My experience on the Kona Honzo ESD surprised me. I could eventually do much more on it than I thought I'd be able to and there were many trails (most of Fromme for example) where the speed difference was insignificant and more than compensated for by the trail feedback and the sensation of velocity that provided.
Another factor is what it does for my riding. I've been working on my technique a lot in the last couple of years and it's vastly improved my riding. On the hardtail, in order to go fast, I had to nail my posture on the bike. This transferred over to my dually and improved my riding further, on top of the usual transferrable benefits of riding a hardtail (rear wheel awareness, line choice, contour perception, more active body movement etc.)
Being able to swap parts when something breaks is also a bonus, but all of this is contingent upon two things; riding enough to keep multiple bikes happy, and having riding buddies who also ride hardtails. The second factor is less important but I know I'd ride mine more if even one of my regular riding crew owned one. Alas, that number is zero.
Nov. 30, 2021, 11:56 a.m. - Cam McRae
My experience on the Kona Honzo ESD surprised me. I could eventually do much more on it than I thought I'd be able to and there were many trails (most of Fromme for example) where the speed difference was insignificant and more than compensated for by the trail feedback and the sensation of velocity that provided. Another factor is what it does for my riding. I've been working on my technique a lot in the last couple of years and it's vastly improved my riding. On the hardtail, in order to go fast, I had to nail my posture on the bike. This transferred over to my dually and improved my riding further, on top of the usual transferrable benefits of riding a hardtail (rear wheel awareness, line choice, contour perception, more active body movement etc.) Being able to swap parts when something breaks is also a bonus, but all of this is contingent upon two things; riding enough to keep multiple bikes happy, and having riding buddies who also ride hardtails. The second factor is less important but I know I'd ride mine more if even one of my regular riding crew owned one. Alas, that number is zero.