What kind of Full Suspension MTB for a Clydesdale
 

I am a clyde all the way. I am 6'6 and currently 298 lbs. A few years back I purchased a hardtail and have ridden my self 72 lbs lighter. As I start to get to the 270 lb mark I am going to reward myself with a new bike. I plan on getting a full suspension bike this time as both my skills and the trails I am now riding have been progressing. As a larger rider (I will never be below 230) what type of bike should I get?
I pretty much have an XC race bike now and that 100mm fork is not enough. So should I go for a 130/140 mm trail bike or a 160/150 mm enduro bike? I live in Florida, so there will be no long downhill runs unless I hop on a plane or drive 7 hours, but I also don't want to have too little suspension again. Since I will be spending several grand I want to get it right the first time.
What experiences have you guys had?
What should I stay away from? Why?
Trail or Enduro bike?
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Josh

No clue, but congrats on your 72 lb weight loss!

Thanks. I am turning 50 this year so I wanna hit 100 before 50.
That is why I would be rewarding myself. As soon as I hit that 100 lb mark I am at the bike shop ordering the bike. So I want to know what bike I want to get, to kind of have a picture of it up as a goal sort of thing.

Personally, at 6'/235, I decided FullSus wasn't worth it for me. I'd have to pump the suspension so hard to compensate for my weight, what's the point? I ride a rigid Krampus instead, put all the suspension into the 3" tires.

But it sounds like you're more advanced than me and are working with a larger budget. I'm sure somebody will happen along with some good suggestions

When I was about 270lbs I got back into biking :) Knowing nothing about bikes other than I wanted a MTB of some type I started looking around and found a year end sale on an full suspension Intense Tracer 275 in aluminum. Nothing broke, the world didn't end with my weight, but the bike rode great on downhills it practically flew over the ground point it and it went, I am in SoCal and no shortage of hilly fire roads. The full suspension are heavy compared to road/gravel bikes but I bought it to get in shape. Turns out Intense is a very reputable brand and make some high end bikes. According to what I have read they have a proprietary rear suspension ( V something I believe ) they used to license from another bike manuf ( name escapes me) that limits bounce on climbing.

For Florida trails I would think some type of FS cross country bike would work. Scott bikes has always intrigued me.

Good luck

Check out the Clyde section of the MTBR forums. There's heaps of helpful info in there.

At 6'5" myself, fit was a huge issue for me and I'm now on a Pole Taival hardtail. Bigger fork to handle my size and bulk. Leverage ratio is something you need to pay consideration to with how a FS will perform under your weight.

Price is going to be your consideration. Pole and Nicolai make some nice big bikes, but depending on your dimensions, a more "regular" bike might be fine.

The biggest issue you have is finding one made to fit your height. I am just under 6'5" and it's rare that I find a full susp. bike that fits me. NB Just because a bike is called 'XL' or is the largest one made in a specific model, doesn't mean it's going to fit you.

That was my problem with a double squishy when I bought one. I let someone talk me into a Specialized FSR with a Pro-pedal rear shock. The front shock...a Fox Talas...has never been a problem The rear "inch-wormed" on my constantly (others might say it "bobbed). It robbed me of power and made rides much harder then they should have been. I had it revalved but that was wasted money. I pumped it up to insane pressures and it still inch-wormed. I hated that bike with every fiber of my being and didn't ride it much. I had the bike for 7 years and only put 480 miles on it. Thankfully, I still had hardtails that I could ride. Over the same 7 years, I put 2400 miles on my hardtail. Honestly, it kind of soured me on duallies.


I really wanted a Specialized Epic when I bought the FSR but was talked out of it. I was able to obtain a Stumpjumper S Works Epic and swapped all the parts over to it. The Epic is a far better dual suspension bike. The inertial valve works as advertised. The rear end doesn't bob when pedaling and provides squishiness when the rear wheel is impacted from below. It's so good that I have two of them (one at home and one at my daughter's house). Mine in the old style but the newer ones have a "micro brain" inertial valve. I don't know if they work as well but the old one worked much better for me.



Try a bunch of bikes in as many conditions as you can. I would still suggest the Epic...if the Micro Brain works as well as the original Brain. I don't ride mine as much as I should...the FSR really soured me on duallies...but when I do, I find myself enjoying the ride.

