Hardtail or Dual Sus for easy trails and commuting

[cjrich]

Hi all.
I'm looking at getting a MTB for some easy trails and short commuting, currently have a flatbar for commuting which I'll probably offload and commute on the MTB. Budget up to $1500. Looking online at Polygon and 99Bikes, seems I can get a decent hardtail for around $1000 or $1500 for full sus.
Do I really need a full sus for this type of riding? Also 29 or 27.5? I'm 170cm tall
Thanks
CJ

[Calvin27]

Hi all.
I'm looking at getting a MTB for some easy trails and short commuting, currently have a flatbar for commuting which I'll probably offload and commute on the MTB. Budget up to $1500. Looking online at Polygon and 99Bikes, seems I can get a decent hardtail for around $1000 or $1500 for full sus.
Do I really need a full sus for this type of riding? Also 29 or 27.5? I'm 170cm tall
Thanks
CJ

1. I'd recommend keeping the commuter. MTB for commuting can be fun but ultimately it's pretty slow. On pavement the mtb knobby tyres also get flogged really fast.
2. For your budget range, I'd go for a hardtail.
3. If you want full suspension, used is the way to go. You'd get a real quality rig for $1500 used. But for $1500 the dually's aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be.
4. At your size, I'd go with 27.5. But that is based on knowing nothing about your preferences. Ride both and see which you like.
5. The choice of hardtail vs dually ultimately comes down to comfort. If you want comfort, go for a dually, otherwise hardtail if you are a bit more of a spring chicken.

[Cosh]

Agree with all the above. I recently went through this and purchased a 29er Hardtail for general trail riding. After two rides, I was hooked and onto blue trails and finding some of the more technical features a bit daunting.

After a few more rides with mates. I have now been bitten by the MTB bug and quickly upgraded to a FS 27.5 Trance. It's a lot more comfortable than the Hardtail and I am way more confident on it.

The one thing that I wish I had on the Hardtail is a dropper post. With the post dropped, you can move around on the bike and big drops are not as daunting.

If I was purchasing a Hardtail now I'd want, in order of preference:

1. Dropper Post
2. Hydraulic Brakes
3. Air Shocks
4. 1x drivetrain

[Mububban]

Hi all.
I'm looking at getting a MTB for some easy trails and short commuting, currently have a flatbar for commuting which I'll probably offload and commute on the MTB. Budget up to $1500. Looking online at Polygon and 99Bikes, seems I can get a decent hardtail for around $1000 or $1500 for full sus.
Do I really need a full sus for this type of riding? Also 29 or 27.5? I'm 170cm tall
Thanks
CJ

If you are confident you will stick to only doing easy trails and commuting, I'd go a 29er hardtail. Dual sus is awesome for off road but overkill for commuting, and the bounce when pedalling will get annoying fast. Unless you have lockouts to stiffen your suspension, which entry level dual sus bikes may not have.

Something like these for ~$1300:
https://www.bicyclesonline.com.au/polyg ... ntain-bike
https://www.99bikes.com.au/bike18-norco ... en-grey-29

Plus a dropper seat post if you wish for <$200:
https://www.this link is broken/au/ ... prod149024

Or this Giant that includes a dropper post:
https://www.tbe.com.au/products/giant-f ... 19/429688/

The problem with mountain biking though is that it gets addictive real fast....please see the below factual documentary

[bychosis]

I see two options.
1. Add a dually to your fleet. Only commute on it when you will be riding off road in the way to work (I often do that). Keep the flat bar for other days when speed/efficiency is more important.
2. Sell flat bar and buy a 29er hardtail. Bigger wheels will be more forgiving on the trails and also a bit faster in the road. As others have pointed out try to get a dripper post.

[cjrich]

Thanks for the replies people.
As a 50 year old experienced road rider I've been thinking of trying MTB for a while but was concerned about coming off and further damaging my already fragile knees, so I'll be leaving the knarly stuff to the younger guys and girls. Any reason not to go 2x chain rings, would be better for commuting I would think?

[bychosis]

Not that I’ve ridden with 2x, but it seems that for MTB riding you tend to change the front a lot more than 3x as the middle ‘just riding along’ gears cross over the two chainrings. While 3x you tend to stick in the middle ring and use the full range of cassette unless you are riding steep up or fast down.

[Cardy George]

Any reason not to go 2x chain rings, would be better for commuting I would think?

Depends where you want to go. I have 2x on a hardtail and I live in flat country with fast wheels, so I tend to stay in big ring the whole time around home. BUT I take it to Adelaide regularly and in little ring I can climb 20% inclines.

I like the simplicity of 1x, but I'm glad I went for the extra range.

Long story short, have a good honest think about where you'll take it.

[Mugglechops]

I would go a hardtail plus bike with 1x over a dually. Even though all my bikes are now rigid, I have 2 that are 1x and I find they do everything I need them to. With an 11-42 cassette the range is good enough to never worry about low gearing. I have my fatbike setup 2x still as the granny ring is used more often when riding in really soft sand.

But I tend to think you can commute on anything if you leave early enough. I have even commuted to work on a 200mm travel downhill bike a few times.

[caneye]

i think my choice of MTB trail is quite similar to OP's.
as some of you know, i picked up a Trek SuperFly hardtail a few months back with the aim of doing cross-country MTB. Around Sydney, I've done Wylde, H20, OMV and Oaks.

after 3 months, my comments ..
- 2x is ok. i can understand the benefits of simplifying the drive train by going to 1x (i have a 1x drive train on my CX commuter) but so far, i've had no issues with the 2x. might convert it to 1x in a few years time but certainly not in a rush.
- dropper <-- this is the biggest thing i'm missing on the hardtail especially when going on the black lines in H20. still nursing a couple of raw wounds from the weekend. it will be a big help BUT entirely dependent on the surface and trail that you ride. i certainly didn't miss it at Wylde and the Oaks ..
- i decided to opt for a 29er HT despite my height (172cm) mainly because my old bike was a 15yo 26-inch and i wanted to go the other extreme .. lol

the 29er wheels rolling onroad have been "OK". i did the Spring Cycle river ride, almost 50km onroad that morning pulling my 8yo on the tag-along-bike.
i see many MTBs doing the Sydney-Gong ride so it's definitely possible to commute on MTB. just need to be patient

Do I regret not getting a FS?
Not at all. Perhaps if I'm doing the black lines and gnarly stuff all the time then I might miss it .... but I'm not

Best thing is .. I'm hoping to use the HT for some gravel rides too (tossing up between HT or CX bike).

[Mugglechops]

I loved my Superfly HT until it broke. Good news was it was replaced with a carbon version.

Which is now running dropbars and a rigid fork with a 1x drivetrain.

Makes a great commuter and can be used on singletrack too.

[tubby74]

dually will feel incredibly sluggish on a commute. even front suspension is overkill for that purpose. keep the flat bar with any accessories for commuting, mud guards, racks etc. gearing on this is probably better for long flat road sections than a mtb.

As for best for trails, a plus hard tail will help take chatter out on easier trails and make it more comfortable. It isn't a substitute for suspension when the trails call for it but you may not find you need that. As for crashes, depends entirely on how close to the edge you push yourself. That edge will grow as you spend more time on the trail so you may be riding harder stuff but still well within your window. I just went from 3* to 1* on the mtb. 2* just never made sense to me, swapping front cog much more often.