Full Sus. Facts and Fiction?

Why do so many people seem convinced that rear suspension is the key to mastering so many aspects of mountainbiking? Is it marketing hype? Peer pressure? Are bike makers out of ideas and buzz words to market hardtails to people so they just dont bother? Or are the profit margins somehow much greater on full sussers?

In my own experience I’ve found a hardtail to be as fast, and in many cases faster than a full squish. Almost always more satisfying/rewarding. It’s lighter, requires less maintenance and you seem to get more respect for riding them from other bikers.

Yet despite all this some people seem utterly convinced that the path to great skill and enjoyment can only be found on a susser.

Thoughts?

mine is comfy

LOL – I get flamed for such suggestion 🙂

Deep troll post alert ?

This can’t be for real?

Why don’t you ride rigid?

1/10

blah blah blah. same old same old.

ride what you like, as long as you enjoy it who cares.

Full suspension means that my back doesn’t hurt as much afterwards.

Full sussers are faster, the possible exceptions being road races, cyclocross and some XC races.

As for which is more fun, that depends on how you precieve fun, if its trying to hold on as your hardtail batters you through yet another rock garden (not the one or two “rocks” you get at trail centers) then a hardtail is for you, if you get your kicks from speed then riding stanage casueway pre the “improvement” works on a hardtail would be your idea of hell!

I’m not trolling. Im genuinely curious as to what people think are the reasons why hardtails rarely get a look in when it comes to that whole grey area of progressing. I’ve got a rigid (does my bmx count?) a ht and a downhill bike. The hardtail gets used 90% of the time.

thisisnotaspoon
Full sussers are faster, the possible exceptions being road races, cyclocross and some XC races.

The other exceptions being on most tight twisty technical trails.

I like bikes.

Yet despite all this some people seem utterly convinced that the path to great skill and enjoyment can only be found on a susser.

And the problem with that is…..??

Well I’d personally say that over just about any situation a full sus is not inherently faster, but is likely faster due to better control of the rear end traction. That said there are certainly times when it hinders, so the two have to be traded off. Also a recent study at Glasgow uni showed that under some conditions, full sus actually a negative.

Old Bones…?!

PeterPoddy

And the problem with that is…..??

It might be misleading? It might be a waste of money? I didnt realise it was impossible to discuss this without a war.

Fiction – full suss requires more maintenance, absolute b0ll0x in my experience

I think objectively, full susser are faster nearly all the time, certainly they have better comfort (not to be overlooked) better traction, and better cornering to pick three off the top of my head. That’s not to say that some individuals may be faster on a hard tail than some other individuals on a full suss, but for the “average” rider full suss is a better all round choice.

Now, having said all that, it’s a hobby, and isn’t necessarily about objective choices. which is why I ride a Chameleon 🙂

It might be misleading? It might be a waste of money?

It might not be. You might be wrong. I might be wrong. Who cares if FS isn’t faster. Why does it matter if it is?

It’s not WHAT you ride that counts, it’s THAT you wide that matters

🙂

it’s THAT you wide that matters

😆

Depends where you ride dunnit? 8″ full suss in the knarly New Forest prob not as greater benefit as Peak style hurtling..

People who ride rigidz are less clever, so dont have the understanding of supsension so dont buy it and they are on minimum wage so cant afford a decent bike either.

It’s all bikes, it’s all good. 🙂

My hardtail is generally faster but my full sus bike climbs better despite its weight. (Specialized S Works M4 hardtail V’s Specialized Stumpjumper FSR)

Fiction – full suss requires more maintenance, absolute b0ll0x in my experience

I cant remember the last time I had to replace the bushings and bearings and get my rear shock serviced for my hardtail.

How long do you keep a full sus for, a few months?

I got a full sus as my back had had enough of long rides on a hardtail.

People who prefer hardtails are all fitter, better looking, conscientious, socially aware people who have ‘been into biking since the beginning’, people who ride full sus are the antithesis of this.

