Mountain Biking - FS Mtn Bike vs. Hardtail Ti

I'm currently in the process of looking for a new mtn bike. My Lbs wants to sell me an Airborne Lancaster. They claim that I will get as good a ride as an al. FS.

I'm also looking at the Titus HCR which is a ti hardtail.

I keep wondering if I should consider a FS since I already have a steel hardtail.

Because I want to keep weight down, I'm thinking a Ti hardtail will be the best option for me. I like the simple is better philosophy, but I do ride rocky, rooty terrain and keep thinking a FS will be better.

I've not been able to find either of these frames to demo and I may have to buy without doing a demo. I will need something in the XXS or XS range.

Also, while the price of the Airborne frame looks like a good deal I most likely will have to do a custom build which will add $400.

Any thoughts?

Kathi

how long have you been riding your HT? If you have been riding a hard tail for a couple of years, then going full suspension will probably benefit your riding ability. If you havn't been riding that long you will not have learned all the skills necessary to make a FS rig more effective than a hard tail. Budget is another thing to consider. No FS bike under 2 grand will be as light as you want, but since you are looking at Ti hard tails budget might not be an issue.

If you do want to go FS take a look at the Specialized Epics. They pedal like a HT and takes hits like a full suspension rig.

Thanks for your input. I've had this bike since 1995. I'm really more of a roadie than a mtn biker but I like riding trails too. This summer I noticed that my bike had a very long stem on it 112mm, my shoulders always hurt when I rode it and my hands would go numb. Don't know why no one ever noticed the stem. Well, we put a 90 mm stem on it and now my lower back hurts. I felt I couldn't get centered on the bike and it just doesn't feel right. I already had 1600 mi of road riding this season and I was doing rails to trails, 30 to 60 miles per day, so fitness wise the mileage shouldn't have bothered me. The LBS doesn't have an explanation of why my lower back hurt. It only hurt on the bike, not at night, etc. I solved the problem by pushing my hips forward and flattening my back. I traded one problem for another, my hands and shoulders feet great, now my back hurts!

When they built this bike they shortened the tt but didn't change the rest of the geometry of the frame. Some believe that it affects the handling and rider position of the bike if the st and ht angles aren't changed.

So I'm thinking that getting a bike with different geometry, might actually improve my skills with better handling, etc.

I didn't get to try the new stem off road, just rails to trails, because I went over the handlebars, injured my elbow and have not been able to ride. Besides its rained so much here that I'm not sure the trails are rideable.

I probably will stay with a hardtail. It's a difficult decision because the shops around here don't stock many small frames and no one carries Titus. And the Airborne will have to be custom built which brings the cost of the Airborne frame up to same as the Titus frame.

Since I primarily ride road I don't want to go with Seven or Serotta. $2-3,000 fully built is the right price range.

Everyone raves about how good fs is so I just want to be sure I'm not short changing myself by staying with a hardtail.

Kathi

$2-3000 will build you one of the finest hard tails imaginable. In that price rance you could probably look to a small frame builder to mabey build you something more custom since fit is an issue. one of the more recent issues of Bike Magazine had reviews on some sweet HT's that were in your price range. Just shop around as much as you can on the Internet and whatever you end up chosing make sure you get a really good fit. You can have almost any stem/handle bar arangement you want just ask an expert at you LBS for a fitting.

Kathi, are you racing or just riding for "competive fun"? From what I know about you from your posts, I would consider you pretty hardcore into cycling. What I don't know is about your mtn biking pursuits. What do you want to do with the bike?

To not open up the whole HT v. FS debate, I'll just say that a FS will allow you to ride longer in more control. The suspension will soak up the hits and even some "mistakes". A HT is great if you're into lightweight and racing!

Some, of the Women Specific Designs are great for smaller riders. One to especially consider is Santa Cruz. They were the company that kinda headed off the WSD bikes. Juliana Fortado (Sp?) created their WSDs and they are awesome bike! www.santacruzmtb.com or specifically their WSD Full Squish bike http://www.santacruzmtb.com/bicycles/julianas/juliana.asp they also make a nice hardtail.

Good Luck!

L8R

a2psyklnut, you bring up some good points. If I were just riding the short single tracks around here my old bike would be fine. However, we tend to spend all day on our bikes.

I was thinking lightweight was better because of my size 105lbs, thus the hardtail, but it sounds like a fs will be more comfortable for the longer mileage that we tend to do and give me more control.

For 5 years I rode a very stiff Cannondale and its made me leary of aluminum. I've known about the Juliana's for a long time, in fact my favorite saddle is a Juliana, but since they were al I sort of dismissed them.

We have a Santa Cruz dealer here, but I'm not sure I'd trust the guy to fit me on a bike.

A woman on another forum just said she ordered a Juliana in April and it has not come in yet.

I've heard that Speedgoat stocks a lot of small mtn bikes. They are about 5 hrs from here so I'm planning a trip to Pa. to visit them when my elbow heals.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Kathi

Originally posted by lovemyswift
The LBS doesn't have an explanation of why my lower back hurt. It only hurt on the bike, not at night, etc. I solved the problem by pushing my hips forward and flattening my back. I traded one problem for another, my hands and shoulders feet great, now my back hurts!



Kathi,

I had a similar experience. After unsuccessfully trying a half dozen stems of different lengths and rise I decided to investigate the possibility that it was me and not the bike. When my chiropractor showed me the X-rays of my neck and spine it was obvious why I suddenly had neck pain while riding my bike when I didn't previously have any. I had four vertebrae in my neck and upper back out of alignment.

Before you spend money on another bike you might visit your doctor to rule out the possibility that something is out of alignment.