Full Suspension 29"ers: I'm Not A Hater

Here's another question I have been hearing of late. "Why is it that you have only rigid 29"ers? Do you not like the full suspension 29"ers?"

Well, for the record I'm not a "hater"

The reasons I don't have a full suspension 29"er are varied, but it's definitely not for a lack of desire. In fact, I can point to a long history with full suspension going all the way back to 1995 when I got my first 26 inch fully. It was a Specialized S Works FSR. I used it to race XC on and I have had a couple other full suspension rigs since then, all of them "pre-29"er", if you will.

The thing is, there just hasn't been much to choose from in the 29"er world until recently. Sure, there has always been the Lenz, the Astrix Monk, and a couple others. The Fisher Sugars were around, yes. However; I have not been super impressed with much of what's been made available for one reason or another. Then we had the expansion of the category last year with several new bikes coming along. Niner, Ventana, Turner, Intense, new Lenz models, and others hit the trails. All nice bikes in their own way. However, I'm still waiting on just the "right" bike.

I don't think it's available yet, but it soon may be. What could it be that I'm waiting for? Well, I'll tell you. The bike would be considered "XC" oriented, I'm sure, but I would use it as a trail bike. Maybe a longer distance 12 hour/24 hour bike. It would be simple. Not a lot of "monkey motion". I don't see a bunch of pivots being laterally stiff for long under me, but that's just me I guess. I don't think a ton of travel is really necessary either. I do not do air, and drops are not in my menu, at least not what most younger folks would term as a "drop" these days.

The bike is close to being here, and you could say that the Lenz Leviathan is "that" bike. I suppose you'd be right. That's a definite strong contender. I'm thinking more along the lines of my Dos Niner, but with a bit more travel in the rear. The current Super Caliber Race Day from Fisher could also be "that bike", but I'm not enamored of long single piece swing arms for someone of my size. Not quite "it", nope. It's a "soft tail", or perhaps a "faux bar" like the Lenz. I'm holding out though. I think it's still coming and it won't be long.

So, I'm not a "hater". I'm just super picky!

Oh! Yeah..................and I have a ton of bikes already.

Just ask my wife!