For newcomers to mountain biking, deciding what bike to buy isn’t quite so simple. Unlike road bikes, which are all fairly similar, mountain bikes come in two distinct frame categories – full-suspension and hardtail. Here’s an easy-to-understand guide to the benefits of a full-suspension bike.
But first, some history. Let’s just confirm this from the outset – mountain bikes started out as hardtails. Men and women had fun on them while achieving varying levels of fitness in the process. But as the years passed, mountain bikers wanted to tackle more challenging terrain, so the quest to develop suspension began – similar to that of off-road motorcycles.
At first, fork suspension was added. This allowed riders to have more control when riding over rough surfaces. It also delivered a bit more comfort as the suspension absorbed the ‘trail chatter’ feedback so evident on early mountain bikes, which really forced the rider to use his/her body to absorb small and medium bumps or dips.
Not too long after suspension forks had become essential on mountain bikes, frames were designed with suspension to have a similar control and comfort effect on the rear of the bike. While off-road motorbikes were used as the motivation (most early mountain bike suspension designers had been motorbike suspension experts), there was a key difference between the two – weight.
Off-road motorbikes are heavier than their riders, while bicycles are lighter, sometimes significantly so, than their riders. This meant that mountain bike rear suspension – which had to carry the bulk of the rider’s weight – needed to be designed differently to that of a motorbike. And so a decade or so of experimentation began as different bicycle brands set out to find the perfect way to suspend the rear of a mountain bike.
The primary challenges were delivering suspension that didn’t bob too much under pedalling forces, losing the rider significant forward propulsion efficiency; and that didn’t ‘jack’ too much under hard braking, destabilising the bike and detensioning the chain to the point of it derailing. Fast forward a couple more decades and you have around six or seven tried and trusted rear suspension designs, all of which work well.
Pros and Cons of a full-suspension frame bike:
Con: It costs more – since there’s more technology in a full-suspension frame, it costs more than a similarly specced hardtail.
Con: It requires more maintenance – the rear shock needs to have its air pressure topped up from time to time (you can do this yourself with a shock pump), but also needs regular maintenance (your bike shop should do this).
Con: It can be heavier – because there are pivots, a rocker link and shock, a full-sus frame bike will weigh more than a similarly specced hardtail, but not much more.
Pro: It offers higher levels of forgiveness – a poor line choice on a hardtail could see you take a tumble, whereas a full-sus frame can often absorb a handling error and keep you upright.
Pro: It gives you more confidence – tackling gnarly terrain like rocks, roots or ruts is easier – both mentally and physically – on a full-sus than a hardtail.
Pro: It’s more comfortable – if you ride/race for a few hours or tackle a multi-day stage race, a full-sus bike will absorb the bumps, ensuring you don’t have to unweight your saddle as much as you would on a hardtail. It’s amazing how unweighting your saddle repeatedly for hours can drain you both physically and emotionally.
The translation into riding sees the pros outweigh the cons, which is why full-sus mountain bikes are generally deemed better than a hardtail. But for newcomers, who have a limited budget or aren’t sure if you want to invest too heavily, a hardtail is still fast and fun…
Check out the range https://www.lynnwoodcyclery.co.za/collections/cross-country of full-suspension and hardtail bikes at Lynnwood Cyclery.
Author, Lynnwood Cyclery