can carry on as they please. Others fall by the wayside due to wear n tear and old injuries. The third way is those that listen to their bodies and manage down what they used to be able to do whilst maximising their longevity IMO.

As I’ve said before I’ve ridden bigger and smaller frames and also a variety of materials. The net result is the same sadly. The last visit to Chiropractor was to sort out the muscles etc around my hip.

Im new here so should maybe stay out if it but…

Hora, are you aware that they are just trying to give you (good)advice?

The bike was way too small. Im unsure why you won’t accept that.

Stop focusing on the current hardtail frame thats ‘hurting me. ALL hardtail frames cause me discomfort.

Thats fair enough, but buying a frame way too small certainly won’t help matters.

Start growing up.

Mummy I want the red bike! No, the blue one! Can I have a pink one? I don’t like this one any more. Its rubbish! I want another one! I want that ONE! No… wait… that one instead! But with betterer bits on it. And sparkly stuff!… and… and… AND…..

😆

ALL hardtail frames cause me discomfort.

I know! I’ll go and buy myself another. I refer you to my Einstein quote:

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results

Binners! I’ll slap your legs young man 😆

Please just buy another Blur 4X and have done with it FFS! 😉

How do you even ride a 16″?

I’ve got the seatpost at max extension on my XL sov and I’m 6’3…

Buy a 4x and let me machine you a new link so the large can run the longer shock without hitting the frame.

PMSL @ this thread – FWIW I think you need to look at your shoes and pedals as that is where your problem lies. Obvious innit, you’re uncomfortable and have sore hands caused by being unable to support your (apparently considerable) weight properly on your legs 😉

Seriously though, I’m 6’1″ and I’ve had 6 Inbreds (yes SIX!) from 16″ to 20″ and the only one I’ve ever felt comfortable on was an 18″ 456 summer season with a 130mm fork. The fact it felt good came as such a shock to me that I ‘did a Hora’ and sold it!

There is something about Inbreds which just don’t suit me and I’ve tried every conceivable fork/stem/seatpost/fork/size combo and have had to conclude that they are not for me. It’s a weird thing, so just accept it for what it is, sell the frame and buy something else you won’t like 😉

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.

yes well spotted I am alone in suggesting that the frame size is too small..no one before or after me said this.

I am flattered I am on your radar

Stop focusing on the current hardtail frame thats ‘hurting me. ALL hardtail frames cause me discomfort.

Don’t fancy buying my Turner Flux do you Hora?

I would normally not bother with a thread like this but at 6ft and after buying a 16″ 456 for the same reason as Hora it really put me off HTs especially as 456s are apparently fantastic. I found mine uncomfortable and I wasn’t keen on the handling. I ended up with my medium Spesh Enduro and found that much better. I now have a medium BFe and find that fantastic, it isnt much different size wise than the 456 but it feels loads better. One thing that I think helps is that I am trying to build my quite weak core muscles. This makes riding much more comfortable.

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.

But I bet you look daft doing it……

But I bet you look daft doing it……

not at all;

Have you ever met another trail rider who looks buff/cool and good looking? The only good looking male specimens seem to come with a female/similar looking rider both on basic bikes. STW males are all similar so no matter what you wear and ride- you’ll still look STW’Factory’

only if you are a soft shyte

This^

If anythings gonna go first it’ll be the hard tail, knocked seven bags of **** out of it last night, it was moaning like a stuck pig last night.

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.

I disagree with that one. Shorter bike, you’re more upright, the above pic is handy reference. Longer bike you’re more stretched out and the weight is more distributed.

I speaketh from experience too, my 22″ Five got built up last week, hehe.

Aren’t you supposed to muscle the forks round/make them work/have your weight over the front on a hardtail though?!!

Nah, let the forks do the job. You get the best position you can and let the bike do the rest.
Probably all wrong, but I tend to creep up the rear of the saddle so my arms are outstretched and body is back, the pedals seem easier to press hard on that way. You don’t want to be pandering to your bike, it’s meant to do what you want it to do.

Aren’t you supposed to muscle the forks round/make them work/have your weight over the front on a hardtail though?!!

Not while sat down I don’t. If I want my weight forward I stand up. Having a small bike so you can simultaneously be off the back and weight forward sounds a bit bonkers?

My other bike is a 21″ Scandal 29er, run most of last year rigid. I find the transition between the two bikes brutal, totally different muscles required on the hardtail. At first it feels totally draining as you rarely get to sit down for long, generally end up forgetting about it once getting a bit fitter.

Can your body be too old for hardtails?

No. But full sus bikes are usually more fun, more comfortable and faster (if they fit).

Thanks to binners for making this thread.. er, well, yeah just making it.

full sus bikes are usually more fun

I think it depends where you’re riding.

I have fun riding a hardtail on stuff that would be pretty dull on an FS bike. I had even more fun riding my cross bike on inappropriate stuff a few weeks back.

too old for a hardtail? i don’t know about that but (at 44) i’ve recently found out i have a few bulging discs in my neck. i’m sufficiently concerned that i may well be riding full sus more in future. who knows what damage there is in the rest of my spine. oh, and i’m not a soft shite:-)

I was almost tempted to offer up my 4x to Hora just to end this thread….but then I thought at 6’2 eve :lol:n the large 4x is probably going to be a bit short for him so I’ll hang on to it.

6’2″ on a 16″ cheese and rice. I’m just 5’8″ and thought I needed a lot of post on my 16″ inbreds

you’re only as old as the person you feel

At 55 my arse just can’t take the battering it used to. 😯 Done Chamonix & Les Gets on a HT but now I keep it for local rides.
IMO fitnes has absolutely nothing to do with it either. My fitness hasn’t changed much either way in the last 10 years but riding the Dales & Scotland would be a lot less comfortable on my HT.
Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll never get rid of the HT (Trusty Rusty) & use it often but my 5 is like a hovercraft in comparison.