Mountain Bike - Hard tail

My brother just went through this, he settled on a 29er Fathom after researching about 10 different hardtails and debating between 27+ and 29". Fathom, Canyon Exceed, Kona Big Honzo, and a Scott 930 are what the final group was. However they're in between model years and the Fathom is sold out everywhere (around here), and also only came in 1 color (black). The 2020 popped on on the Aussie site and the specs were not that good for the price, doesnt even have the new STX grouppo, they switched to SRAM.

He found a good deal on a customized 1yr (2yr?) old Cannondale FSI carbon 5 and WOW what a bike that is!! Fox 32 step-cast, carbon frame, dropper, Di2 shifting, etc for $2k cash. Lucky bastid!!

 

At my size and weight I am kinda set on the 27.5. Dealer has one in black/blue he came down to $1k on a cash deal. Locally, I'm stuck with Giant, Specialized, Salsa (Timberjack looks well sorted), Trek and not much else really. Ruled out Salsa due to wanting lifetime warranty (they are 3 yrs on alloy IIRC). Specialized has a new Fuse 27.5+ catching my eye as well...

Debating a fat tire and an extra set of rims due to not having suspension to service & upgrade...

 

if you do alot of pedaling... the 29er is faster all things equal. I will say the 27.5 has way more corner speed and requires more effort to keep it rolling. Also more sealant in the tire thats 2.5 or larger.
My next bike will be a FS 29er...probably an Edict 1 or similar.

On swapping brakes... it was easier for me to train my left hand to modulate like my right is capable. Since there is no throttle action I dont have a "weak" side in turns... if that makes sense. I try to use the front 100% of the time... except to control wheelies. I find lifting the front often over roots, rocks, steps helps keep roll speed up.

 

I demoed both and bought a 27.5 more trail oriented hardtail. The 29er's are definitely faster, handle bumps etc better and are probably better on every performance metric I would think. At this point I'm just having fun and being stupid and the 27.5 felt more playful. Next bike will almost certainly be a 29er though. There are quite a few flow trail networks near me, which probably played into my newbie thoughts on it.

 

for me its an ego thing...guys that I know are slower than me and less fitness but are pedaling off on straights...grrrrrr. How ever on technical obstacle laden trails with climbs...they cannot get away at all.
The 2.5 tire rolling resistance has made me much stronger though.

 

That’s a quality that’s hard to quantify. However, it’s what makes things worth owning and using.

 

Agreed. I should have added "for me" in there. With all the different geometries and suspension/tire setups I don't think there is a universal answer. Being in the newbie stage, I could obsess forever over all the various technical details. I figured it was just smarter to jump in and ride as much as possible while I reform my opinion. I don't know what I don't know at this point. So I'm just going to ride as often as possible for a year or two and then see about whether I need to upgrade/change anything. Already addicted though.

 

I swapped mine. I started out racing MX and have way more time on a motorcycle than a bicycle. I want the front brake on the same hand. 99% of the time it won't matter but when things start happening fast I don't want to have to remember that the brakes are backwards to what I am used to. I prefer standard shift on my race bikes for the same reason.

 

I rode for maybe a decade, took 3-4 years off, and now I'm in about 6 months in on a Giant Advanced Trance 27.5. Love the bike. It rips, and it climbs better than it should for its travel. The only thing I'm not coming to terms with in all this new technology is the dropper post. I don't find it very helpful at all, and everything I'd read getting myself up to speed on new stuff, was that it was one of the best things to ever come along in mtn biking. When I move mine out of the way, I feel lost. Like no bike feel at all. I like having the seat between my legs for control of the bike. Plus I sit down way more than any of the guys I ride with, even on some decents. I go back and forth to just hovering above the saddle and sitting. I have way more control that way and while I'm no pro, I'm faster downhill than any of the groups I ride with. Maybe I'm just used to motorcycles more.

Anybody else not like their dropper? Maybe I'm not utilizing it properly.

 

I don't currently have a dropper but every time I have ridden one I have struggled to use it. I feel EXACTLY the same way you described when it goes down and is "missing"

 

My bro is all about the dropper and its the best thing in decades for mtn bikes, but I find it strange and unnatural.

 

Took me a bit to get used to, but I really dig having it. You can let the bike move more freely and relaxed.

 

I use it on rolling obstacles like a table top to a switch back cobblestone climb where Im moving my weight around.
The seat kind of rubs my leg to let me know its at and sometimes Ill lose track and be too far forward or backward. Sometimes it unloads the back tire and I get 1 full revolution sending me into the bars with no resistance...lol. Other times Ill be too far back on a climb and start wheelieing over backward.

 

See i look at it the other way. When things get hairy, i wanna be grabbing a fist full of rear brake, especially on DH, so i'm not flipping OTB into the stratosphere. I find i modulate effort on the rear of my mtb the same as i do on the front of a sportbike, and likewise am lighter then on the front as i would be modulating the clutch. I can see it both ways. The hardest thing for me to translate was leaning the mountain bike like a dirtbike instead of my body like a roadbike. The first year or two were a bit rough with some wash out crashes because of that.

I had one for a while. It added a pound and was another thing to service. If i want to be seriously going down, i go ride DH. For exercise rides i don't find it vital. Depends on where u live and your terrain though. I could see it being more beneficial in a place like Socal or BC than MD.

 

This is something I still don't get right. I instinctively want to ride the front end into a corner and get down and to the inside. At best at speed and riding hard this ends in a scary moment of slide/bob/weave - at worst a lowside into some trees. I have been getting better at feeling this a little bit through the fork and bar but I do wonder if the dropper would help me get the weight down and back a bit off the front wheel. On downhills and descends I just get behind the saddle - seems ok since the trails I ride are not serious DH rides.

 

The most traction you're going to get on a mtn bike is your weight directly over the bottom bracket. If you're getting washed from the front, you will definitely benefit from getting your weight back. I slide the front nearly every ride, but it's very controllable since the weight isn't transferred there.

 

I'm on a 29" Superfly, and I found a 27.5" Santa Cruz 5010 to be super fun and playful.

I ordered a dropper to experiment with, but I think our downhills are just too short out here in Iowa to get much assistance out of it. Our trails are more annoyingly rooty, technical and narrow than downhill fun.

 

I'm on a Transition Scout full suspension now. Injuries caught up and it makes things nicer. Rad bike, 27.5. Does everything. The dropper is nice in constantly varying terrain but for sure in FL I don't really need it. When I'm at the jump line I can flick the quick release and drop the seat. When I hit the trails, set it back. However, modern frames are really beginning to be designed around one, I can't drop the post enough manually if it's long enough to pedal nicely. As for brakes, as said above, primary brake is the rear usually and it's in your right hand like a motorcycle would be.

 

Talks about dropper seat posts in the thread about hard tails really makes no sense. The only time you need to lower the seat is on some gnarly down hill or a jump line where I surely wouldn’t be riding a hard tail. Otherwise adding a dropper to a hard tail is just pissing away money to have the “cool MTB gadgets” and adding another pound to the bike. Maybe I’m biased since I’ve watched as these posts over the last decade that started as unreliable POS and seemed slow to gain the reliability enough for me to latch on.

If I’m riding Anniston and hit Bomb Dog or Trillium or Hare, I just stop at the top for a minute and lower my seat. Call me old school I guess. Something about the 1 lb penalty I can’t accept after I’ve spent all this money on carbon wheels/frame/bars and lightweight cassette to shave ounces for the climbs to then just throw more weight back on for a dropper.

 

Personally, coming from a BMX, MX and grown up Xed up form like Miguel DuHamel....the dropper posts get the eff out of your way when you want to ride like that... Just my .02..