I have a Felt Q220 which never having an MTB before that of anything other than a second or third hand rough hack for getting to work on I rather like. But being a novice to the world of MTBs it has some cheapo forks which water has got into and seized solid, a common problem so I'm told. I could just get some 2nd hand forks and wham em in, but it's got me thinking with the long term in mind perhaps it might be worth getting a better MTB all together and put some road tyres on the Felt to make a demon winter commuter out of it.
With regards to a replacement for the Felt I'm of the mind another hardtail would be the best option, you seem to get more for your money and I'm not really into downhilling so a full sus (hey look at that me using MTB terms
), would probably be a waste. A mate of mine however swears by his full sus and reckons it's worth the money and to go for full suspension regardless of the sort of off roading I'm intending to do. So a newbie question - should I get full sus or hardtail?Also another silly question: v-steep climbs, I've got the gears on my MTB, but not the skill. Used to climbing on the road I like to sit back well in the saddle on climbs, but doing this on steep off road climbs just results in the front end coming up especially if there's some bumps or stones and me having an embarassing tumble. I can't seem to stand and lean on the bars and climb at the same time. What's the accepted technique for this sort of thing?