Racing on hardtails..

sayndesyn · May 17, 2006

dang... big gap for a race... 2 wheels, 1 love, or some crap I reckon...

coma13 · May 17, 2006

sayndesyn said:
dang... big gap for a race... 2 wheels, 1 love, or some crap I reckon...

That's a big drop regardless of the situation it's being ridden in!

offtheedge · May 17, 2006

thats serious balls on any bike

.:Jeenyus:. · May 17, 2006

offtheedge said:
thats serious balls on any bike

FlipFantasia · May 17, 2006

I'm actually going back to my hardtail more and more because of the skill it takes to ride one fast in techy situations. I love hauling on the dh bike, don't get me wrong.....but there's something about being on a hardtail, I think it's that you actually RIDE the bike, and not let the bike take you for a ride....it takes more skill and ends up being way more fun in my opinion.

oscerthegrouch · May 17, 2006

FlipFantasia said:
I'm actually going back to my hardtail more and more because of the skill it takes to ride one fast in techy situations. I love hauling on the dh bike, don't get me wrong.....but there's something about being on a hardtail, I think it's that you actually RIDE the bike, and not let the bike take you for a ride....it takes more skill and ends up being way more fun in my opinion.

I agree whole heartedly! There is a huge sense of pride once you just finished hauling ass threw a techy section on a HT while passing some fullys having problems. Being able to get intouch with nature is so much better because you feel every bump and you don't have that annoying noise that your bouncing rear wheel makes.

FlipFantasia · May 17, 2006

and it makes you really smooth when you get back on the squish

offtheedge · May 17, 2006

FlipFantasia said:
and it makes you really smooth when you get back on the squish

yeah, ive noticed my line selection to be much improved since building and riding a HT. Also keeps my lazy a$$ off the saddle..

skinny mike · May 17, 2006

i cant wait to rebuild my ridge this season so i can dh on it. i loved riding it last season and ill probably want something to change it up from my dh bike every so often.

PatBranch · May 17, 2006

I DH race a hardtail; I do everything on it. It's all I have, until I get a second mtb, a FS bike.

Beating people on full suspensions is a really cool feeling. I feel pretty smooth when riding my friends FS bike after riding a hardtail for about a year.

kohoy · May 17, 2006

I do like riding on my hardtail as well... you can feel the ground more easily than on a full.... but I've a question concerning HT setup.... I saw a few ppl using long travel (7") for HT.... how good or how bad is it on a HT? Do I need a specially designed frame so it won't break so easily? I'm currently using Judy XC with dabomb molotov... what is the longest fork I can use? THX

PatBranch · May 17, 2006

Certain frames are made for certain fork lengths. Big forks on HT's are a personal preferance. Some people, like Ciaran like them and other hate them. I think a 7" fork is the biggest a hardtail should have. When you start getting toward 8"+ it seems overkill. It seems like that would a lot of movement when only the front is moving and would unbalance it.

Also, the bigger fork you get, the less fun it will be on street and DJing.
_____________________________________________________

I have an azonic evolution 2. They are made for 4-5" forks. I have a 4" fork, but will have a z130 (5-4") soon. My bike (with old bar/stem and fork): http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/mtnbrider/My Bike/06 1 28/

I don't know about da bombs (maybe someone else does), but a 5" fork at the most would probably be the best.

Ciaran · May 18, 2006

Most HT's don't have as slack a head angle as a DH bike, so when you throw a big fork on there to DH it works out OK. This is my .243 with a Boxxer on it which has since been sold and replaced with a Super T.

It does make you a smoother rider. Absolutely.

Edit: One thing I do is run the same headset on all my bikes. This way you can switch forks around easily whenever you want.

SlackBoy · May 18, 2006

Fully riders that have spent big money on getting their bling will tell you that HT's are silly for Downhilling. They get louder after you beat them down the hill as well.

In my experience, any fork over 6 inches is ass on a HT. The angle change, particulary on steep stuff, as the fork compresses does whack things to the handling of the bike. Also most people (despite what they may think) can't do wheelie landings well enuff to stop the fork from binding at least a little bit. this is why so many HT's with tripallaz rip their headtube's off. Try nosing that bike in, love your frame and it will love you.
another setup tip, is to run your bars rotated forward more than most fully riders would. It forces you to ride the front of the bike more, and gets those elbows up.

Percy · May 18, 2006

SlackBoy said:
Fully riders that have spent big money on getting their bling will tell you that HT's are silly for Downhilling. They get louder after you beat them down the hill as well.

In my experience, any fork over 6 inches is ass on a HT. The angle change, particulary on steep stuff, as the fork compresses does whack things to the handling of the bike. Also most people (despite what they may think) can't do wheelie landings well enuff to stop the fork from binding at least a little bit. this is why so many HT's with tripallaz rip their headtube's off. Try nosing that bike in, love your frame and it will love you.
another setup tip, is to run your bars rotated forward more than most fully riders would. It forces you to ride the front of the bike more, and gets those elbows up.

Trust the words of this chimp....ahh I mean man, for he is truly faster than most fully riders on his Ghetto DMR of Dooom!:love:
And he is soooooo hot right now to boot! :cool:

manhattanprjkt83 · May 18, 2006

I ride a hardtail most of the time. Last year I didnt have a fully and decided to ride snowshoe on my DOC outfitted with a PIKE. I was bouncing all over that mountain but had it pinned alot of the day. But i honestly passed a bunch of guys on m3's with fox fortys and gear like that. I loved hearing the "holy sh1t that guy is on a hardtail comment"...

