Hardtail vs Full Suspension – What is the Future for the Next Generation of Downhill riders?
by Steven Meek
Old-school hardtail riders and parents of the new generation of downhill mountain bike riders stand at opposite ends of the debate over full suspension downhill mountain bikes for children. An unnecessary luxury or an essential no-brainer in today’s world of youth downhill mountain biking? In this blog discussion, we outline why full suspension children’s bikes are the future for downhill mountain biking.
The opportunity to ride on a smooth, well-balanced downhill bike that can track through some of the most gnarly downhill trails on the planet is paramount for young riders. Why would anyone want a young child to rattle their teeth through their skin, shake their bones and joints and spend half their time kissing the dirt after casing jumps?
The argument that ‘we never had suspension as youngsters and kids today don’t need it either’ is simply no longer a valid or logical reason for denying young riders access to proper downhill mountain bikes. Alternatively, the option is kids can now learn to smack off some of the biggest jumps ever and land safely while in full control of their bikes? This is what proper, full suspension allows.
Jump-Fest
Mega-jumps such as the Crab Apple Hits in Whistler and Super Morzine in France are a kids’ jump-fest waiting to be had, especially now that high-grade, full suspension bikes are a 21st century reality for our young groms. Full 120-200mm front travel and proper functioning, rear suspensions with adult-capability, child-friendly linkage systems have raised the riding bar to new performance levels previously only dreamed of.
A high-quality suspension with full travel, front and rear, allows young riders to advance their riding progression so much faster. Their bikes will perform to expectation and soak up the heavy landings. The full suspension bikes track through rocky sections with precision and don’t shake young hands to bits.
Full suspension bikes remove the breaking bumps that we all complain about. Instead of finishing a steep technical trail shaking like jelly, with tingling arms that feel like lead weights, youngsters are bursting and ready for another ride downhill. And another. Skill progression goes up exponentially as a result and young groms can advance to riding more difficult trail sections that were once only a dream. It eliminates arm pump and scenes of crash carnage from kids trying big jumps on an unresponsive bike, starved of a full, proper-working downhill suspension.
MeekBoyz Bikes Leading The Way
At MeekBoyz, our downhill mountain-bikes are designed primarily around the creation of kids’ bikes with the most travel possible. They feature a specialized CNC linkage-system calibrated specifically for small, lightweight riders. Like any adult downhill rider knows, full suspension gives riders the confidence to tackle difficult terrain, which would otherwise be inaccessible. Full suspension is the hallmark of a proper downhill bike – it is the essence that makes the impossible riding, possible.
Front suspension, with generous travel, allows young riders to commit to technical rock gardens and rockier terrain in general. It supports heavy, front-end landings which are a common pitfall for developing riders.
Rear suspension, with a properly-designed linkage, allows kids to send jumps to flat without their bodies caving in from the impact upon landing. The rear shock in MeekBoyz bikes, combined with the leverage of the linkage, runs at the same PSI as Dad and Mum’s bikes. Therefore, there is no need to modify a shock for your child anymore – simply buy one off the shelf and it will perform at the same pressures as an adult bike.
Full Suspension is the Future
Full suspension exists in the downhill mountain bike world for a very good reason. It makes any rider perform better and allows downhillers to ride longer and enjoy wrestling with technical sections much more efficiently. Growing groms can go faster and harder and conquer downhill sections that hardtails won’t ever achieve.
So, the next time someone says kids don’t need full suspension to ride downhill, ask yourself who’s kidding who? If the pro-riders rode small suspensions on their bikes, then they might have a point. But, no, they’re not! And they never will again. Full suspension is the ticket to the ultimate ride and sickest adrenaline rush on a bike.
Through starting young on proper downhill rigs, the downhill pro-riders of the next few decades are going to elevate the sport to a whole new level of possibilities. This is already beginning to happen in other extreme sports as kids gain earlier access to better riding technology. Downhill is at an exciting crossroads and the new generation of kids on full suspension bikes will lead the way.
To quote the age-old Star Trek cliche ‘To go where no-one has gone before…’ This is where the future of youth downhill mountain biking is heading and full suspension bikes are what will take kids there. The future has never been more exciting!