FS to hardtail

Joe Roach

After 4 years with my Marin Rift Zone, I've
downgraded/upgraded from FS to hardtail. I finally got fed
up with cleaning the (English) mud off the rear sus gubbins
(and I know it is one of the simpler, low maintenance FS set-
ups), no brakes after hitting mud and no sensible frame
bottle cage mount (I hate back packs). So I've bought a Kona
Caldera (expensive for what it is but the LBS gave me a 20%
discount without being asked – I've bought loads of kids
bike from them over the years) with Hayes disk brakes. Now,
I almost go looking for mud because the brakes are
unaffected and the frame is easy to clean. I can also get a
drink from the bottle in the sensible frame cage. Although
the Marin frame is a 15+1/2, I think the stem was too long
for me and I was getting backache. The 16 inch Kona is much
more comfortable (for me) and I'm doing my standard ride a
bit faster, riding quite a few more miles overall and my
climbing is definitely better.

I'm not saying that the Kona is better than the Marin (I
think it's a bit heavier for one thing, probably the wheels,
and I do get the odd jolt where I would welcome a few inches
of rear sus travel) but overall, the fit and the simplicity
suit my needs.

I might be one of the few people who have moved from a FS to
a hardtail and cured my backache.

Monique Y. Muda

On 2004-06-11, Joe Roach penned:
> After 4 years with my Marin Rift Zone, I've
> downgraded/upgraded from FS to hardtail. I finally got fed
> up with cleaning the (English) mud off the rear sus
> gubbins (and I know it is one of the simpler, low
> maintenance FS set-ups), no brakes after hitting mud and
> no sensible frame bottle cage mount (I hate back packs).
> So I've bought a Kona Caldera (expensive for what it is
> but the LBS gave me a 20% discount without being asked -
> I've bought loads of kids bike from them over the years)
> with Hayes disk brakes. Now, I almost go looking for mud
> because the brakes are unaffected and the frame is easy to
> clean. I can also get a drink from the bottle in the
> sensible frame cage. Although the Marin frame is a 15+1/2,
> I think the stem was too long for me and I was getting
> backache. The 16 inch Kona is much more comfortable (for
> me) and I'm doing my standard ride a bit faster, riding
> quite a few more miles overall and my climbing is
> definitely better.
>
> I'm not saying that the Kona is better than the Marin (I
> think it's a bit heavier for one thing, probably the
> wheels, and I do get the odd jolt where I would welcome a
> few inches of rear sus travel) but overall, the fit and
> the simplicity suit my needs.
>
> I might be one of the few people who have moved from a FS
> to a hardtail and cured my backache.

I'm glad you're happy, but if you think a long stem was the
problem on the old bike, getting a whole new bike was the
expensive solution! (Yes, I know that wasn't why you got the
new bike.)

Seriously, though -- find a place that will fit you to your
bike. I have an appointment in a few weeks for a three-hour
full-up bike fit, up to and including cadence analysis.
(Probably overkill, but I want to see what they come up
with.) I didn't trust the shop where I bought my new bike to
give me my money's worth for a fit, so I went elsewhere.

--
monique

John Morgan

Joe Roach wrote:

> After 4 years with my Marin Rift Zone, I've
> downgraded/upgraded from FS to hardtail.
<snip>
> The 16 inch Kona is much more comfortable (for me) and I'm
> doing my standard ride a bit faster, riding quite a few
> more miles overall and my climbing is definitely better.
>
> I'm not saying that the Kona is better than the Marin (I
> think it's a bit heavier for one thing, probably the
> wheels, and I do get the odd jolt where I would welcome a
> few inches of rear sus travel) but overall, the fit and
> the simplicity suit my needs.
>
>
> I might be one of the few people who have moved from a FS
> to a hardtail and cured my backache.

I found myself also moving from a full suspension bike to a
hardtail, but for a slightly different reason. It was an
efficiency issue for me... I really dreaded riding my bike
uphill, and I craved something efficient, so I built up the
lightest hardtail I could afford... and it was great!

