Fully Hard?

Full suspension or hard tail? This question is by far one of the most important questions to ask before you start looking for a new bike. The answer to this question will greatly affect the outcome of your purchase. You need to know what type of riding you will be doing and what your performance expectations are from your bike. Outside of dirt jumping, if I was asked whether I would purchase a hard tail or a full suspension I would now recommend a full suspension, even though I ride hard tail myself. A full suspension bike is much more comfortable, enjoyable and better controllable when compared to their hard tail counterparts. The trade off is a little extra weight, which is well worth it for all the added benefits. I use to disagree with this and in 2009 I bought a hard tail bike. My thinking was that I would have more pedal efficiency on a hard tail, this is true with the terrain is smooth but when is the terrain ever smooth on our rides? Another thought was that I might get into some cross-country racing and a hard tail mountain bike would be lighter than the full suspension. Little did I know that bike weight means very little when you are already over 250lbs. The rear shock can be set to the weight of any rider, and some endurance racers have switched over to full suspension. Unfortunately, full suspension mountain bikes are a bit more expensive than hard tails. If you can't afford a full suspension with decent and reliable components, then I would recommend buying a good reliable hard tail from a specialty bike shop like Bike Zone. So for now I will keep rockin' my hard tail, though as soon as I come across some extra cash I'm getting me a FULLY!