I'm looking to buy a new bike sometime in the very near future, I'm selling my old mountain bike to my father for $50 or so...
But I can't decide between two bikes, so I'm hoping we have some semi-knowledgeble people in regard to mountain bikes.
They're both GT bikes, one is nicer than the other in most respects, better breaks and better deraileurs...that one is a hard-tail, the other is a dualy. They're fairly close in quality, but does the slightly-less-quality dualy make up in performance by the mere fact it's a double suspension bike?
I can't decide
It be nice to jump any and every little log along the trail, but if it's less quality I might have to repair it alot.....don't get me wrong...as a reflection of quality difference, there is only a $50 difference which is pretty insignificant compared to the cost of the bikes (which are terrbily expensive these days)
Duals add weight, which is noticeable in everyday riding. Plus, the action of the back shock often causes a loss of traction on uphill sections of trails.
However, there's probably going to be no difference in quality, within a $50 pricepoint, at least in terms of frequency of repair. I ride a Giant hardtail that cost less than $500, beat the hell out of it, and it always comes back for more.
I regularly ride some pretty technical trails in the Rockies (not that I'm an expert or anything, but I LOVE it ) Anyways, I've ridden everything (I rented a bunch before I bought a bike) and I prefer my front shock and seat shock over dualies. I agree with spinner that uphill it is harder to get traction, and they do add weight. Actually, no one I ride with has rear shocks, but to each their own.
Have fun picking out your new bike...
Spinner,
Ended going with neither, and got a Specialized RockHopper hardtail. Superphat, Judy fork, most all XT components which are what I was getting on the GT. Have you ridden with a Manitou fork though? It's costly, but I might try to ebay off my rockshox and get one, though like i said, it's kind-of costly.
) Anyways, I've ridden everything (I rented a bunch before I bought a bike) and I prefer my front shock and seat shock over dualies. I agree with spinner that uphill it is harder to get traction, and they do add weight. Actually, no one I ride with has rear shocks, but to each their own. 
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