I (think) I understand why GG stopped making aluminum bikes but I also think theirs was one of the nicest production aluminum bikes so it makes me sad. CTK’s Smash is lovely and I’d say he’ll own it until (if) it breaks without lusting after another FS bike. It certainly will justify its initial purchase price in that regard.
No Trunnion, standard bearing sizes, really smart/simple pivot points, ability to run anglesets if he ever wanted, if it just had sliders to play with wheelbase! (Hahaha).
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I see so few hardtails on the trails locally. Heck, the number of 24”/26”/27” kids FS bikes I saw this year wasn’t close to hardtails but it was still a large %. I would have thought it was just North Van but two of the fanciest I saw were in Cumberland!
For kids, it strikes me good brakes and geo are more important than any suspension, but a good hardtail with a good fork will be lighter and perform better than an FS bike with crappy shocks at both ends. Never mind little kids being able to muscle the bikes around.
For adults, it strikes me that people are buying a narrative around suspension that’s untrue. I mean, buy an FS bike if you can afford to spend for a decent build and maintenance, but if you’re looking at an SX equipped FS rig there’s a way better hardtail option for you.
Nov. 30, 2021, 7:05 a.m. - Andrew Major
I (think) I understand why GG stopped making aluminum bikes but I also think theirs was one of the nicest production aluminum bikes so it makes me sad. CTK’s Smash is lovely and I’d say he’ll own it until (if) it breaks without lusting after another FS bike. It certainly will justify its initial purchase price in that regard. No Trunnion, standard bearing sizes, really smart/simple pivot points, ability to run anglesets if he ever wanted, if it just had sliders to play with wheelbase! (Hahaha). ——— I see so few hardtails on the trails locally. Heck, the number of 24”/26”/27” kids FS bikes I saw this year wasn’t close to hardtails but it was still a large %. I would have thought it was just North Van but two of the fanciest I saw were in Cumberland! For kids, it strikes me good brakes and geo are more important than any suspension, but a good hardtail with a good fork will be lighter and perform better than an FS bike with crappy shocks at both ends. Never mind little kids being able to muscle the bikes around. For adults, it strikes me that people are buying a narrative around suspension that’s untrue. I mean, buy an FS bike if you can afford to spend for a decent build and maintenance, but if you’re looking at an SX equipped FS rig there’s a way better hardtail option for you.