The simplicity is nice, too. I'm glad the hardtail lives
on for a few people still. (Although there are more retro
hardtail fans in this NG than I would meet in a year on
the trail)

John M

Joe Roach

"Monique Y. Mudama" <spam@bounceswoosh.org> wrote in message news:<slrnccjkmb.aon.spam@home.bounceswoosh.org>...
> On 2004-06-11, Joe Roach penned:
> > After 4 years with my Marin Rift Zone, I've
> > downgraded/upgraded from FS to hardtail. I finally got
> > fed up with cleaning the (English) mud off the rear sus
> > gubbins (and I know it is one of the simpler, low
> > maintenance FS set-ups), no brakes after hitting mud and
> > no sensible frame bottle cage mount (I hate back packs).
> > So I've bought a Kona Caldera (expensive for what it is
> > but the LBS gave me a 20% discount without being asked -
> > I've bought loads of kids bike from them over the years)
> > with Hayes disk brakes. Now, I almost go looking for mud
> > because the brakes are unaffected and the frame is easy
> > to clean. I can also get a drink from the bottle in the
> > sensible frame cage. Although the Marin frame is a
> > 15+1/2, I think the stem was too long for me and I was
> > getting backache. The 16 inch Kona is much more
> > comfortable (for me) and I'm doing my standard ride a
> > bit faster, riding quite a few more miles overall and my
> > climbing is definitely better.
> >
> > I'm not saying that the Kona is better than the Marin (I
> > think it's a bit heavier for one thing, probably the
> > wheels, and I do get the odd jolt where I would welcome
> > a few inches of rear sus travel) but overall, the fit
> > and the simplicity suit my needs.
> >
> > I might be one of the few people who have moved from a
> > FS to a hardtail and cured my backache.
>
> I'm glad you're happy, but if you think a long stem was
> the problem on the old bike, getting a whole new bike was
> the expensive solution! (Yes, I know that wasn't why you
> got the new bike.)
>
> Seriously, though -- find a place that will fit you to
> your bike. I have an appointment in a few weeks for a three-
> hour full-up bike fit, up to and including cadence
> analysis. (Probably overkill, but I want to see what they
> come up with.) I didn't trust the shop where I bought my
> new bike to give me my money's worth for a fit, so I went
> elsewhere.

I confess that I fancied a new bike anyway (and the bottle
thing had always been a pain) but changing bikes convinced
me that fit and feel matter more than anything. I bought the
Marin having done a lot of analysis but not really much of a
test ride – wrong way round.

The Marin has moved down the line to my eldest son and
hopefully I'll be able to keep up with him on the hills now.
If he complains about backache, I'll just tell him it's
growing pains!

Joe

Loomermbv

"Joe Roach" <joetroach@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> The Marin has moved down the line to my eldest son and
> hopefully I'll be able to keep up with him on the hills
> now. If he complains about backache, I'll just tell him
> it's growing pains!
>
> Joe

Why not just buy a cheap generic shorter stem for him?

Joe Roach

"LoomerMBV" <wew@sadas.com> wrote in message news:<7LDyc.11127$uX2.5335@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>...
> "Joe Roach" <joetroach@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> > The Marin has moved down the line to my eldest son and
> > hopefully I'll be able to keep up with him on the hills
> > now. If he complains about backache, I'll just tell him
> > it's growing pains!
> >
> > Joe
>
> Why not just buy a cheap generic shorter stem for him?

I'm not certain the stem length had anything to do with my
backache it but it's a likely suspect and it would be the
first thing changed if he gets the same problem. This wasn't
my main reason for changing bikes but was a very welcome
additional benefit.

R.White

"LoomerMBV" <wew@sadas.com> wrote in message news:<7LDyc.11127$uX2.5335@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>...
> "Joe Roach" <joetroach@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> > The Marin has moved down the line to my eldest son and
> > hopefully I'll be able to keep up with him on the hills
> > now. If he complains about backache, I'll just tell him
> > it's growing pains!
> >
> > Joe
>
> Why not just buy a cheap generic shorter stem for him?

Let him buy his own stem. Kids today are just spoiled. Why
in my day...

Steve Peake

On 12 Jun 2004 12:11:01 -0700, Joe Roach wrote:

> I'm not certain the stem length had anything to do with my
> backache it but it's a likely suspect and it would be the
> first thing changed if he gets the same problem. This
> wasn't my main reason for changing bikes but was a very
> welcome additional benefit.

I have/had the same bike, and the overall length was quite
long. I changed the bars to something more swept back, and
that cured it.

Steve