Lynn and Jim,
Nice bikes....a quiet purchase not shared with the RS team...
GT full suspension, getting ready to ride with Ron? What are your thougths about full suspension and how it's worked on the trails you have ridden.
Memory recalls that a short year ago, you biked along the Youghiogheny, but, were downplaying Mtn bikes. Times have changed.
Why are Lynn's tires still muddy while Jim's are clean?
Last year I was looking for way to broaden the range of my road bike with wider tires.? We came to the conclusion that it was futile. Just not enough clearance. Lynn's GT titanium bike won't even accept 700x25c tires on the back (and I think you said the same thing about yours). The Youghiogheny trip was what we wanted to be able to ride, but showed all the things bad about mountain bikes. VERY heavy (maybe 35 pounds) and no shock control. Wal-Mart mountain bikes.
Lot of help from Svend sharing his knowledge and experience with mountain biking with us.
Choices were 26" hardtail, 29" hardtail, 26" full suspension.
29" hardtail's ride smoother than 26", (but didn't fit in the back of my RAV4 and felt big), but you still need to absorb a much of the bikes motion with your legs and be out of the saddle.
Full suspension is more plush, but can be MUCH heavier, and you can lose a lot of energy to pedal bob if you are out of the saddle or pedaling hard.
The Youghiogheny bikes we rented exhibited both of these problems.
We decided on the full suspension because we wanted a bit more comfort for longer rides.
We decided on carbon frames to get the weight down to the 24 lb range, at the expense of higher end components (easier to upgrade components later if we want). GT seems to have a good mid-range reputation and their rear linkage seems well reviewed. Not an IBIS or a Specialized Stump Jumper, but a good compromise for what we really ride.
Front and rear shocks have lots of adjustments (11 different variations of rebound quickness), complete lockout for smooth surfaces. and we decided on cross country shocks (120 mm travel) rather than more down hill, 150mm travel shocks.
I am very pleased with the way they ride and what they weigh. My road bike is 17 pounds, so 24 isn't that much heavier, especially when you figure that the tires are probably 4 pounds extra all by themselves.
Riding country roads that are a mix of gravel, rock, ruts and exposed subsurface big rocks is amazingly smooth. Many of the trails here in Virginia are asphalt that have big heaves in them from tree roots, or dirt packed trails with series of tree roots. You still feel them, but the tires stay connected to the trail rather than getting bounced all around going up hill, and just letting the bike run downhill is even smoother.
Ohhhh!!! And disk brakes and that 22 tooth front chainring are wonderful.
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