My. biking or biking in the mountains

[sirios]

Some people may be new to what is now called " Mt. Biking " and may want to consider that The present form of this sport is not the only way to ride in the " mountains " or off road .
A lot of people see most riders on full suspensions bikes , doing kamakazi downhills at blinding speeds , and performing aerial
acrobatics . This is great IF you can do it or even want to learn to do it.
There is however a more tame version of off road riding that has been around even prior to " Mt. Bikes", that being , just riding your bike in the forest or ?
Before venturing to the shops to make your new and exciting purchase , one might consider just what type of riding you are going to do MOST of the time .
If it's the wheels leaving the ground type of riding , then a full suspension is a must , but if it's the more tepid version ,then save yourself a bundle of cash and go for a hard tail.
However if price is not an issue but coolness is , then go for the full suspension .
Remember , fun is ultimately subjective , so it doesn't matter what you are riding as long as you are enjoying yourself .

 

[steve_sordy]

Hi @sirios I can see where you are coming from and I agree with the thrust of it; buy the bike for what you will be riding and enjoy it!

I have a few reservations about your conclusion that you should buy a hardtail though.

# You are not allowing for ambition; some people may only be able to do "X" today, but have a burning desire to do "3X" in time. E-bikes are so expensive that few can afford to change every year as their riding skills improve. The direction I have observed is that riders buy bigger and better over time.
# You are also not allowing for the fact that e-bikes come in a wide variety of forms. Not all are 170mm travel monsters designed for the type of acrobatics that you describe above. There are full suss emtbs that come with 130mm travel or less and whilst in skilled hands they are capable of some acrobatics, they are designed for "riding through the forest". Admittedly with the wheels leaving the ground now and again, but not by much.
# Full suspension mtbs are just better at climbing, that is why the XC champions all ride FS, even with their 100mm travel or less, steep-geometry bikes.
# You also make no allowance for those that just can't deal with a hardtail for physical reasons. My knee and back problems forced me away from my hardtail and that was 11 years ago!
# I have never ridden an emtb hardtail, but many that have say that the extra weight makes the backend even more unforgiving than on an analogue HT. I defer to their experience.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy your hardtail emtb and that you have it for many years to come!

 

[Rusty]

Hell, it was only 10 years ago I raced a fully rigid Singlespeed.

 

[The Hodge]

Just my own thoughts ( and from what I have surmised in my limited time on this forum) ...bit of a pointless thread really as I'm guessing that most folks on here won't be new to mountain biking ..perhaps to e- mountain biking ..but like myself will have had many years experience on a normal mountain bike ..and will have decided long ago what type of bike they prefer..

 

[Pabs]

I like big jumps as much as the next guy, but thats not all of my rides. My riding is everything from attempting decent sized jump lines to bikepacking and gentle rides with my little dog by my side, as well as all day battery depleting rides. I still think there is a place for a full suspension bike on simple rides from a comfort point of view, especially emtb as they negate traditional HT/FS arguments. Forest roads and bridleways are not perfectly surfaced at times, nature can block them in lots of interesting ways, they still have undulations, deep puddles and bumps to navigate and I'd be surprised if in your bikes life you didnt have to tackle a kerb or two at the very least. A FS bike will provide more comfort and control in most of those instances.

Sure if you are reasonably young/quite flexible or just want the feeling a hardtail gives you then no problem crack on. If you're older and value comfort or don't want the terrain to drain your energy as quickly, or want to progress your riding in many ways (not just jumping), then a full suspension is the way to go......I'd imagine thats atleast 75% of you lot

What I'm getting at is that I'd reccomend a full suspension bike to the majority, especially both ends of the riding spectrum of people and terrain

 

[The Hodge]

Sirios ..yeah I still think your post was pretty pointless..
As I pointed out the majority of folks have already had mtb experience ..and in the majority of cases are wanting to know how bikes of certain brand ride from people who have already bought them ..not what "type" of bike to buy ..
It doesn't take a genius to work out that a hardtail will cost a whole lot less than a full suspension bike ..
As you yourself concluded ( and Im pretty certain this was your conclusion as it was very definitely your last paragraph on the original post ) ..It doesn't really matter what you ride as long as you are enjoying yourself ..
So like I said ..pretty pointless !?

 

[deksawyer]

Some people may be new to what is now called " Mt. Biking " and may want to consider that The present form of this sport is not the only way to ride in the " mountains " or off road .
A lot of people see most riders on full suspensions bikes , doing kamakazi downhills at blinding speeds , and performing aerial
acrobatics . This is great IF you can do it or even want to learn to do it.
There is however a more tame version of off road riding that has been around even prior to " Mt. Bikes", that being , just riding your bike in the forest or ?
Before venturing to the shops to make your new and exciting purchase , one might consider just what type of riding you are going to do MOST of the time .
If it's the wheels leaving the ground type of riding , then a full suspension is a must , but if it's the more tepid version ,then save yourself a bundle of cash and go for a hard tail.
However if price is not an issue but coolness is , then go for the full suspension .
Remember , fun is ultimately subjective , so it doesn't matter what you are riding as long as you are enjoying yourself .

That's a piss poor rant, right there. 3/10. Could do better.