Full suss bikes - has bob been reduced over the years for up hill?

worded

Has the engineering made it easier to go up hills on a full suspension MTB or is it just as bad as it was years ago?

Tenzor07

Yes! And once you have the shock setup with the correct psi for your weight....

Though hardly a new design, I like dual-link architecture for reducing pedal bob, and you dont need lockout on the shock, even on the road its fine..

Some single pivot designs though are awful, you need to have the shock permanently locked out almost! :-)

rab!dmonkey

In a word - yes, things have improved.

Its been a few years since the first time a full-susser won an XC World Cup round. It's all about what you want to get out of mountain biking. That Specialized Epic has a kind of automatic lockout which makes it very stiff most of the time. Consequently, it's a highly race-oriented bike. Other low travel designs will be a bit more forgiving, keeping things comfortable for weekend warriors spending long hours in the saddle. As you increase in travel however (generally >160 mm), the bikes are generally geared for getting rad, rather than getting around and they rely more on having the rider manually switch to firmer damping or lockouts. At the furthest extreme, downhill bikes benefit a lot more from having highly responsive suspension than efficient pedalling, though we've been getting ever closer to having our cake and eating it too.

uberalles

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

In a word - yes, things have improved.

Its been a few years since the first time a full-susser won an XC World Cup round. It's all about what you want to get out of mountain biking. That Specialized Epic has a kind of automatic lockout which makes it very stiff most of the time. Consequently, it's a highly race-oriented bike. Other low travel designs will be a bit more forgiving, keeping things comfortable for weekend warriors spending long hours in the saddle. As you increase in travel however (generally >160 mm), the bikes are generally geared for getting rad, rather than getting around and they rely more on having the rider manually switch to firmer damping or lockouts. At the furthest extreme, downhill bikes benefit a lot more from having highly responsive suspension than efficient pedalling, though we've been getting ever closer to having our cake and eating it too.

Just getting on a bit and looking for comfort but don't want the up hills to be a nightmare.

I've only experience of hard tail for a year, a fairly bad one.

Will go for a 120 - 150 full Suss in the end Will try out some mates bikes but just doing a little research first.

Not trying to win any races but want to keep up with the pack

Thanks

flink80

just wondering did you go any further with this? have you gotten a full suss?
reason i ask is I'm in the same boat, hardtail for year and a half and looking at moving on to full suss and just wondering what bikes you looked at/ended up with?

cheers

thethingis

flink80 wrote: »

just wondering did you go any further with this? have you gotten a full suss?
reason i ask is I'm in the same boat, hardtail for year and a half and looking at moving on to full suss and just wondering what bikes you looked at/ended up with?

cheers

Hi,

Meant to be working but quick reply ............

Not yet as Im a very fussy buyer, I rarely buy unsuitable things.

Its such a huge commitment financially. If you could test one for a day it would be cool. http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/ tallagh offer this if you bring a fully loaded Credit Card with you. They have limited demo bikes.

I like the look of all the high spec / expensive bikes but I have to be realistic and very cautious with my $.

The Reign look really nice.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/search/?countries_id=19&cultures_id=24&active_collections_id=7&q=reign&mode=header

Some of the Canyons are really cool as well, but no dealers in Ireland do www only.

How are you getting on with your choices?

C3PO

If easy climbing is a priority I would suggest a Reign is not what you are looking for! You would much better off with a Trance if you want to stay with Giant!

thethingis

Anyone any opinion on a Kona Cadabra?

Popoutman

C3PO wrote: »

If easy climbing is a priority I would suggest a Reign is not what you are looking for! You would much better off with a Trance if you want to stay with Giant!

I've got a reign X1 and I've found it to be pretty damn good at climbing, as long as you manage your weight transfer correctly and cycle circularly, it climbs to within the limit of grip of the tyres or till the front wheel cannot stop coming up, whichever comes first.

The Reign is an accomplished climbing bike for what it is. You'll be more comfortable on it compared to the Trance when both are set up correctly for the expected terrain. The Trance will be very slightly better more because of its lighter weight than a ReignX, and about the same as a Reign.

Proper 4-bar linkages with the vertical portion of the range of travel in the middle of the normal cycling sag point will generally climb well, at the expense of back and up responsiveness of the back wheel that makes proper DH bikes work so well at speed in the rough.

OP: The designs have improved a lot, and some of the higher-end shocks will effectively lock out at the slow-speed travel changes when cycling uphill and react well to faster changes in travel from small and larger bumps. The best linkage designs will be proper 4-bar links with examples such as the Giant Maestro and the Specialised Horst link. Single-pivot and faux-bar designs have benefited greatly from better shock designs. A well-implemented design. suited to its stated purpose is possible with all of the designs, and a poorly-implemented design is possible with all of the designs as well.

briN_s

I recently got a full suss bike, Im no expert but im quite happy with the bike. Air shock and fork and both with lockouts. It seemed to be the best value for money that I could find when buying the bike. Its last years model so they are selling them off a bit cheaper mine came in at €1200

http://www.merida-bikes.com/it_ch/bike/2011/9/MTB+Full+Suspension/ONE-TWENTY+300-D+N2