I love my full sus…

FS, just on environmental grounds

It’s well known that the less suspensionthere is, the more dust is kicked up 😀

my back hurts more on full suss.

i think people who read mbr are almost scared of hardtails/ seem to think they are a bit luddite/ Give respect for it – I could have never ridden that on a hardtail. whereas really you can get any bike down most trails

🙄

The other exceptions being on most tight twisty technical trails.

schladming and champery could both be described as tight and twisty?

Hardtails may well be best for the trail center brand of tight and twisty, but for 90% of the riding I like to do, i’m fairly sure a full susser would be faster. The hardtail just feels out of controll when things begin to get messy.

If I was tackling a world cup dh trail I’d probably take my dh bike. I wouldnt cop out of it on the ht though. I’d love to give champery a rattle on either.

I went back to a hardtail for racing for a year, I found it was fine on the descents, you just tend to bounce off things, but it was slower climbing and on the flat. With FS you can just sit and turn the pedals over, with a hardtail the back end’s skipping about all the time.

That’ll depend on your pedalling style though, I never tend to pedal out of the saddle, people who do will probably get more out of a hardtail.

Swings and roundabouts and that…

i’m fairly sure a full susser would be faster. The hardtail just feels out of controll when things begin to get messy.

this may indeed be so, but isn’t it like sex ? Why would you want it to be over sooner ? And I enjoy being less in control, makes it more exciting!

I’m middle-aged, I have 3 hardtails and 3 full sus bikes. As you get older, full sus is easier to ride for longer durations. I like a hardtail for twisty, fairly flat rides and full sus when the ride includes descending as it means the hardtail isn’t bashing me so hard up the Arsenal I might as well be drinking from the warm tap.

A more interesting question is how much travel becomes too much for UK XC and how much is too little. I think 100mm is the modern minimum and 150mm is the XC max. My first suspension fork had about 70mm iirc (a Judy SL back in the day).

Spent £1200 on a full susser frame 12 mths ago as a repalcement for the £700 rockhopper, never got rid of the Rockhopper and am now looking to sell the FS as i prefer the feel that you get from a hardtail.

It’s all personal preference and what you feel comfortable on at the end of the day but i hate people who say ‘oh i would never ride a full susser or full sussers are cr&p’ when they have never tried it,, how can they know it wouldn’t suit them 🙄

A more interesting question is how much travel becomes too much for UK XC and how much is too little. I think 100mm is the modern minimum and 150mm is the XC max. My first suspension fork had about 70mm iirc (a Judy SL back in the day).

Do you reckon in 10 years time we’ll be sitting around talking on internet forums asking how we ever coped on “only” 100mm travel? 😉

what travel? good question, i went to 5″ a few years back for XC/trail/freeride lite/jeycore downhill/woodsy playing/all mountain/radsikdudetothemax riding, now a 4″ bike just doenst seemt o be as fun, bit like going back to a rigid/bmx, ive gotten used to pumping the fork so when theres no/less suspension there i find it hard to get the front wheel up.

On the other hand i think geometry has more impact, as i accidently rode the 5″ forks locked ouu at cannock (yes, it realy is that technical) and it felt fine.

70mm? luxury! I had to make do with 63mm RSTs!

I’ve a 5 Spot and Hummer and every time I ride the latter, I can’t but help feel that the former is just more fun. Riding up the West Highland Way from Kinlochleven last Sunday, I found the technical climb considerably easier on the Turner than on the Cove when I rode it previously. A direct comparison is fair as it was the same wheel, fork, bars, stem combo on both. A long ride on the Hummer will usually render me feeling more tired than a similar ride on the Turner. For me, it has to be full sus for mountain biking though that doesn’t seem to stop me regularly riding a rigid steel singlespeed nor a steel cross bike…..now does that prove a point or not? I think I’m about to vanish up my own trouser lef in a puff of logic!

Cheers

Sanny

I am getting deja vu.