Especially a full suspension?
I’m just asking guys. I don’t get it. I have a HT XC bike and I feel very uncomfortable when passing over bumpy terrain, could not imagine myself on a gravel bike.
by No-Solution-8859
Especially a full suspension?
I’m just asking guys. I don’t get it. I have a HT XC bike and I feel very uncomfortable when passing over bumpy terrain, could not imagine myself on a gravel bike.
by No-Solution-8859
15 Comments
Xc hardtail, yes, short travel FS, significantly less so
it’s just that the inefficiencies of a FS really add up when pedaling a loaded bike. Just decrease your tire pressure a bit.
Sure, rear suspension with a thudbuster seatpost and suspension fork and a suspension stem and cushy saddle and thick bibs and gel gloves and double wrapped bars would make you comfy.
Do it if you want.
Your bike, not mine. I like mine how it is.
Adding weight to a bike never *helps* bikes suspension if the bike has any. You end up preloading it a ton and it doesn’t act like it would in a perfect world.
It also takes up a lot of room in the triangle and you often are more limited on putting anything on the fork if you can put anything at all.
Probably only if you’re racing and packing super light.
I feel like your asking is cross country running shoes would be appropriate for rucking… Yeah maybe you could do it but not great if you value longevity. That added a not industry standards you’re not even going to have bags and mounts for that platform so just why?
Depends on the route and rider. A lot of people prefer hardtails and rigid bikes because they make installing racks and frame bags simpler. Reading this sub it seems like a lot of people are doing pretty technically tame routes and therefore rigid or even gravel bikes seem to work ok for them.
The specific bikes you posted wouldn’t interest me personally because I don’t think the super steep geometry and saddle to bar drop would be comfy for long multi day rides for me, but I’m a cruiser, not a crusher. I used to own a Tallboy and I could see a short travel trail bike like that working well for singletrack heavy tours.
It’s a big, wide world of bikepacking. For some rides I bring my hardtail, for others I put the fat tires on my gravel bike. It’s a question of what terrain I’m covering, if I’m going to want front suspension and my dropper post, and how many miles I’m trying to cover in a day. You’d be surprised what you can do on a gravel bike with ~2″ tires, but underbiking gets old pretty quickly if you’re doing much of it. Some rides I’ve done I would have been miserable without any suspension, other rides I’ve done I would have had a miserable time trying to cover the mileage I wanted to on smooth doubletrack without drop bars and gravel gearing. Horses for courses. I’m skeptical of using an FS bike given the storage needs of a long bikepacking ride, but you do you.
Just finished a brutal rainy muddy two days ride. Mountain tires and a front suspension helps a lot in reducing fatigue and letting you ride faster over obstacles. If the route was more tame this would be to my disadvantage
I used an XC bike for the Oregon Timber trail. Fully appropriate with front suspension. Used the same bike with a suspension corrected carbon fork for gravel and light trail routes.
Where rack go?
*Justinas Leveika enters the chat.*
More appropriate than what?
Where you gonna put your gear?
People have been doing this for a very long time. All around the world. You aren’t going to suddenly invent a better way.
I’m convinced an epic ht would rule
i’m riding on a hardtail (trek x caliber 8) up to 140 km daily with average moving speed of ~18-16km/h, ~13km/h with all the stops. Less than 20% of my routes is asphalt. My bike has a rack mounts, a rack. To protect my ass the heaviest stuff I put in the panniers, and on the frame. I keep my backpack super light. I feel comfortable and safe on a rough terrain. Front suspension saves my wrists and shoulders, so Im happy with it.