Hi,

Let me share that I'm about to spend 1000 ... I've choosen HT.

Why do you want a Full Suspension? What type of use do you expect to do with this bike?

I'm going to buy a HT 29er with Air Shock ...
I'm about to choose a 2017 Rockhopper Expert or Pro ... getting help for that in the forum too....

One more thing, please note... Cheaper FS most of the time has 27.5 wheels. Ensure you try a 29er HT. It makes a difference.
You try a 29HT and then a 27.5FS and I believe you prefer the HT29er.

All the best

My best regards,.
HortasPT

Trying more than one bike, size, style is a good thing.. But I have demo'ed a dozen different bikes over the last two years and personally I found just the opposite, I prefer 27.5 and FS.

When industry experts refer to bikes like the FSX, the Santa Cruz Superlight/Heckler, or offerings from KHS or Haro as "monoshock designs", I'm more likely to take their word than some snot on a website. Take your incorrect parsing elsewhere.

Spending 900euros/1000 dollars with a FS?... Honestly I never tried a 2000euros FS 27.5 bike...
You must be right.

Best regards.

Nothing to see here, these are not the droids you are looking for..

I'm not a super experienced MTBer, and I got the same advice - entry level full suspension bikes are not that great.

I'm more of a road/tri/commuter/touring guy, and I though I always liked the thought of MTB riding, a lot of trails were frankly too scary riding for me to enjoy. Plus being middle aged with a cranky lower back, hard tails were just transmitting too much jolt and shock into my spine.

I rode my buddy's FS MTB and liked it a lot, but wasn't willing to pay the $3K he paid for it.
He suggested I try a 27.5 PLUS bike - these are big tires but not quite "fat."

It's been a good choice for me. The big tires are a lot grippier and soak up a lot of the jolts. I'm having fun riding trails that before would not have been enjoyable.

The downside of this approach is a great deal more rolling resistance from the "almost fat" tires. If you're racing competitively, or trying to keep up with very competitive riding buddies, this could be big. But I'm more of a beginner MTB guy and this works for me. I'll likely do a couple of offroad triathlons this year - and not win any of them.

And just as a counter to the harsh reaction to Motobecane above - that is exactly what I did get.
I am a halfway decent (OK, maybe 33% decent) home bike mechanic and I was prepared to deal with some of the re-assembly work I'd heard from other people's horror stories about Bikes Direct. I was thinking of it as an inexpensive way to get a halfway decent pile of bike parts, and to whatever extent it was put together correctly that would be gravy.
In the event, I had zero problems whatsoever. It literally took me longer to get it out of the box than it did to get it all together and working nicely. Didn't even have to adjust the derailleurs.
Save Up to 60% Off Plus FREE SHIP 48 STATES ON ALL BICYCLES FREE SHIP* Motobecane NEW Fantom 27.5 PLUS X9 27.5 PLUS Wheelsize Bicycles, Fat Bikes, Mountain Bikes

Sorry if I get the impression you are sharing here.
Was not my idea.

To clarify... I've talked about the money because who start the thread said "...don't want to spend $1000 +".
A Giant Stance is really great bike but is 1400dollars or so...(I think.).
In my quote I was giving you the idea that your opinion looks a good one.
I was sharing that I've never tried a good FS with 27.5' wheels.

Sorry if I created any friction here... was not my intension.

My best regards,

Sorry if I took it wrong,,
You are correct the Stance is about $1400 and as far as I know all other decent FS are more.

NO..... Save or buy nicer rigid bike and add suspension seat post Thudbuster.....Used under $100.

I've seen those before, but never tried one. Do they do a good job of soaking up the rougher trails? Are they adjustable?

Dave

What "industry experts" are you referring to? The term for suspension designs in which the rear wheel path travels in an arc around a fixed point is "single pivot". In the case of the bikes linked to as well as bikes like the Superlight and Heckler, those are generally referred to as "high-forward" single pivot designs. If you want to use the term "monoshock" to describe a high forward single pivot suspension, you are welcome to do so, but most people knowledgeable about mountain bike suspension are not going to know what you're talking about.

In any event, there may be other reasons to not go with those bikes, but I agree that the high forward single pivot suspension design is not one of them. I rode that design for many years (Superlight then Heckler). And while I have moved on to much better performing designs since then (DW Link), I would not think twice about owning another high forward single pivot bike if the other option was a hardtail. In fact, I would go with that before many "faux bar" designs out there.

As far as the particular placement of the pivot on those bikes, it looks pretty much the same as the new Superlights to me. It looks like the Heckler may be a tad lower.

The way I look at it, if you are going to go cheap on suspension design, then go simple. And this design is about as simple as it gets.

My concern about those bikes has more to do with the builds, especially the fork and shock.

My experience with Bikes Direct (road bike for my wife, and a few friends' mtbs) has been that they are fine IF you are a decent mechanic and can do a proper re-build of what they send you. But don't expect miracles, and don't believe their bogus "MSRP" numbers.

My main complaint about the bikes from them I have seen has been the wheelsets. That is the biggest place they cut corners. But for the money, I'm not going to complain too hard.

I think a suspension seatpost is fine to consider if you are already committed to going with a hardtail (there are reasons for going HT over FS). But as a more affordable alternative to FS I think they fall miserably short.

The only benefit suspension seatposts offer similar to FS is to your bodily comfort while in the saddle. But this is only one of many benefits to FS, and arguably among the least important.

A suspension seatpost does nothing for traction. Nothing for compliance on climbs. Nothing for you at all when you are out of the saddle which is basically ANY rough and/or technical situation.

I think they can make sense in situations where you have constant small bumps where you really need to keep pedaling, but rear suspension is otherwise not needed. Dirt/gravel road riding comes to mind, or relatively smooth trails. I am considering one for a wide-tired gravel bike I have that I ride a lot on forest service roads. But it would be a very short travel post.

I'm looking at the Stance 2 now. 2016 Close out deal is $1300 down from $1500. The new model with a discount they can allow is $1325. And I can get the color I wanted. I wish it had better specs here and there, but that's the name of the game. Thing is, I'll be buying two. My current MTB is a 92' Paramount, so..........

I have one and love it. It really helps me feel that I have rear suspension on my 27.5 plus hardtail mtb.
This is a good bike for you, as alathIN suggested,

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I will try to attach a pic of my bike with the Thudbuster seatpost

I have the Body Float on my hardtail and love it. You get less of a beating and the responsiveness of a hardtail. And, those of us in our fifties or older need to reduce the beatings on our bodies.