CTR question: bike choice. Hardtail or FS?

[Trhoppe]

I know the race is essentially a year away, but I am sitting here, noodling in my head, and trying to think about starting planning.

For people that have done the race, would you consider a full suspension pretty much necessary? I've got a choice of a hardtail Ti or a 100mm full suspension plastic bike. With the FS, I'd have to do a backpack for sure, but with the hardtail, I can get away without one. I thought about possibly doing a dropper post as well. I've got a Visacha bag which has fairly small attachment to the seat post.

Thoughts?

[Racingguy04]

I haven't done the CTR, but I hope do to the CT with a hard tail and no backpack, but I think that most people would say that a FS bike and a pack is the way to go, mostly because of the trail being as rough as it is, and the amount of HAB. I don't have a full squish bike so that also probably skews my opinion but I like my hard tail and I hate wearing a pack so my set up works for me.

[Trhoppe]

I'm wondering if the hardtail, but with a dropper post, would be good too. I've got a sweet 150mm dropper that will fit my Kon Raijin, and with the seat bag attached, I can get ~75mm drop. I'd add one of these to make sure I'm not hitting the bag and prevent the bag from sliding down too: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/rockshox-reverb-enduro-height-collar/rp-prod108858

I'd be a lot more confident on the downhills which I think would help more so than the full suspension. If I go with the FS, there isn't room for a dropper. This will be fun to test both scenarios and see what I like more.

I do see your point with a bit more weight off the bike and onto the back because of all the HAB. I'd probably opt to take weight off the front of the bike. Having too much weight up there really prevents me from ripping some singletrack like I can with a more "rear biased" setup.

[Adam Alphabet]

I toured the CT in 2012 (Denver to Durango) and raced the CTR this year (Durango to Denver) both on the same 29er steel hard tail. This year I had a dropper post, with a small seat bag of my design to get the full travel of the dropper. The best!

I have only ridden steel hardtails my entire life because that's how and what I like to ride. After the race this year though was the first and only time in my life I've ever considered going to the dark side and getting a shortish travel, XC/trail full suspension bike. Not for the downhills but for the sheer amount of rear end bouncing and loss of traction on the medium grade, slightly rough, uphill sit and pedal trails, of which there is an endless amount of on the CTR also of which I don't get to ride much. My trails are steep up and steep technical down which I was good at on the CTR, it's all the stuff in between that was hard haha.
 

[J_wowzer]

In my opinion, do anything in your power to get everything off your back. Absolutely no backpack at all, EVER. Obviously, your hands and feet will like you a little better if you ride a FS, but your back and shoulders will definitely not be happy. I rode the CTR on a soft tail Ti, which for me is the the perfect bike. The soft tail totally saved my butt and the combination of Ti and tubeless adds all the suspension I need. I will never ride anything else.   

[aarond]

I think it was Marshall who said, " it depends which bike you like taking for a walk."
Joe Grant did great this year on a fully rigid bike, but I would never
Use anything but fs -- it is a rough trail.

[Trhoppe]

In my opinion, do anything in your power to get everything off your back. Absolutely no backpack at all, EVER. Obviously, your hands and feet will like you a little better if you ride a FS, but your back and shoulders will definitely not be happy. I rode the CTR on a soft tail Ti, which for me is the the perfect bike. The soft tail totally saved my butt and the combination of Ti and tubeless adds all the suspension I need. I will never ride anything else.    

Good point on that. With the FS, I won't have room for 100oz of water, tools, tubes, etc in my triangle, so I'll have to carry water/etc on my back. I'm sure I could throw in a bottle and other tools/crap in the small frame bag that fits with the shock, but it's not enough.

I've got a hardtail Ti, but with big 2.4 29er tires and ~22-24psi, so it's not SUPER rough.

[Adam Alphabet]

Experiment with your thresholds. I don't subscribe to the no back pack ever ethos. Different trips call for different weight distribution. Pedalling all day, non technical, no back pack. Technical single track with hike a bike, back pack with, for me up to 10lbs leaving the bike more nimble.

Since we're talking the CTR, an event with a lot of pushing and hiking I'd sooner take 8 or 9lbs on my back and ride a bike that feels like a bike then add that additional weight to my bike turning it into a sluggish dead feeling tank. As always, each their own, everybody develops their own systems and what works best for them. I'd love to go as light as Jesse, but you gotta be real fast to go real light and know the terrain well.

[jakomait]

I'll start wit the right answer, you can make anything work!  I just read about a guy that did it on a unicycle!!

My personal preference after riding the CTR a hand full of times is a long travel FS (130mm-160mm) with a Reverb.  I wanted to take a HT at one point for the frame bag volume and lower weight but reconsidered after racing the Vapor Trail 125 on it.  Contact points take a beating riding for days on end and anything to limit the shock will help in the long run.  I also subscribe to packless at all costs for the same reason.  Difference in wear and tear on my body was enormous and with a FS your gear is suspended weight and more manageable on the descents.  You have to get really creative to make everything fit that way unless you can ride XL frames.  But, I still had fun on the trail carrying a pack for my first 3 years but you'll do yourself a favor to keep it as light as you can.
Good luck!

[Trhoppe]

Funny enough my XC 100mm is lighter than my hardtail, but I'd swap over the burlier wheels/tires if I do the CTR on the 100mm, so that's probably where the majority is.

I've got PLENTY of time to experiment, play and ride portions of it (and train).

Thanks for the opinions. Seems like the veterans would choose 100mm FS if they had a choice over the HT, which is what I wanted to see. That means I *should* experiment. For other races/events I've done, the HT is just the automatic choice as they aren't long enough (1-3 days) to suffer on the HT and aren't steep/crazy enough terrain to even warrant a dropper (East coast stuff, Huracan 300, TNGA, etc)

[Bob Loblaw]

This advice is coming from a rookie who scratched in BV this year, but I learned a lot from my time out there. I rode a full suspension with no backpack. It was absolutely amazing to not have anything on my back (ventilation, freedom of movement, quick clothing changes). But there were very many occasions where I hated having all the weight on the bike: the HAB up to Indian Trail Ridge, some massive downed trees in Junction Creek, hundreds of rather large rocks I had to lift the bike over. Like everyone has said, experiment and see which manner of suffering seems the best to you.

All in all, if I get feeling back in my hands and if I convince myself to go out there again, I'll be riding a FS bike with a backpack.