A do it all bike?

[cryptout]

I'd like to get a bike that can do trails but also commute, pull a dog trailer for a medium sized dog (14kg) and add some occasional light camping gear.
I like what Focus has to offer and am in doubt what to choose .

Is there anyone here that had the same use case, and if so what did you end up with?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Pretty much any bike will do what you want.

Don't think that just because something has 150mm or 180mm suspension front and back that it won't still ride on a road just fine - it doesn't suddenly become an enormous tractor.

Tyre choice will make your biggest difference when finding the optimum compromise between the different things you're wanting to do.

Remember, with an emtb, you have a motor, so the extra weight/resistance/suspension inefficiencies become far less of an issue compared to trying to make the same decisions with a normal MTB.

 

[cryptout]

So a hardtail is really not a smart choice I guess. Maybe only the lesser maintenance not having rear linkage and shock is worth something.

 

[Zimmerframe]

A hardtail can be a good choice. It's lighter, as you say - mechanically simpler, normally considerably cheaper.

It can also be a bad choice. Many who buy a hardtail are convinced they won't need more (like myself), end up straying further and further from what they imagined they'd use the bike for - possibly because it's electric, you go further easier, so you end up exploring more trails and areas - which leads to more interesting trails and excitement You end up mixing the endorphins from pedalling with the adrenaline from descending, so it becomes addictive. For most people the rear linkage and shock are not high maintenance - be it a hardtail or full suspension it's normally chains and cassettes which are the high maintenance items as people adjust to changing gear smoothly and easing off the power.

 

[cryptout]

I ended up with a Focus Thron2. Only have it for a week now so no long trips done yet.