FS to hardtail

On 2004-06-11, Joe Roach penned:

Quoted message said:

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

Joe Roach said:

After 4 years with my Marin Rift Zone, I've
downgraded/upgraded from FS to hardtail.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

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

"Monique Y. Mudama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

On 2004-06-11, Joe Roach penned:

Quoted message said:

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

"Joe Roach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

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?

"LoomerMBV" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Joe Roach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

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.

"LoomerMBV" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Joe Roach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

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...

Joe Roach said:

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

Quoted message said:

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,

I just went from an FS to hardtail as well. My buddies tell
me to get and Epic with the "brain". They claim it climbs
just like a hard tail but is FS for bumps and down hill. You
guys agree??