Dirt Jumping. Suspension or No suspension?

PB Forum :: Dirt Jumping & Street
Dirt Jumping. Suspension or No suspension?
  • Previous Page
Author Message
flag petemapants
O+
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 18:59 Quote
I'm 42 and I've been going to the dirt jump park with my 4 year old son. I've raced bmx since 1980 and motocross since 1974 so I can jump the jumps. I feel nervous though going for the big stuff on my 24 inch race bike, so I want to get a dirt jump bike. I was planning on getting a hardtail with a 100mm fork but then I saw some guys on 4 inch frames like a Norco 4X and they looked smooth and fun no matter if they made little mistakes or not. So that's the question. Should I get a 3.5 or 4 inch frame or a hardtail?

**Keep in mind I'm old and have broken every limb and collorbone at least once!**

(I've been drooling over the Transition "Double" http://www.transitionbikes.com/2007/Double.cfm )
flag silaslecake
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:12 Quote
petemapants wrote:
I'm 42 and I've been going to the dirt jump park with my 4 year old son.

Wow that is such an unusual/awesome beginning to a thread...Beer

I've never dirt jumped extensively on a full suspension bike (or even a front suspension bike for that matter...) but I think that something like the transition double would work very well for you, as it could prevent you from hurting yourself when you land your 360 triple whip badly.

Cheers.
flag matt-p
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:20 Quote
since your 42 you might be as strong as you were 20years ago. id get a squish bike, yes the doubles are nice bikes, kona has made a pretty respectable full suspension dirtjumper, the cowan. heard good reviews on it.

but to answer your question, get a full suspension dirtjumper, itll save your back
flag norcodj
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:21 Quote
I have always done everything on a fully but lately I have been riding my small hardtail because my fully was getting fixed and I noticed I was boosting all my jumps bigger and clearing them a lot easier. There is also the extra weight of a fully that you would want to consider if your going to be doing tricks but I would say it all depends on what you feel more comfortable with.
flag ride24bikes
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:35 Quote
Well, seeing as your 42 I'm guessing you have more money that most 15 year olds on Pinkbike. With that the case, I would suggest building up a sick-ASS Cowan DS.

But, although a fully is more forgiving, it will be a tad heavier. That will make it harder for doing tricks. If you want to save a bit of weight, you could build up a phenominal hardtail. There are some really nice frames on the market right now, such as the Dobermann Pinscher, MBF and Molosse, Many people are riding the Pinscher and I have heard nothing but good reviews for it. The Black Market riot and mob, another popular brand with great reviews. The transition Trail-or-Park, my friend has one and it rides like a beauty. There are alot of nice hardtails out there you could biuld up, but the same goes for full suspensions. In the end, I would stick with my previous suggestion of building up a Cowan DS.


Hope this helped! tup
flag mtbermike
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:44 Quote
if you really want to get good at dirt jumping start on a ht. those guys you see that are so smooth prob learnt how to ride on a ht, then moved to a full suspension. if your just having fun and not all that serious just go with the full suspension bike as it will be less fogiving.
flag petemapants
O+
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:46 Quote
TRICKS!! hahahahahahahahahahahaha................................................................hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

You better bring out the high speed digital camera if you're gonna catch MY one handers.

I'm not very brave any more, but I raced pro bmx and motocross so I'm pretty smooth. I just know that if I screw up on my bmx I'm going to pay. A Transition "Trail or Park" was what I was liked but then I saw the double.

If I had a ton of money to spend on dirt jumping I'd buy both. But this is a once or twice a week thing. I'm building a pump track here so I can ride my bmx on that. I haven't jumped anything but a bmx and a downhill bike. So I really don't know. I read that the Roco or Fox airshocks on these bikes are really stiff and only really move when you case so it shouldn't be that different.
flag ride24bikes
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:48 Quote
Okay, fully it is then. Wink
flag foxfreerider
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 19:54 Quote
Wow you and my dad share a lot of things in common. Hes like 44 and rode motocross as a kid and bmx. He hurt his shoulder pretty badly 6 years ago at the bmx track and decided to give it up and ride his mountain bike more. Hes been riding a 5in travel frame and jumps around great on it, very smooth and easy on the body. He will try to ride my hardtail but doesn't like it as much because its to jarring. So i say go for the duely and you will love it. i might upload some pics of my old man jumping now lol
flag ricar
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 21:14 Quote
Since I know what getting old feels like (though I'm ONLY 35) I can say that crashing sucks a lot more the older you get. I rode 20" for about 28 years with some cruisers thrown in for good measure, and the last few on a 24" with about 80mm of squish. I find it MUCH more forgiving but it is a custom frame that feels like a squishy cruiser. From what you are saying I would say to go for a Tonic Fab Fall guy with a small fork. Basically a cruiser with a squish fork abd you probably have all the parts to fit it but the fork.
flag street55dirt
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 at 21:46 Quote
id recomend
a double, a 4xxx, or a kona bass/or cowan ds
flag petemapants
O+
Posted: Apr 29, 2008 at 10:24 Quote
Anybody ride a "Double"?
flag grant446
Posted: Oct 28, 2008 at 20:49 Quote
ask thom the moderator, he rides for transition and has a sick double...
flag leon-forfar
Posted: Oct 28, 2008 at 20:55 Quote
doubles look amazing, i havent ridden one. the cowan ds is a sick bike. the air shock can be stiff as a ht, and tgey can be built light. my friends is 29 pounds
flag gutkrencher
Posted: Oct 29, 2008 at 6:17 Quote
riding trails on a full sus bike is such a trend at the moment. its better and less effort to ride a bike withought sus as it doesnt suck the pump out. i ride trails with a fully rigid bike and its effortless. by riding a full sus bike youll just make it harder
  • Previous Page

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.013021
Mobile Version of Website