Originally Posted by
Iride01
While the Trek and Specialized bikes might have a more robust looking knuckle and more stronger anything else you can point to, the question is really if you need that.
If you are not going to put your bike through some of the more extreme abuse some riders do then it may not be a problem to worry about. Also, if you are at the light end of rider weight and do put your bike to all the abuses that some others do, then again it might not be anything to worry about.
What I'm trying to say is if knuckle design X can take a gazillion units of force and design Y can only handle 3/4 of a gazillion units of force, then what does it matter if the weight and forces you put on the bike are only going to be 1/2 a gazillion units of force?
If this is one of your first bikes or it get you what you want at the price you want, then don't worry. I don't think bikes should be a one time purchase thing. Ride them till you get tired of them and get another.
Thank you for the very helpful information. Probably 1/4 a gazillion units of force. I will be using this bike as a trail bike to replace my hard tail Specialized with 26" wheels. I have been riding road bikes since the 80s and I have some great road bikes. But there are some great trails close to me in Houston. Parts of the trail are pretty rough riding with roots, holes and sometimes curbs to jump over. I see these guys out there with their 10k Specialized and wonder why I should spend that much for a full suspension. I am hoping this bike is more than adequate. It is good to hear from those in the know about these full suspension CF bikes, because I have no Idea, except for how much more a LBS would charge me for the same specs.