Giving up the duallie for a hardtail

[pangeist]

In the "my fleet" link below is a pic of my Transition Dirtbag. I have grown tired of pedalling this beast around and have built up a Giant STP2 with a Z150 FR SL. I am going to try this for a while. I started on hardtail and for most riding a hardtail makes sense. Anybody else switching? I will post a pic of the build, its pretty sweet.

[Pat...]

I swiched kind of. First for a while, my first mtb, was a ridgid gary fisher tyro. (I rode it on xc trails and fireroads starting at 6-7ysold.)

Then 2 years ago. for my birtday, I got a gary fisher level betty w/ a rock shox judy xl, later replaced (after blowing out from constant bottom outs off curbs even) with an '03 dj 2 (5"). I was doing big stuff on it. I started cracking on the shock mounts. I raced dh like this. Then the headtube cracked. I didn't want to ride it anymore.

Next I got an azonic evolution hardtail built up with most of my old parts and fork. THis bike is really nice. I do drops, jumps, xc trails, fr trails (im going to race dh, slalom and short track on it)

[Mr Tiles]

I parked my bullit a couple of years ago to build a morphine. I rode it for a while with an 02 monster. It was great for trail and stuff around the house but was a little too much for the mountains with the 2+ mile climbs. Stripped it down and built a sinister ridge. It was a lighter version of what the morphine was and it was prolly my favorite set up of all time. Now I'm back on the FS. Both FS and HTs have their advantages but I feel a little more confident on the FS for drops and gaps. That's just me though and I've been referred to by my peers as a bikewhore so don't take anything to serious that I say...

[Sir_Crackien]

for the past coulpe of year i have been switching back and forth between hardtials and fs bikes. for xc i'm going to stick with me trance (a FS bike), but for dh and fr i'm going to biuld up an hardtail again and i'm going to stick with it. i just like it better. i enjoy myself much more on a hardtail than a fs bike (for dh and fr atleast)

actually i'm in the process of writing at smallish paper on the subject. if you would like to add to the paper please pm me. info like why and when you changed over would be helpful on the subject matter.

thanks

[BigMike]

Why replace when you can have two? :D

[SD_TMTB]

I like my hardtail alot but when I ride it alot I miss my FS, so I have both. Street/DJ/FR & DH/FR.

BTW, would you be at all intrested in letting your trials bike go also?

[pangeist]

No chance, its mine all mine, and I cant live without it.

About duallies, I just hope to find something a bit more versatile and not so F'ing heavy. For now my STP is doing me good. A pic soon....

[Pat...]

Awsome fleet and yard!!

[SuperKat]

I saw a forum somewhere with this debate...
Does a hardtail sharpen your skills or just beat you up? I guess it depends what type of riding you are doing.
I forgot where I saw it.

[deweydude]

Are you :nuts: ?
:nono: not me never

[Sir_Crackien]

superkat i don't ride a hardtail to sharpen my skills i just like it better. but btw it does make you a better rider.

so we have another trials rider on the monkey its good to see.

[McGRP01]

Funny you should mention it, I'm building up a street/DJ HT now after riding a FS almost exclusively for a year. I'm excited about it, should be fun! :thumb:

[allsk8sno]

i recently switched to a ht and well its pretty rough but as with other people i think that it will make a smoother rider etc... though if your in pain from the ht then i would say just look at a lighter fully. i am planning on getting another full in a year or so but i am not really planning on goin huge and stuff for a while so the ht fits fine

[deweydude]

I'll agree a HT does make you a smoother rider but been there done that and now I have moved on

[Pat...]

Yes, it can beat you up if you are a complete hack and let the bike do everything while just hanging on to the bars. But, in the long run, the beating will force you to ride smooth and make you smoother by teching you to pick smooth lines and ways to get over rough stuff smoothly.

[spacemanspiff06]

i've been on a FS for over a year now and i notice on trail rides that i'm not as smooth as my other friends with HTs. i also spend about half of my time in the park or street and a 40lbs 7 incher dosen't help. i'm hoping once i get my HT i'll be able to do all the techy tricks i couldn't before and i'll be a lot smoother in time.

[bigdrop05]

No doubt, go for the hardtail. Absolutely you can rip it up !
FS is more complex & expensive. I prefer FS now after owning & actually riding a LeToy3--Kona Chute--two Azonic DS1's--Haro Werks DSR--BUMP ap Blaster--COVE Stiffie & more.... .....
At almost 34 years old a plush FS is sooo right for me,my ankles & spine !
All the hardtail time made me a better rider for sure..I respect a dood or chick on a hardtail doing these big drops it's pretty impressive ! ..

[boostindoubles]

well i've never owned a fs, and have ridden hardtails for the last three years. But, i rode bmx before i got into mtn bikes, so the hardtail seemed to be the natural next step. i have thought about getting a fs bike, i figure on those super steep fast loose rocky sections i might get better traction. I dont see myself never having a hardtail. Theyre just the **** for dirt jumping and street riding.

[kail]

Definitely try a hardtail. I would try to keep your big bike, though. I started out racing DH way back when on an XC hardtail adapted for DH. Then, when I got a DH bike, yeah I was faster, but I wasn't a very stylish rider, I just plowed through everything. Last year I bought a Chameleon and set it up right with a Z1 Fr fork, and I've just been loving it. I've definitely gotten much smoother and more stylish. I've even done some big road gaps on it. It definitely shows me that you don't need a huge behemoth dual suspension bike to freeride. I'm now trying to shave a lot of weight off my DH/FR bike.

[WKC]

Anybody else switching?

I am switching, mostly. Most of the terrain in North Carolina doesn't fully warrant a downhill bike, except for the actual downhill races we have some of the bigger jumps in the area. I just built up a new Banshee Scratch, and like pedaling it around simply because I commute to school and around town, then have the energy to ride urban later on; and my Gemini is just too much for that. How you like your STP? I hear good things.

[Pat...]

You should build up an azonic evolution.

My friend is going to buid one up. He is going to get a frame and wheel world and get the freeride build kit. http://wheelworld.com/site/showitem.cfm?Category=149&searchtype=Category&Catalog=39

He is going to sell the triple 8 and other parts that don't fit, then get a $300 dollar 5" fork.

THey have a bunch frames there: kona cowans, scabs, azonic steelheads, ....

I am riding an evolution I definately recomend it. It can be built up light or burly/heavy. It is great for dh, dj, xc trails, fr trails, ds/4x.......Its a all-around frame.

[WKC]

You should build up an azonic evolution.

I am riding an evolution I definately recomend it. It can be built up light or burly/heavy. It is great for dh, dj, xc trails, fr trails, ds/4x.......Its a all-around frame.
That was one of the selling points of the Banshee, and it wasn't too expensive at all. I looked at the Azonic, but I wanted a steel frame, especially since I ride lots of urban. The Scratch has steel plates welded to the bottom of the chainstays so you can grind on it and not damage the frame, and has extensive gusseting and RAD style downtube. I love it, and it rides like a dream.

[pangeist]

The STP is rad and I have a Steelhead SS and its pretty good too.