Hardtail's are fun, but fullys are more fun in areas like snowshoe...

BigMike · May 18, 2006

After I busted my knee, I hung up my big bike for awhile. I rode my Rocky Mountain Flow around everywhere for 6-8 months. Street, Drops, Gaps, everything except DH.

Getting back on the big bike this season, I am MUCH better bike handler!

kohoy · May 18, 2006

cool.... it's good too see so many HT racer.......hehe I'll do more HT downhill to built up my skills.....

PatBranch · May 18, 2006

We need a HT DH racing forum!

edit: At least, this should be the HT DH cult thread.

Murphy's Law · May 18, 2006

Hell i've been riding my Yeti DJ w/fox vanilla rlc 125 since december (its my only bike at them moment still waiting for my mythilogical 303 to magically show up one day) and i have to say became a real lazy rider over the last few years riding fullies. i was nervous as hell ordering a hardtail for my 4x bike, but now that i've been on it for 6 months, i couldn't be happier. i feel like its helped me resurrect bike handling skills long since dead. but then again, once my 303 arrives, you'll have to pry my cold dead hands from it to get me off it!

Rik · May 18, 2006

Hmm, should I bring out my pic of a Kona Scab (cromo DJ frame) with a Shiver fork, doublewide rims (bonus points for 24" rear) and a bmx singlespeed drivetrain?
That sure was an insanely FUN bike to race DH, and I wasn't too slow on it either.

PatBranch · May 19, 2006

Why not put the pic up?

DHCorky · May 19, 2006

Murphy's Law said:
Hell i've been riding my Yeti DJ w/fox vanilla rlc 125 since december (its my only bike at them moment still waiting for my mythilogical 303 to magically show up one day) and i have to say became a real lazy rider over the last few years riding fullies. i was nervous as hell ordering a hardtail for my 4x bike, but now that i've been on it for 6 months, i couldn't be happier. i feel like its helped me resurrect bike handling skills long since dead. but then again, once my 303 arrives, you'll have to pry my cold dead hands from it to get me off it!

Sounds just like my situation waiting for the new frame.

HT for DH sure, racing no thanks. I have been riding my hardtail on DH trails for a few months now. I can't wait to get my full suspension so I can really pin it. I am faster so far than any of the other riders in the area on their fullies. I feel I have hit the ceiling for what the bike can do. Under braking and very rough sections I cannot keep the bike settled down enough to allow enough contact for braking. This is with picking the smoothest lines. One of the trails I ride is pretty steep as soon as you start to brake the rear wants to lift and throw some rocks under there bouning the rear of the bike upward and the rear brake becomes useless. It has made for some great riding and I have been really working on my skills riding the bike but the time has come to trade it in for my full suspension rig.

kohoy · May 19, 2006

I've post pic of my dabomb... why don't you guys post your HT pics here???

PatBranch · May 19, 2006

Now, I have a Raceface Diabolis stem and Ringle bars. I have an '04 DJ3 on there now, that I will be soon selling for a z1 FR.

Ciaran · May 19, 2006

Thought about the thread title and have to agree.. for RACING? No. In racing you take every legal advantage you can. The point of racing is to do it the fastest, and a fully will be faster than a HT anyday.

But for fun and/or training a HT rocks.

Rik · May 19, 2006

The epitome of all that is wrong: my race bike

:love:

PatBranch · May 19, 2006

That's a beast, and you sir, must be a hack!

kohoy · May 19, 2006

Wow...sweet HT Rik.....hehe

mtnbrider: how does your fork work out? I'm looking at one used for my HT...

PatBranch · May 19, 2006

My current one? It's really nice. I just want more a more FR fork. The z1FR (130mm one) will be awesome for FR/DH, but then I can stiffly lock it down to 100mm for street/dh/climbing.

My fork right now is pretty good. You meant the '04 DJ3 right?

Murphy's Law · May 19, 2006

Loveeeee the custom paint job on that kona! :rofl:

here's some pics of mine, the second pic was taken after a Night DH Race here in NC, where i just happen to snow like hell at the start of the race.....

bjanga · May 22, 2006

more reading:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10689&highlight=burly+hardtail

My bike (need to trim the housing a bit

)

Hailight · May 22, 2006

andrew mitchells (cove factory team) kicked everybodys ass here at a local "dh" race on a ht. There was a short uphill section but still.

I only rode a ht for a couple months and then I noticed that I'd have to get some new wrists and ankles if I'd keep doing that. And as I just started riding a while ago while everybody else rides since he can talk ^^ I was just not having that much fun on my ht. Now I'm riding my balfa and I'll probably become one of these sandbagging dually riders but what ever as long as I'm having fun. And who knows, maybe I'll try a ht again when I get a decent job and can actually afford to have both...

Uruk-hai · May 23, 2006

Hey Ciarin, what's the wheelbase measurement on your 243?

Racing on hardtails..

Chimp

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Chimp

Turbo Monkey

Chimp

Turbo Monkey

Fear my banana

Monkey

Monkey

Rusty Trombone

BrokenbikeMike

Chimp

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Chimp

Turbo Monkey

Fear my banana

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Chimp

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Chimp

Monkey