Currently have a pitch with lyrics on, 2 bikes before were a heckler and a spicy. I like the look of giving a bfe a go with the lyrics on. I ride in the peaks twice a week and trips to Wales/Lakes.

Just fancy something simple again without have to do bushes, bearings etc and the frame is cheap compared to replacing with a full suss.

My question is has anybody changed back and regretted it paticulary to something like a bfe. Cheers

Never regretted it as such… but going back to a FS was really nice last week.

Why not keep the pitch and build a hardtail as well?

That’s pretty much what I’ve done with my pitch (also with lyrics) and a chumba HX1 with revs set to 130mm, I’d not put lyrics on a HT, there comes a point where regardless of the forks the rear end doesn’t follow through anymore, I came to the conclusion after fitting 150mm Z1 RC2’s to my 456 that although it was fun it was actually slower and harder work than it was with 130mm forks.

gone back and for a few times, both is the way to go, but my only mtb now is a full susser.

I have one of each. HT keeps me sharp and the FS makes me feel like i’m better than I am.

if it’s the coil u turn lyriks, -you’ll love it
If it’s the fixed travel 160/170 lyriks you may find the front-end a bit too “different” to the back at times. -you’ll love it at times, but not always.

I slummed it for a year or so on a BFe (with lyrics) and a whippet and it was great – certainly not something you’d regret.
I ride in the Peak as well – Loss of the skill compensating rear sus was v noticeable on the whippet, obviously (had a couple of laughable attempts at Cavedale on it), but less so on the BFe which is a capable bike. Think you’d be happy doing the classic dark Peak rides on the BFe, although the longer loops (like 5 hrs +) might get a bit wearing depending on fitness.
Switched the BFe for a FS bike now and more happy with that tbh, but there’s not a great deal in it (I think a short travel FS would be my choice for classic UK moorland riding if you had to have one bike). Hear you on the shock, bushings etc. – total ballache mincing around with the linkage after a HT.

they are the air dual position lyrics so 160/130. I already have a road bike and commuter and unable to justify having both to the management so it’s 1 bike for each. Cotic site says the bfe is built to take 160 so if I can change between 130 to 160, just wondered how i will fare on the technical stuff.

Run it at 100 – 120mm of travel.

Depends on your riding I guess.

I built myself up a steel hardtail last year for exactly the same reasons, I also wanted a decent commuter bike too and an Orange Pure 7 fitted the bill perfectly.

In all honesty it’s ace, perfect for 90% of the riding I do. The back end feels nicely dampened and it’ll easily outclimb either of my full sussers, but its nowhere near as quick on the descents when the weather is dry. In the wet/mud though it’s perfect.

If it were my only bike I’d still miss my Camber.

It’s best to have both

I only have a BFe. Every time I get a fs I get bored and go back to it. Much like you, I also ride in the Peak pretty regularly and have zero problems. It’s just fun, simple, feels fast, sometimes is fast, and keeps me on my toes. It’s nice just to be able to grab the bike and go. May as well ride hardtails while my body can take it.

I’m currently running some Dual Air Pikes on mine, consistently set to 140, which are about right for everything. I’ve also got a 1 degree slackset kicking about which I’ll give a go when I can find a bike shop I trust to do the work.

Have been running my bfe for a couple of months now and really enjoying relearning all the basic stuff I should have learnt a long time ago.
Ps I swapped all the kit from my 2010 pro over so running 140 pikes. Generally having to think things through rather than just hucking it and not giving a shit how I land was what I was after. Ps riding FOD and cwncarn, both dh’s

david why would you run a bfe at 100mm travel????

Stu Tite..

sprocker – Member
they are the air dual position lyrics so 160/130

sounds great then.
i was just trying to say you’d probablly not want a 160 forked ht as your only option all the time. The option to go 130 makes a big difference. enjoy 🙂

Not quite answering your question, but when my 05 stumpy FSR got nicked a couple months back I replaced it with a Camber, lock outs at both ends!, now I can ride HT & FS any time.
I have loved riding HT again and the option to flick the switch and go back to FS when heading down has been well received by my body!

I went from a Reign to a Carbon 456 because I felt I was getting lazy. Really enjoyed the 456 but started to feel ruined after some tougher rides so now gone back to a FS (Intense 6.6) and don’t regret it one bit.
If I could’ve afforded it I would have kept the 456 frame and swapped bits over for winter/summer use.
Feel a much better rider after a couple of years on a hardtail…

Recently swapped all my bits over from a fisher Hifi carbon which I had at 120mm/120mm. Gone to a soul with 130mm forks and its great, anyone who says you cant go fast on a hardtail is wrong.

