I’m sure it was meant tongue in cheek, but it always makes me laugh when people say that you don’t need X for mountain biking. We’re talking about riding around in circles to get muddy and have a laugh. Of course you don’t “need” any particular bike. You need whatever it is that you think you need in order to make that a fun and rewarding activity. What surprises me is how hard I’m finding it to decide what that is.

I had a similar issue that came to a head when we had our daughter. I had a Five and a Rock Lobster and one or the other seemed to go months without being didden. Sold them both and bought a Soul, just ride that whenever my limited time allows.

I’d be the first to admit that i’m not the best rider and can safely say that it is me holding the bike back, not the other way around!

Following on from this thread I decided to focus on the Five for a bit (because it’s fun and I ride for fun). I took it out last night in some truly filthy weather (dark, heavy rain, strong winds etc) and only went and beat the time that I’d set last week (in much better condition) on the FF29! Not just by a little bit either; just over 6 minutes faster for a 90 minute ride.

So, there we have it, proof that the Five is not just more fun than the FF29 on technical descents it’s also faster up the climbs and on the flat 🙂 Problem solved. Thanks for your help.