I do have another "dual suspension" bike that I actually have ridden far more than the Epic. It's a Moots Y Be Beat (YBB). The rear suspension is minimal with only about 1.5" of travel. It does bob while pedaling since the suspension is provided by a spring and the flex of the chainstays. But the bob isn't enough to rob me of power and the suspension is just enough to take the edge off of impacts. I use it mostly for bikepacking although it is a pretty good off-road bike. The cost is far more than the Epic and getting to try one before you buy is difficult. But it is still a pretty good mountain bike. Here it is in all it's bikepacking glory

https://live.staticflickr.com/7869/4...94700d45_o.jpgDSCN1146 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

Thanks for every comment so far. I do have a nice hardtail now and my skills are advancing, I plan on keeping it and getting a FS to make life easier. This will not be my first full suspension as I had a Gary Fisher Joshua and Sugar 20+ years ago. My wife reminded me that I have a family member that works in a Trek store, so I was talking with him last night. He was telling me that being a Clyde was good because they always seem to have XL bikes they need to move at the end of season. So I should be on the lookout for that as that is when I most likely will be buying one. He of course will give me a hookup on a Trek, so I went on their site and looked at a Slash and a Fuel EX. Those are my choices so far. I also looked at their Full Stache full suspension plus size tire bike.

If anyone has any more info please share, and thanks for all the help so far,
Josh

I would pump that Trek store connection for all it's worth!

And I would look first and hardest at the Stache. Plus is what's up. 4-5" fully fat bikes have their place for specialized (snow/sand) purposes, but 2.8-3.0 inches is the sweet spot of where the MTB industry always needed to be heading.

how about a more playful hard tail? Slacked front, longer fork, dropper post and gearing enough to go fast? I hardly rode my XC race bike after I got my Chameleon 275+



If your set on the Full suspension, travel has more to do with tire size. 29er I'd say 130mm front and rear, if 275 than 150mm front and rear is the normal.
Santa Cruz Hightower 29er
Sanra Cruz Bronson 27.5

other brands have models designed similar to these, diff brands have patients to their own rear suspension designs. So you're paying for the engineering, patients and royalties for that $300 rear shock they added.

I fit my XL hardtail fine. Of course I put a new seatpost and some Deity riser bars and a 50 mm stem on it, but at this height we always have to do some minor fitting.

I should have mentioned that as well. Most likely it will be a 29er. My last few bikes have been 29ers and I really liked it over the 26 I came from. They just seemed to fit the larger frames better. I have ridden a 27.5 plus tire bike and it was fun, but it just seemed to be the same outer diameter as a 29er.
I had a Blur at one point so I know they make awesome bikes, but I think Santa Cruz is above my price range right now.

If you really want to spend some money...

https://dirtysixer.com/

No thank you. Not looking for a rigid MTB. Too old for that, I am looking for the squish.

The point is, being 6'6", why stop at 29" wheels when you can get 32" or 36"

Because I will break them. And good tires will either be ungodly expensive or much too hard to find or both. It took a decade to get a set of wheels that both grip and doesn't snap a spoke after every ride on a stock wheetset. Why push it, I finally found a happy place.

Check this out to do some comparing of the sizes of bikes and to see what other options are out there https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=854010775

I'd leverage off that Trek connection if you can. Fit will be what counts, so if those bikes do fit, then why not. All reports are that they're a decent package whether you go for Stache/Slash/Fuel.

If you want to geek out a bit and potentially do your head in, here's a link with a whole lot of leverage ratios to sift through Linkage Design: Trek

I'm in a similar situation, with regard to height and weight (6'5"/300), and I'm out shopping for a new FS that will be a birthday gift and bit of a "last mtb" for me.

Fit is the BIG issue. So far I'm looking at XL or XXL 29'ers from:

Lenz Sports- Behemoth or Mammoth
Turner- Czar 1.1
Santacruz- Tallboy

I have a similarly tall friend who has an earlier Lenz frame and he's happy with it. Current leaning is toward getting on the waiting list for a Czar with it's DW link rear end. The Lenz's are also sold by Zinn, for use with proportional length cranks, if that is of any concern to you. I'm not sure if the bottom bracket height is increased for him or not.

Curious...what did you end up purchasing. You said Florida--what trails are you riding? San Felasco? Santos?

not true - especially not at a mere 235

OP , im much shorter but also about 260 - 5,9 and ride a medium. Im a fan of Yeti.s suspension systems and have been for years. The leverage ratios are good for big riders to get nice travel.

currently riding an sb-95 140mm travel bike but my shop is building a nice sb100 for me that is shorter travel 4” rear, 5” front

Santa Cruz also makes excellent big guy full suspension bikes

YT also makes some compelling stuff at great prices

but at 275, yourebig but not an elephant- Youre within a range a lot of suspension designs should be able to accomodate

Ooops - 2 year old thread — im sure the OP has made his decision by now