Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
Bikewolf asked for a mostly-MTB and occasional commuting bike to supplement his hybrid, that's why I'm arguing for more fun.
I think you have that backwards. Bikewolf's original post:
Any tips on what to look out for when buying a mountain bike mainly for commuting (but, of course, also off-duty mtb fun)? Experience anyone?
If he were wanting a mountain bike that could be used occasionally for commuting duty, a double could make some sense. The issue, however, is also cost and risk. A hardtail mountain bike with a good fork which also has the ability to take racks is fairly inexpensive. Even if you upgraded the fork to a much better fork then you find on the lower end bikes, it's still relatively inexpensive.
Any dually worth riding off-road is going to cost much more than what a hardtail does. The Jamis Trail X cost from $450 to $750. A Jamis Dakar cost $1400. The Dakar is also going to be much more of thief magnet than the Trail X.
Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
You can always take a backpack on your MTB day. I'm actually using a backpack full time now even though I'm not a fan, because on daycare days my rack is occupied by a kid seat and on non-daycare days I'm taking the trail on my new full squish bike. It's not prohibitive to skip a rack.
I use a Revelate seat bag when I use my Epic as a commuter bike. But that's only during the summer. The issue that I usually run across, especially in the shoulder seasons like now, is the lack of ability to carry excess clothing I need going in to work but don't need going home. For example, I had to wear a long sleeve jersey, tights, jacket, gloves, long socks and ear warmer on the way in today, in addition to my shorts and short sleeve jersey. It was about 35°F.
On the way home, I'll be wearing the short sleeve jersey, short socks and shorts because it's going to be 80°F on the way home. A backpack or even my seat bag just aren't able to handle the excess in addition to my work clothes. The bike in my picture above can take a trunk bag that has drop down sides when handles the excess nicely.
I'll grant you that the dually is outstanding in snow but it's just not as practical as a hardtail for carrying stuff. I actually have a Moots YBB that serves as my studded tire bike but I've fashioned a rack system for it that makes it as practical as the Dean.
Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
Try a DW-link or VPP bike, I think you'll like it even better. The VPP patent expired and now they're proliferating.
Nay. I'm sticking to the Epic. The inertial valve on the rear shock locks it out better than any other system I've tried for riding on pavement and it's extremely active when it gets hit from below. I have yet to find any conditions that would make me want to change. It works as advertised and it works in the background. I don't have to flip levers or even think about it engaging.