Watch this video with a retro hardtail / XCR fork, cannot believe how close the race was
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I just make sure not to like, comment, or subscribe when videos get shilled like that.
I enjoyed watching that GMBN vid.
I do have just one question, tho.
Why does the Absu - Tara (2001) - Full Album video show up at the end of every one of your posts?
Can't deny I'm getting rather tired of this.
=sParty
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111 Posts
Neil Donoghue was a pro downhill racer for 14 years.
His outcome on a retro hardtail may not be your outcome on a retro hardtail.
His outcome on a retro hardtail may not be your outcome on a retro hardtail.
I did something like this a few years back. Had a 32 pounds $805 full suspension bike. Believe it or not, I was able to claim top 3 in all segments of a local cat 2 climbs with it.
But when the fun starts on the downhill, my other better bike brought more smile after each ride. The brakes were safer, suspension much more compliant when it got rough. You can see how much smoother Neil is over the roots and drops in the video.
Eventually I upgraded almost everything on the $805 bike to make it ride better. In the end I should have bought a 3k bike to begin with because thats how much it takes to bring the cheap bike up to par for the bigger rides.
To be fair, for a cheap bike, it was pretty decent for most tame trails beginner would ride.
But when the fun starts on the downhill, my other better bike brought more smile after each ride. The brakes were safer, suspension much more compliant when it got rough. You can see how much smoother Neil is over the roots and drops in the video.
Eventually I upgraded almost everything on the $805 bike to make it ride better. In the end I should have bought a 3k bike to begin with because thats how much it takes to bring the cheap bike up to par for the bigger rides.
To be fair, for a cheap bike, it was pretty decent for most tame trails beginner would ride.
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6,354 Posts
It all depends on the trail.
The lesser bike can be ridden fast on a lot of terrain where "extra" bike realizes no advantage. But at some combination of increasing trail bump amplitude and frequency, the suspension takes over and the fancy bike surges ahead. Cost has little to do with it. And even a bad suspension tune (esp. in the case of a suspension newb) might negate any advantage.
On our local trails, which are mostly about negotiating narrow tree gaps and tight turns, a [properly set-up] FS bike has little advantage over a [properly set-up] rigid bike.
-F
The lesser bike can be ridden fast on a lot of terrain where "extra" bike realizes no advantage. But at some combination of increasing trail bump amplitude and frequency, the suspension takes over and the fancy bike surges ahead. Cost has little to do with it. And even a bad suspension tune (esp. in the case of a suspension newb) might negate any advantage.
On our local trails, which are mostly about negotiating narrow tree gaps and tight turns, a [properly set-up] FS bike has little advantage over a [properly set-up] rigid bike.
-F
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