mr,grumpy 

So, at 220-230 pounds, do I have any business being on a mid-level bike with a back shock? (specifically a jamis Dakar xc)? I am suspect of those tiny little bicycles shocks to begin with and I'm a Big Fella to boot! Are any of you other Clydes riding a double-squishy bike? How do you like it?

Joltman

Hi Mr,grumpy.

Up until recently my main ride was a full suspension MTB. I'm almost the same weight as you are, so I see no issues with the shocks being able to take the weight. I tweaked the spring tension on the rear shock to set an appropriate amount of sag.

The two gotchas I found over ~1200Km of riding were :

1. it's heavy so be prepared to lug the extra weight of the bike up hills.

2. the pedalling efficiency can suck a bit depending on the rear suspension setup. So now that you've got a heavier bike and having to work against that, not all the effort you put in at the pedals makes it to the rear wheel. some of it is chewed up in suspension bob.

Apart from those it was quite a comfy ride on bumpy roads / cycle paths.

Smallguy

You'll be fine with the suspension if you are using the bike for what is it designed for... XC riding

there is not allot of rear travel with 90mm but it's great for XC not for jumping or aggressive trail riding

I'm 210 ish now but used to be 235 and I ride a 07 Trek Fuel ex9

Pedaling efficiency is only effected if your shock doesn't have a pedaling platform ( pro-pedal as an example with fox). this causes some of your pedaling energy to get absorbed by the suspension making it less efficient to climb. with quality suspension you are really not going to give up (slightly heavier) much to a hard tail and will have the edge on the downhill

MrClyde

I'm a little heavier than you, about 240, and just got a GT full suspension bike a few weeks ago. No problems so far, I have actually been lowering the pressure on the front and the rear shock a little bit each ride from where the shop recommended. It seems to soak up bumps better, and I havent' bottomed it out yet.

DX-MAN

I'm nearing the end of my 3rd year on a Dakar XLT; started out with the 'air can', Manitou Swinger 3 w/ platform valving. WHILE IT WORKED, it worked superbly. Trouble was, it didn't last. 8 frickin' months later, I was looking to swap in a coil, because the seals went out. No factory support AT ALL. I have a coil on it now that's an awesome performer, not a bit of trouble.

The bike before it was an air-shock-equipped FS, too, and it only had rebound and lockout. Bobbed noticeably, but not horribly. The shock gave out during final teardown in preparation for the XLT.

I heartily recommend coils, but that's me.

BTW, 6'1", 235.

Big Lug

Love my Remedy 7!! I am 290~ now and never a problem.I started riding it at ~330 and still had no problems pumping the air up to a high level just below the max.

ecovelo

My Cannondale Rush full suspension was an absolute blessing for me. I had gotten to a point where I thought I could no longer ride bikes... at least for awhile, because of a back injury. While having my road bike tuned in order to sell, I jumped on a Rush at my LBS just to check it out and was ecstatic I could ride with such comfort. I had no idea what riding a squishy was like - turns out it enabled to ride upwards of 30 minutes at a time before pain set in. That was 2 1/2 yrs ago.

I realize our needs our different, but to get back to your question.... I was ~ 242 then...234 now. No problems whatsoever with the shocks (fox float in the back), Cannondale lefty on the front.