Looking for good Full Suspension Reviews
 

Hi Guys,

I've been riding the same bike for a long time and want to upgrade from a hard tail to a full suspension (not immediately, but a couple of months from now, or so (need $)). I don't want to spend a ton of $ ($2000 at the most). I am a light rider (about 150 lbs) so my main priority is light weight (that is, I don't want to buy something that is intended for a 200 + pound rider). So, what are some good reviews (as well as your own thoughts--just don't fill the thread up with chatter and 1-line posts, please)? One idea I had is to buy an upper end Raleigh or Giant, which seem to give you a pretty good deal on nice light components. I'm also willing to go with a used or demo bike (don't mind doing the maintenance). How do you find out when and where demo bikes are being sold?

Thanks for the ideas guys.

so I believe you are into XC riding? Competitively or Semi?

Most of the demo / rental bikes won't be sold until around October or November. There may still be a few left overs at some of your local shops you could check out though. Best thing you could do is just hit all of your local shops and see what they have in stock. You may get lucky and find a great deal on a 2006 or even a 2005 that they want to get rid of.

OK, I'll own that I've never made a decision based on the plethora of posted reviews, but check out http://www.mtbr.com/. Look under "Product Reviews"-"Bikes/Frameset". Like anything else there's a measurable signal-to-noise component, but they seem to be reviews of real people.

For $2000 you have a bit of "wiggle room". You can get a Stumpy FSR Comp for that brand new, I believe. If you know anything about wrenching on bikes, you can build a killer ride for 2g's.

I would venture to say that you could build yourself a 4" travel rig to be in the neighborhood of 26lbs. That's pretty light for a dually.

Look at the Specialized Epic frame. That would be a good platform to build from. If you're going to be doing a little more aggressive riding...check out the Stumpjumper FSR.

Jamis bikes are very tough and cheap for the excellent performance that you get from them, but at 150lbs, you may want to go with a lighter bike. The Dakars are slightly heavier than avg.

My Jamis cost me well under that to build...if I only weighed 150lbs, I could have saved 2lbs in frame, another 3/4lb in wheels, 1/2lb in cockpit, 1/2lb in crankset, 1/2 lb in fork, 1/2lb in tires and tubes, and some other misc stuff that added weight to my bike...all in all, I could have built a 4" dually to be ~ 26lbs But that wasn't my goal. I'd break that lil light sucka in half, hehe.

Get a Tranistion covert frame..... the company is really blowing up... they have AWESOME cust. Servic, and their craftsmanship is unbeleivable!!!

http://transitionbikes.com/2007/Covert_Pricing.cfm

buy a salsa

there el santo is a 26 inch and the dos niner is 29 inch
http://www.salsacycles.com/images/zoom_dosniner_org.jpg
http://www.salsacycles.com/images/zoom_elsanto.jpg

I'm not sure exactly how XC is defined, but I do enjoy long rides on smooth trails with winds and turns. I'm really into all types of riding, except for BMX and extreme downhill stuff. I really don't like downhill all that much, but love a good technical challenge--ones that test the skills of a rider and not just their budget. So, making a long story short, I want a stong light bike that's not heavy duty (if that makes sense).

Thanks for all the helpful posts and suggestions. MTBR is definitely good--I read it often. I also like the Bluecolarreviews, except that they don't have much on DS. I like to do my homework and read backgrounds. However, with out having done too much research, I think I really like the idea of building up a DS bike from scratch. It's certainly not for everyone, but I have done my own bike maintenance for a while including installing new things myself. It saves $, but not only that you get to learn so much about the bike. I would like to understand my bike well and select each component. In another thread, it was discussed how much it costs to save weight. For every pound you pay to remove, the next pound becomes more expensive. I'm not sure where to draw the line, but would guess the point where you would pay over $200 to remove the next pound. I'm willing to pay a little extra to have a nice light feeling bike (such as using a carbon seat post, handle bar, stem and crank) but don't quite want to spend $800 on wheels--perhaps more like $400 or $500 (or so). Tubeless tires sound like a good idea, as you eliminate the tube weight as well as having to use less air pressure (I hear). Pedals and seats, I'd like to get as light as possible (Eggbeaters, not sure about what seat) without spending over $100 for each item.

Of course, the biggest question is the frame. How do you size it up (in terms of stregnth, durability and longevity)? For literal size, I'm guessing you do it the same way as a hard tail (such as a 19" bike)? I might start a new thread for help with selecting frames.

Thanks for the help guys.

I believe a trail bike would fit you perfectly. Hmm....trail bikes, lets see what I can remember : Trek Fuel EX line, Giant Trance line, Kona Kikapu line, Specialized Stumpjumper line...crap I cant remember anymore. Oh well this few lines should make you busy comparing. Ride Well :D

Wimp.













:p.

The new Santa Cruz Bullit might be just what you are looking for.

Santa Cruz Bullit - no way. The Heckler - yes.
An all mountain-ish bike with an emphasis on more XC type riding sounds like what you're looking for. You have tons of options in this category, as it has become one of the most common types of bike around. For someone who enjoys a technical challenge but wants to be able to pedal uphill as efficiently as they go down, an all mountain bike is perfect.
Take a look at the Gary Fisher as well as some smaller builders like Yeti (the 575 is an amazing trail bike!). Building up your own bike is fun, but if you buy everything new I can guarantee you it will end up costing more. Look around for deals on every part, on ebay and online stores, and you should be able to come out ahead. Check classifieds on various websites as well. Good luck!

http://www.yeticycles.com/Bikes/Bike.../575Detail.jpg
http://www.santacruzmtb.com/heckler/heckler_large.jpg
http://www.go-hifi.com/img/bigger/hifi_pro.jpg
http://www2.trekbikes.com/images/bik...earlcarbon.jpg

Actually the manufacturer is correct (Santa Cruz) but the bike you should research is the Superlight. Right in the price range and is an excellent performing bike.

I also like the Stumpjumper - a much different riding bike than the Superlight. The Stump is more agressive.

Note on your frame size question - don't assume all frame sizes are alike. I have both a Stump and a Superlight. The Stump is a large bike with a very long top tube. The Superlight is much smaller although both are 17". I probably should have gotten a Stump with WSD geometry but oh well, I just hang and hope for the best! Note I also have a Stump hardtail and although 17" it's sized more like my Superlight.

How 'bout the Transition Dirtbag?

ZeCanon nice pics but any chance of keeping those around 600 or 800 pixels? That one picture is huge! (1600x1600 pixels)

DIRTBAG??

It's a bike.

My Bad

Brooklyn Machine Works Race Link or Rubber Ducky.