I’ve got a BFe and it’s brilliant!

Also rob jackson +1

robowns – Member
Recently swapped all my bits over from a fisher Hifi carbon which I had at 120mm/120mm. Gone to a soul with 130mm forks and its great, anyone who says you cant go fast on a hardtail is wrong

You can go fast on a FS too, with the added bonus that it doesn’t feel like you’ve been gang raped at the end of the ride.

Think I am going to order one and hang on the ptich frame and see how it goes before selling it on. Not sure i will go for a 100/120mm option though !

Went from a few bikes down to just one, and it’s a 140mm* Chameleon. Haven’t regretted it. Lifes too short to be messing about with pivots and bearings and another shock… Saves money and time, and TBH there’s not a massive amount of stuff that I’ve thought ” I’d have a crack at that on a FS, but not on a HT” and people aren’t screaming past me on decents!

* chose 140mm for the “do-it-all-ability” not too unwieldy for XC but enough for when it all get a bit “wooooer” if that makes any sense!!

I ride both, pretty evenly split, both got a lot to recommend them. Glad I can have both, if I could only have one I guess it’d be the full suss but I’d still be happy with the hardtail.

Fitting a saddle will prevent the bum rape sensation, surely?

And the standard issue ttfu/mtfu applies too..

You can go fast on a FS too, with the added bonus that it doesn’t feel like you’ve been gang raped at the end of the ride.

LOL, I can honestly say that I’ve only ever wanted a full suss on a couple of occasions, use it as an excuse to get fitter!

I run a BFe with coil Lyriks and I love it. For anything less than 2 hours riding it’s always my first choice

I also have a FS (Trek Remedy) for longer days, or more serious terrain, or the Alps, but for everything else the BFe gets picked.

I have a couple of hardtails and a FS
Just about to split and sell and buy One FS bike to rule them all
Did enjoy my last HT outing though my back didnt

Duplicate post.

At the moment I can’t afford both however for winter I want to run a hardtail as I never clean my bike and its gritstone/evil stuff. When it gets spring I’ll see if I can afford a decent full sus. Then I’ll have both.

Why a hardtail? It’ll be slower riding but in winter – riding slightly slower on descents isn’t a bad thing is it. It’ll also help retrain smoothness etc etc plus riding slower on descents means you get to lap up the descent more 😀

A c456 is a good compromise of lightness v strength IMO.

You’re trying to convince us you’ll keep a bike until Spring ?

I got bored on the FS because it felt like you had to go a lot faster to hit the bike/my limit. It was so much more fun going back to a Hardtail.
I maybe slower but I feel more skilled and more beaten up post ride. No regrets. It’s going to be a while before I touch a FS again.

david why would you run a bfe at 100mm travel????

Because he’s spent so much time riding road bikes recently that he’s forgotten how to manhandle slacker longer-forked bikes round corners, if he ever knew… 😛

Don’t have a FS, wouldn’t say no if someone bought me a suitable one. Love how having a bit more travel on the front (140mm in my case) means you can get up on the bars moto-style in corners, pumping the bike well into the fork travel but still having enough suspension left to nail a line smoothly when it’s rough.

If reeeeally pushed, say I needed to sell bikes for food, I’d keep just my HT.

You’re trying to convince us you’ll keep a bike until Spring ?

Well I doubt I can afford something like a decent Lapierre etc anytime soon sadly.

A c456 is a good compromise of lightness v strength IMO.

Isn’t it one of the few bikes you’ve not had?

Rode HT for a few years now after a long stint on FS, really sharpened up my line choices but is now killing my back so have gone back to FS. Hopefully I will a better rider 🙂

Isn’t it one of the few bikes you’ve not had?

I’ve never had a Commencal or a Lapierre. 8)

I’ve gone back to ht after a year of fs riding and i much prefer it tbh. Jumps better, looks better, is lighter and much less hassle. No regrets here!

I am only riding a hardtail at the moment (Rocky Ridge with coil Pikes). It is ace, but my back is not happy with going out too long! A couple of hours is about the most I am happy with, so I am getting a new FS in January to let me get out on longer rides in the new year.

That said, my riding has improved a LOT over the last few months, and even with a prior 4 year lay-off I think I am probably riding better than I was when I was out pretty much every day on the Yeti 575/Orange Patriot!