Freestyler

Allrighty Lads, I have recently bought a norco screamer for a bike big mistake. I dont recommend this bike to anyone who takes bikign seriously. This bike is garbage, After a year of riding it i have alerady put in more money than what i paid for it, I am a big lad 6,3 about 216 pounds, I am a all round biker love downhill biking hitting medium size kickers and droping of ladders. Like any other biker i spend at least 3 to 4 hours a day on my bike riding it. My question is which is better to by a hard tail or soft tail?? what are some good companies to by from?? Im looking to spend at least 2500 on a bike any ideas??

Thanks PEace

LowCel 

Do you mean soft tail or full suspension? Soft tail generally has about 1" travel.

Freestyler

soft tail supension or hard tail supension

snakehunter

Check out transitionbikes.com I have a dirtbag and would marry it if it where legal.... they are awesome to deal with and the specs are fu king sweet......

LowCel 

Not following you. Here are some general categories.

Rigid - No suspension front or rear.
Hard tail - Front suspension only
Soft tail - Front suspension with approximately 1" rear suspension.
Full suspension - Front suspension and rear suspension up to 9" or so.


What is your budget? That is a big part of the decision making. If you are looking at under $1000 then I would definately say go with a hard tail.

Freestyler

allrighty to be more define a hard tail or a full spension bike and my budget is about 2500 dollars

LowCel 

It sounds like a good all mountain full suspension bike would be a good option for you. Check out the Santa Cruz Heckler, Specialized Enduro Comp 130, or some other bikes with about 5" or so of travel.

BTW, overlooked your budget in your first post. Oops.

cyccommute 

It kind of depends on the type of riding you want to do. I got my first full suspension bike this year after many years of riding rigid and hardtail bikes. I haven't been able to use it much, despite getting it in March, because I was training for a major road tour. But I have ridden it a little and I am a little disappointed.

When the trail turns upward or rough the bike shines. I love the fact that it makes climbing just plain easy. You need almost no body english to get over things that would have stopped me dead on my hardtail. It is also more forgiving on downhills, as it is supposed to be. You don't have to pick a line, you just plow through most everything.

But when the trail smooths out and gets fast or when I have to ride to the trailhead, the bike just sucks! I can't lock out the rear shock and it has an active suspension, so it bobs a lot. This is an issue of shock tuning but it won't go completely away. I'm sure I can get used to it eventually but it is a bit annoying right now.

There is also the issue of tuning. Now you have to deal with tuning two shocks instead of one. It's not twice as complex but more like 4 times as complex because the shocks have to work together and there are more parameters that have to be dealt with on a dual suspension bike.

Now for the hardtail side: If you are young and supple, a hardtail is easy to ride. It will beat you up but that's part of the attraction. It does require more skill. You can't just blast through a rough downhill or up a rough uphill. You have to pick a line and be careful where you go. If you have to do a lot of smooth fast riding or a lot of road riding, they are ideal. But put them in the rough and they can become quickly frustrating to ride.

I have both a hardtail and a full suspension. I plan on keeping both. The hardtail is great for riding the trails on my way to work and the roads that I need to get there. The full suspension is fun on rough trails and tends to baby my old self so I'll use it for weekend riding.

This is just my experience, YMMV

LowCel 

Very well said, even though I just quoted part of it I agree with 99% of it. The only part I differ from is that I don't know that I have ever actually been dissapointed with my fully. It's probably because of the setup though. I have very little bobbing. Oh, I only use mine for trails and an occasional fire road. It never sees more than 3/4 mile of paved roads.

I ride both hardtail and full suspension depending on the trail and my mood. Lately I have been spending a lot of time on the hardtail. It is making me learn how to ride again but I definately feel beat up after a tough ride. It is great when it comes to longer climbs and smoother trails though. It's only when it gets extremely rough and I am riding in a group that I start wishing I had my fully.

cyccommute 

At $2500 you can get a really good full suspension or an outstanding hardtail. If I only had one bike rather than a whole fleet of them, I'd probably go for a hardtail. But I use my bikes for transportation also. If you are going to ride mostly singletrack or mountain type riding for recreation and not going to ride on roads to get to the trailhead, then go for the full suspension. You can get, for example, a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR expert for that kind of money or even an Epic.

cyccommute 

Just personal opinion but I'd look at bikes more towards the XC side of the lines above. I'm too old and my wife yells at me too much to be falling off cliffs I'd leave that to those of you who don't have calcium in your bones.

LowCel 

Only reason I suggested those bikes was that he mentioned kickers and dropping off ladders. Not sure how well a xc designed bike will hold up to that type of riding.

cyccommute 

D'oh! Didn't see that. You're right. I was thinking like an old guy again.

LowCel 

LOL, my mind is generally XC oriented as well.

If you are interested in a good hardtail for this riding style check out the Santa Cruz Chameleon. I used to have one and it was an awesome bike. It is actually the only bike I have sold that I ended up regreting. You can set it up however you want, but if you go with a 130 mm or so fork it would be an awesome all mountain bike.

cyccommute 

I have to be. I have bones that have been broken far too many times, a mortage and a wife who takes great pleasure in laughing at my pain...and she doesn't even have a whip

Freestyler

Allrighty thanks alot, just another question about the hard tail bikes with the supesnion underneath the seat does it actaully work or is it just there for show??

Peek the Geek

If you're talking about a "suspension" seatpost, don't bother. They're nowhere near any kind of substitute for full suspension. The best they're good for, in my opinion, is taking a bit of the edge off for those who don't spend enough hours on the bike to get their azzes used to being in the saddle. If you're commuting, go ahead and buy one if it tickles your fancy. If you're mountain biking, choose a hardtail or a full suspension and be happy with your decision.

Oh, and as to which you should buy? HeckifIknow. I love my hardtails, but like a previous post said, some sections of the trail can get downright frustrating for me at times.

Feltup

Look at a Giant Reign.

Raiyn

Spread the word!
More on the subject of suspension seatposts https://www.bikeforums.net/mountain-biking/94185-suspension-seat-post.html

Hoop

Awesome thread! I'm going to look into the Thudbuster right away.

Raiyn

Knock youself out. Please

Hoop

Nice double entendre.

I get jokes.

Raiyn

There's hope for you yet.