Since the dawn of time, mountain bikers have been debating the merits of hardtails versus full - sussers.Well, since the dawn of useful rear suspension, anyway, which was the mid -1990's. Ask around and you won’t find any fence- sitters on this one– you are either a rigid rigid follower, or a suspensions of tie .No middle ground.
So why do manufacturers still pour thousands of research and design bucks into new hardtails for their ranges? If full suspension was the way to go, surely it is time to trash the moulds and focus purely on plush? Fortunately,we are not quite there yet.There is still plenty of room in the market for the hardtail – it has two areas where it clobbers the full-suspension brigade hands-down: race performance and price. Full-suspension bikes are still, as a rule, between one and two kilograms heavier than similarly-specced hardtails.
This weight difference grows when you compare by price rather than spec – a R15 000 hardtail will boast race-winning componentry, yet a full-susser for the same price will be a boat anchor, by comparison. Yes, it is possible to buy a sub-9kg full-suspension bike, but it will cost you as much as a small car. For the purpose of this article, let’s concentrate on affordable bikes!
More, from the Bicycling website......
No comments:
Post a Comment