in message <
[email protected]>, Blue Frog
('
[email protected]') wrote:
> Anyone know which bike is the best value with rear suspension. I have
> been advised the Marin East Peak is a good one but didn't find any spec
> for how
> heavy this type is. I currently have a Marin Palisades Trail, would
> the East Peak be heavier?
> Is rear suspension really worth it?
Excellent question. Rear suspension is a great proxy for real skill with
a bike. I am about 10% faster up steep hills, and more than that faster
down them, on a full suspension bike. I can clean technical sections on
a full suspension bike that I wouldn't have a hope of cleaning on a
hard-tail. But really good cyclists are faster than me on hard tails
both uphill and down, and will clean on a hard tail sections I can't
clean at all.
If you're really, really good and not particularly strong you'll be
better off on a hard tail. If you are really really good but are
stronger than the average cross country whippet you'll be faster on a
good full suspension bike. And if you're not really really good you'll
definitely be better off on a good full suspension bike. Full suspension
typically adds at least 2Kg to the weight of the bike (suspension unit
plus pivots).
In a post a couple of weeks ago I wrote the following, which is relevant
to you:
If I had to replace my Jekyll now, I'd buy one of these:
* Cannondale Rush
http://www.cannondale.com/rush/, almost certainly the
1000 and upgrade parts - I'd really like the 'team' version but it's
silly money;
* Santa Cruz Superlight
http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/superlight/
(yes, the website's ****; fortunately the bike isn't) built up with
SRAM transmission, Mavic wheels, Hope Mono Mini brakes, possibly a USE
SUB fork or else a Fox Float RLC;
* Nicolai Nonius CC
http://www.nicolai.net/order/nonius-cc.html with a
similar build to the Santa Cruz;
* Orange 5
http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/2006bikes/five-se.php, in the SE
spec.
What these bikes have in common
* Light enough to ride up hills all day;
* Rear suspension unit inside the rear triangle where it is protected
from too much dirt;
* Simple single pivot in line with the top of the middle chain ring,
reduces pedal bob and much less vulnerable to dirt and wear;
* Enough suspension travel to cope with anything except landing huge
jumps, which I don't do.
These are all cross country bikes. If the sort of cycling you want to do
is hurtling down impossible descents and landing enormous jumps, then
you will want something a bit tougher - and a ski-lift to get it up to
the top.
Thing is, many mountain bikes are designed for the western USA, where
conditions are generally fairly dry. Putting the rear suspension unit in
front of the rear wheel (e.g. my Jekyll, various Scott designs) or
beside it (e.g. some Specialized designs) doesn't matter in dusty
conditions (provided the shock is not too greasy) because the dust
doesn't cling; but it doesn't work well in muddy British conditions. Mud
and grit collect on the rear shock and cause wear, and that's a very
expensive unit, especially if it has a stable platform valve.
Similarly, lots of pivots in the rear suspension, especially pivots
above the back wheel (various rocking-arm designs, e.g. anything from
Kona) are vulnerable to wear. Furthermore, none of these 'clever' rear
suspension designs seem to show any real benefit, especially these days
when we have shocks with stable platform valves.
The bike I'd look at with lust and end up not buying is the Nicolai
Nucleon TFR
http://www.nicolai.net/order/nucleon-tfr.html. I lust after
it because putting the transmission components inside the frame triangle
rather than hanging them out by the rear wheel has to be a good idea,
has to be the way of the future. But I wouldn't buy it because it's
simply too heavy. If Nicolai could build a cross-country version of the
Nucleon I think they'd have a winner.
Final thought: when I bought my Jekyll I was stingy and bought a
mid-spec model (700, cost £1750 new). I have spent so much money on
upgrading that bike since that I would definitely have been better off
spending another thousand and getting a top spec model. Having said
that, buying new jewelry for it is fun, and it is now tuned exactly how
I like it (and is actually lighter than my girlfriend's Santa Cruz
Superlight).
A final thing I'd add to the list if you're short of cash is the Giant
Trance. I don't think it's as good as the bikes I've listed above, but
you get a good quality bike for quite a lot less money.
--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke)
http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;;Drivers in the UK kill more people every single year than
;; Al Qaeda have ever killed in any single year.
