Username wrote:Budget aside, what is so bad about a full susser?
Benefits are more efficient on the bumps and better traction, at the expense of weight (and, off the bike, potentially maintenance overhead). Which is more significant depends on both rider and route.
Clearly one isn't better than the other, end of, or at the top of the game where budget's not really a factor everyone would be on one or the other. But they aren't.
I know you said "budget aside", but it's worth remembering that doing suspension properly is non-trivial engineering, and you can't do that on the cheap. If you don't pay enough for full sus it probably will be paying to be worse off than a hardtail, though I'm not even going to try and hazard a guess at the general price point where that's an issue.
A pal has recently upgraded from hardtail to full sus because he's getting a bit older and is more interested in cushioning than outright speed over a course. Can't say I blame him... recently upgraded from my 20 year old rigid to something with suspension forks, but with my budget of £400 max a full sus would've been a waste, especially as I don't do
that much MTB.
Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...