Going from FS to hardtail

[cmbicycles]

Originally Posted by Gummee

If you ride a medium, I can certainly help out with a Top Fuel 9.9



M

Thank you for the offer but I'm 6'5" so need XL at least. I put a wtb in the classifieds a week or so ago and hadn't quite narrowed down what I want to do. I ought to just sell my current bike to give myself that extra motivation.

[RobJ]

I am reviving this one to see what the OP decided and why? I'm in the DC area, so have to deal with the rocky/rooty VA trails. I hope to make it down towards Harrisonburg and Blacksburg occasionally. So I have an urge to pick up a mtb again. My last real one was a FS Fisher Sugar 1. Briefly had a HT Moots Mooto-X but not enough seat time for comparison. My bike handling skills are not excellent as is my trepidation with some of the more technical aspects on a trail.

So I have the same decision to make here. I really like a XC hardtail for simplicity, speed on/off the trails etc. but maybe the FS XC bike like an Epic, Blur etc. would be better.

[BobC]

Love this thread as I am looking to get a MTB & about as clueless as they come per mountain bikes.

Nor'easter is blowing here in VB & son#2 wanted to go mountain biking (and driving the wife crazy being trapped indoors). So we packed up car & went to Freedom Park in Williamsburg---- he rode his entry-level Marlin & I rode my Poprad CX. He had a gas & I avoided riding the trainer. Win-win.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by RobJ

I am reviving this one to see what the OP decided and why? I'm in the DC area, so have to deal with the rocky/rooty VA trails. I hope to make it down towards Harrisonburg and Blacksburg occasionally. So I have an urge to pick up a mtb again. My last real one was a FS Fisher Sugar 1. Briefly had a HT Moots Mooto-X but not enough seat time for comparison. My bike handling skills are not excellent as is my trepidation with some of the more technical aspects on a trail.

So I have the same decision to make here. I really like a XC hardtail for simplicity, speed on/off the trails etc. but maybe the FS XC bike like an Epic, Blur etc. would be better.

Repeating/paraphrasing something I wrote earlier in the thread: a modern FS race bike like Epic/Blur/Spark has negligible downsides relative to a hardtail and is a whole lot more capable in some other situations. Do this if you can.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Repeating/paraphrasing something I wrote earlier in the thread: a modern FS race bike like Epic/Blur/Spark has negligible downsides relative to a hardtail and is a whole lot more capable in some other situations. Do this if you can.

This.

[BobC]

So what are the differences between "trail", "XC" & "enduro"?

[Lionel]

Originally Posted by BobC

So what are the differences between "trail", "XC" & "enduro"?

It goes in this order: XC, Trail, Enduro. The more you progress the more the bike is designed to handle rough stuff going down. The segments are sort of arbitrary as an Enduro bike from 3 years ago in now a Trail bike and a trail bike is now an XC bike.

To illustrate this my 2016 Fuel EX was a trail bike in 2016, this year the Top Fuel is pretty much exactly what the Fuel EX was back then, same geo, same Fox 34 fork etc....

[NHAero]

I put off the FS choice for years because I was worried about maintenance. The same was true about hydro disc brakes. And dropper posts. I bought my Pivot 429C (barely) used off Pinkbike for half of retail 4 years ago, mostly to save my back on typical 2-3 hour rides. I'm guessing it has 3,000 miles on it since I got it. Here's what I've done:
- 1 new chain
- Replaced the work aluminum 42T cog with a 44T aftermarket cog.
- 1 pair of tires
- New brake pads

No suspension, pivot, dropper post, or hydro brake line maintenance. And the SRAM XX1 shifter/derailleur has been dead-on reliable.

I have fussed with this bike less than almost any other bike I own. A HT would be a pound or two lighter, but this bike is 25 pounds, seems when I'm carrying over trees, etc.

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I put off the FS choice for years because I was worried about maintenance. The same was true about hydro disc brakes. And dropper posts. I bought my Pivot 429C (barely) used off Pinkbike for half of retail 4 years ago, mostly to save my back on typical 2-3 hour rides. I'm guessing it has 3,000 miles on it since I got it. Here's what I've done:
- 1 new chain
- Replaced the work aluminum 42T cog with a 44T aftermarket cog.
- 1 pair of tires
- New brake pads

No suspension, pivot, dropper post, or hydro brake line maintenance. And the SRAM XX1 shifter/derailleur has been dead-on reliable.

