dsilver668

NOTE: BF was being a bit slow and the thread got posted twice. We are cleaning that up.
Ok I am taking a walk on the wild side.. I have been posting in the roadie section for a while but never paid any homage to the MTB group. So here it goes....

I love my road bike. I have a K2 full suspension mountain bike and it is ok. It doesn't have a Truvativ bottom bracket and I am sure there are better group sets out there. I was wondering what I can do to get the most out of my current bike. Basically riding around town is great. down hill is fun with the full suspension but climbing, well stinks and that is an understatement. I have tried tightening the rear shock. there isn't a lock out from what I see, but at the same time I see tons of high end full suspension bikes on the market. Am I missing something? Has the technology improved that much that climbing is no longer an issue? The bike is heavy and solid. If I could get the slop out then I don't think I would be looking else ware. What are you riding and why? What can I do to get the drive train to not be so sloppy. I keep looking at the Specialized Stump Jumper or Rocky Mountain Vertex and drooling. Is this ok? Will the K2 get jealous?

pwyll99

This can also be broken down into the type of full-suspension design, XC, All-mountain, or Downhill/Freeride. A XC should climb good, the all-mountain is ok and, well, the Downhill/Freeride is for going down not up. From your post it sounds like you're XC oriented as the Stumpjumper and Vertex are XC designs. All FS designs have improved a lot in recent years.

dminor 

Not knowing which age or model your K2 is, I'll say that yes, as a whole, a lot has changed in the last few years. Pedalling-platform shocks resurrected a lot of designs that were destined for obscurity because, suddenly, those designs that climbed/pedaled poorly became acceptable. Plus, there have been a lot of newer designs that pedal pretty effeciently without even needing a platform shock.

On top of that, full suspension that pedals uphill well, yet is very active and supple on the roughs and descents has gotten lighter overall. You really can have your cake and eat it too these days. I would seriously look at FSRs or an RM Slayer instead.

dsilver668

Ok cool. The K2 I got was from three or so years ago. It was from performance bike, and in the down hills it is so comfy but I lose so much climbing it is a real pain. I was riding on road and did the climb up old route 40 over donner pass with it.
Man that hurt, but it was beutiful. 1500 feet in 4 miles. I grew up riding a mongoose bmx and a rigid is also some what less expensive, i.e. some XC bikes are in the 4k range where for 1500 you get a killer ridgid, or 1800 is a cf frame.

Lebowski

i ride an 08 specialized epic comp. its my only FS bike. the brain lives up to the hype. rides like a hardtail up hill and is smooth every where else. i've heard alot of trash talking about the brain but i can say nothing but good things about it. it works flawlessly.

FS bikes have come along way in the past few years most of the bikes now have 4 pivot points in the back instead of one or two.

granted the epic is an XC race bike but i am really thin and not too much of a daredevil so it can handle everything i throw at it. 4 inches isnt a lot of rear float but as long as i am not taking any huge jumps its all good.

as for the drive train, i dunno what to tell you. my only advice is not to cheap out on components. from my experience anything but top shelf drivetrain parts have proven them selves completley worthless. and i've had better experience with SRAM than shimano.

mtnbiker66

Yes I ride a rigid,hardtail, and full squish.

XTR

I started racing before there were FS bikes. My first front suspension was a noodle of a fork that I put on my Bridgestone MB4, never really realized how bad it was till I bought my first C-dale. What a difference. Then I was dealing with elasomer sponge springs till I got my first Air oil, Oh My the improvement (especially for my 6'4" 200lbs)

Then I got the Super V active, built it up with XTR stuff and life was good.. Loved the full suspension.

Gettin to the point here. One week I had the Super V down for maintenance (at 200 lbs I destroy drivetrains that are designed for 145lb riders). I'd long since gotten my old Delta V frame back from the shop and built it up with and XT setup so I took it out for a turn on my favorite loop. My word, how different, where is my FS bike, I want it back now!

If all you are going to do is climb then get a hard tail, but if you are ever going to get into the big ring, get the FS.

pinkrobe

Depends on what you really get jazzed about when you ride. If you enjoy climbing as much as descending, spend more on a light XC full-suspension bike, or spend less on a similarly spec'd hardtail. I took my rigid singlespeed out last night for a ride. The trail was short, but not smooth. I'm happy to have my arms in their sockets. Riding the same trail on my Titus takes most of the challenge out of it, but delivers far less punishment to the body.

taylor p

hardtail(s), good all around]

dminor 

suspension(s), good all around]

mtnbiker66

Mtnbiker66,good all around]

roccobike

Yes.

junkyard

junkyard,bad to the bone]

taylor p

pinkrobe

)]

dymogeek

I'm not going to pull a Chopper and tell you to "Harden the * up" or anything, but I ride rigid and I like it fine. That's just me though. I don't do much serious downhill, mainly XC.

BarracksSi

Not that I've ridden it hard yet, but I recently got myself a FS bike with both front & rear lockouts, a significant jump from my older entry-level hardtail. I took it and a hardtail 29er on several test rides, and decided that I just don't like getting bounced around anymore, even if I'm just crossing a city park.

And, when I don't need the plushness, all I need to do is flick a couple of levers and I've got a fairly fast, fully rigid bike.

A bonus is that I can swap over 700x28 wheels from another bike to turn it into a real urban bomber.

Zan

wait, wait... rigid or FS? what about the in-between choice of front suspension HT? i can't participate!

dminor 

junkyard(z), funny all around]

hooligan

Did you get your K2 from a Sportchek? Cheaper designs typically do not have any anti-bob technology. You'll be spending quite a bit to get a FS with a good system (about 700-800 for a used and twice that for a new, in Canada anyways). It's quite up to you. I ride a hardtail. Light, cheap, maintainance free. You sacrifice some traction but uhhm, I _personally_ would suggest to learn on a hardtail to learn to suck up hits and take the best line rather than just bombing through stuff leading to the inevitable creation of the "mountain bike hack"...

Then again, I'm from the scene that came 4 years ago.

pagliaci

You should add front suspension as a vote option.

dminor 

Well, now, that is just silly.

ed 

C'mon D...you know that rigid peeps got mo skeelz, bra!

Everyone should learn on a rigid. It'll make you faster. It's a proven fact.

Heck, he came from the "4 years ago" crew...ya know, Old Skool!! Waaay back 4 years ago when suspension was just more foam tied around the grips.