What is Better?

[the woodiest man alive]

hey fellas, went to the local Djs today. (AWESOME FUN). I was hitting the jumps on my dually (only bike i have) and i had a ton of hang time in the air, and i thought what would be better for 4x (starting racing soon) a dually or a hardtail. Sorry if this has been posted before.

Thanks,
Sam

 

[Mr Brian]

Dually is the best, personally=)

 

[Jaydawgz]

Im gonna say hardtail.
I love duallys but for 4x, you will be able to pump alot more efficently.
Unless you have thousands of dollars to spend, go for the hardtail.

 

[stacky]

I don't actually ride 4X but have ridden a Transition Double a few times(great bike too!!)
Might not be "better" but I think a short travel dually could be more versatile? Set up with minimal sag for smooth tracks you will lose very little efficiency and increased sag for rougher conditions you will possibly gain some by your rear wheel tracking better??.

There is the weight penalty and higher cost though.

 

[floody]

Hardtail.

Dually's benefit is tiny, and only for a tiny percentage of riding.

A dually could be more versatile as a play bike, but as a 4X bike a hardtail is still the benchmark.

 

[the woodiest man alive]

thanks fellas, would a dually be better for jumping? Manualling and what is the weight difference? Do they use an air shock to?

 

[Ivan]

thanks fellas, would a dually be better for jumping? Manualling and what is the weight difference? Do they use an air shock to?

No and no, and yes for the air shock. A hardtail is your best option unless your riding very big or rough tracks.

Hardtails are lighter, cheaper and easier to maintain.

vs

 

[Downhill Hooligan]

hardtails are better for manualing and are way snappier for 4x

 

[Jaydawgz]

For 4X, Hardtails are much better.
I mean, look at Jared Graves!

Lighter, Less Fuss, Easy maintanence.

I would only say get a Dually if it was going to be your Downhill bike as well.

 

[koper72]

the bike this 'woodest man alive' rides is a 180mm travel free ride bike. it isnt a 100mm 4x/dirt jump duly. just putting it out there...

 

[Mr Peter]

It just depends on what you do and what you like. I personally like dually, even through I own a hard tail, But they all have there good points and there bad ones. If your into down hill, I would buy a dually,but they are really expensive, if you want a good one, hard tails would be good for everything else and they are a lot more cheaper.

P.S. that Yeti looks really good.

 

[_dirtjumper_]

Dude, it all depends on what you would like it for, downhill and Freeride= dually, other wise buy a hardtail. I would recomend a dj, awesome fun, not too expensive and most of the time, well built. Specialized P2, Noroc 250 or Giant STP-0 are just to name a few.

 

[driftking]

as everyone has already said hardtails or short travel bikes designed for 4x and jumping are the best, its good to get a bike designed for it as the Geometry is spot on and desinged for jumps and 4x, i prefer hardtails 4x is all about been fast and smooth not air time, as you may notice the pro's its all about pumping the terrain for speed and staying low.
When you have suspension on the rear your pumping power from your hips and legs will slightly be absorbed by the shock which will result in less speed/power been transfered to the bike/terrain.
hardtails are the way to go.
The yeti DJ is sex, its such a nice bike as soon as you get on it you know its going to be a beast at 4x everything feels brillantly balanced and a great snappy bike.
On the other hand if you are talking about huge jumps like 60ft huck your ass off redbull rampage freeride go with a dually.

 

[hippy127]

pretty much it has all been said but i would go for a hard tail,

cheaper and you can get more pump,

 

[NS Capital Man]

i'd say a dually if that's what your use to

 

[jackamo]

?

really its up to you in the end and it also depends on your budget.
personly i would got for a duallie with a small amount of travel,
for example a air shock.
a hardtail would be the more duariable way to go its cheaper to run and easier to maintain.

 

[singlespeedfreeride]

in my opinion a hardtail is much better suited to dirt jumping, that bit of give on a duallie soaks up your pump and that makes it harder to get over the last few jumps on a dj set. also a hardtail lets you know when youve come up short on a gap so you it forces you to learn to be smooth and thats important if you want to hit bigger, less forgiving jumps. a hardtail has way more advantages than a duallie when it comes to dirt jumping. it gives you a more responsive bike, less maintenance, costs less, its lighter, teaches you good dj habits in terms of smoothness/speed judgement, more efficient in tight ramps and generally feels better in the air since it allows for tighter geometry and a lower centre of gravity