I have fussed with this bike less than almost any other bike I own. A HT would be a pound or two lighter, but this bike is 25 pounds, seems when I'm carrying over trees, etc.

Time to service the shocks!

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I put off the FS choice for years because I was worried about maintenance. The same was true about hydro disc brakes. And dropper posts. I bought my Pivot 429C (barely) used off Pinkbike for half of retail 4 years ago, mostly to save my back on typical 2-3 hour rides. I'm guessing it has 3,000 miles on it since I got it. Here's what I've done:
- 1 new chain
- Replaced the work aluminum 42T cog with a 44T aftermarket cog.
- 1 pair of tires
- New brake pads

No suspension, pivot, dropper post, or hydro brake line maintenance. And the SRAM XX1 shifter/derailleur has been dead-on reliable.

I have fussed with this bike less than almost any other bike I own. A HT would be a pound or two lighter, but this bike is 25 pounds, seems when I'm carrying over trees, etc.

Just because you haven't fussed with it doesn't mean it doesn't need fussing with.

Check your pivots. Check the fluid in your brakes. etc. Doing a little maintenance will make the bike last longer.

M

[Meisen]

long time hardtail rider here. Was a occasional racer as a kid but mostly just liked going fast in the woods for an hour. Every decade or so since I started riding i'd try the latest and greatest FS bike, be disappointed in how it felt and get back to riding my hardtail (usually some variation of a stumpjumper). Then I stopped mtb for a while and just did road and TT. Finally got a norco revolver in a trade with the intention of reselling...but the bike is just superb. Brings back the feel of when I was a kid and carving single track at 20 mph. But you know, like for an old guy. I'll never go back to a hardtail. I hear the full boost trail bikes are even better but ~23 lbs for FS with modest, dependable travel seems good for now.

[NHAero]

I can't detect any play in the pivots at all. What else is there to do?
I actually had to let a bit of fluid out of the brakes when I put new pads in.
What evidence should I look for to verify that the fork and shock need service?

Originally Posted by fmradio516

Time to service the shocks!

Originally Posted by Gummee

Just because you haven't fussed with it doesn't mean it doesn't need fussing with.

Check your pivots. Check the fluid in your brakes. etc. Doing a little maintenance will make the bike last longer.

M

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I can't detect any play in the pivots at all. What else is there to do?
I actually had to let a bit of fluid out of the brakes when I put new pads in.
What evidence should I look for to verify that the fork and shock need service?

i think if you start finding evidence, then its already too late. Its best to at least change the oil in the shocks. then eventually replace all the seals. not as frequent as the manuf says(once a year) but just common sense. If you put 1000 mountain miles on a bike, thats quite a bit and worth changing your fluids. It crappy because its not exactly straightforward to do and its SUPER expensive to have someone else do(sometimes cheaper to buy a new shock depending on the model), but i learned how to do rockshox last year and will learn Fox next year.. Stupid Fox makes you have all these proprietary tools. Rockshox lets you get away cheap!

[dddd]

I have had people who go to the effort of compiling a new, high-end FS bike build for me to take on every 3-4 years, and who then do absolutely no maintenance other than chain, tires and emergency repairs until their next new dream bike comes together.
They think I'm being ridiculous when I suggest even replacing the fork oil and cleaning the seals, or servicing the air can.
It totally makes sense to them.

As for my preference, I prefer a wide-rim 27.5 hard-tail with a suspension seatpost. Something that can be bought and upgraded on the cheap!
I prefer being able to run 21psi front and rear using inner tubes, with a DH casing rear tire to prevent the pinch flats that I used to be plagued with.

[cmbicycles]

Originally Posted by RobJ

I am reviving this one to see what the OP decided and why? I'm in the DC area, so have to deal with the rocky/rooty VA trails. I hope to make it down towards Harrisonburg and Blacksburg occasionally. So I have an urge to pick up a mtb again. My last real one was a FS Fisher Sugar 1. Briefly had a HT Moots Mooto-X but not enough seat time for comparison. My bike handling skills are not excellent as is my trepidation with some of the more technical aspects on a trail.



So I have the same decision to make here. I really like a XC hardtail for simplicity, speed on/off the trails etc. but maybe the FS XC bike like an Epic, Blur etc. would be better.

Sorry, but I postponed getting something, almost got a HT, and almost a FS, both 29er but neither worked out. Then had some unexpected car repairs and bought a house, so riding my FS 26er for the foreseeable future.