Converting from soft to hardtail?

[Hiflyer]

Hello.

I'm looking into doing a few basic modifications to my bike but also considering converting to hardtail. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions (preferably first hand) about the change in ride quality and cost?

Bike in question is a 96 Yamaha XV 535.

Thanks in advance!

[FJRider]

With the high standard of New Zealand roads ... you'll never notice the change ...

[Hiflyer]

With the high standard of New Zealand roads ... you'll never notice the change ...

exactly my fear! It's marginal at best around the city.

Coro loop on the weekend was fine though. Guess I could put that down to slightly higher speeds over the bumps...

[FJRider]

Just remember .... suspension affects bike handling ... more than rider comfort.

[Robert Taylor]

Hello.

I'm looking into doing a few basic modifications to my bike but also considering converting to hardtail. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions (preferably first hand) about the change in ride quality and cost?

Bike in question is a 96 Yamaha XV 535.

Thanks in advance!

If you look at the Harrley application of this it is for all intents and purposes an engineering nonsense.

[Motu]

What people leave out with a rigid frame is the sprung saddle. They are very riderable with a sprung seat. Unfortunately I've thrown a few Lycett saddles out in the hard refuse, one of the reasons they are worth so much now.

[AllanB]

Plenty of US websites selling sprung seats if you go down that path. In this day and age the hard-tail is for the look - want the look then you accept the related negatives.

[SMOKEU]

Why would you take an already ill handling bike and turn it into a dangerous pile of shit just for lulz? The suspension is there for a reason. Keep it.

[MIXONE]

You might as well just slot the motor into a pushbike frame.

[F5 Dave]

First try filling the forks to the top. That'll learn ya.

[admenk]

I rode a hardtail FJ1100 in the UK for the best part of ten years with no major problems (I appreciate that many NZ roads aren't as good quality). Sure, if you want to it to handle like a sportsbike, you'll be disappointed, but with a bit of common sense you'll be fine. We toured in France with friends on standard bikes, and it was often them that wanted a break first. As with any bike, you need to know its limits and ride accordingly. I think it helped that my chop used all the original running gear and was the same length as the original bike.

I started off with a sprung seat but found I kept "rolling" off the back when I accelerated. I found a standard stepped king/queen seat to be far more comfortable as you could sit back into it and it gave far more lower back support with higher handlebars.

I suspect that a lot of the "experts" have never really ridden one! Will be interested in how you get on. As always, be safe and enjoy your bike however you want to.

[Robert Taylor]

I rode a hardtail FJ1100 in the UK for the best part of ten years with no major problems (I appreciate that many NZ roads aren't as good quality). Sure, if you want to it to handle like a sportsbike, you'll be disappointed, but with a bit of common sense you'll be fine. We toured in France with friends on standard bikes, and it was often them that wanted a break first. As with any bike, you need to know its limits and ride accordingly. I think it helped that my chop used all the original running gear and was the same length as the original bike.

I started off with a sprung seat but found I kept "rolling" off the back when I accelerated. I found a standard stepped king/queen seat to be far more comfortable as you could sit back into it and it gave far more lower back support with higher handlebars.

I suspect that a lot of the "experts" have never really ridden one! Will be interested in how you get on. As always, be safe and enjoy your bike however you want to.

So to get some modicum of barely credible comfort you fudge it all by fitting a very ''compliant'' seat. Whilst the remaining reality is that the ultimate amount of mechanical tyre grip available is severely compromised by the rigid suspension. It would have to be ridden very carefully and slowly, even then that doesnt preclude the possibility of hitting an ''unexpected'' pothole and being spat down the road. All for the sake of ''looks''. Its early 20th century stuff to have no bump absorbing suspension and whether you are expert or inexpert it doesnt make any sense at all.

Leave it to the bikes of that period that dont have the speed capability of a more modern bike that you intend to bastardise.

[admenk]

I can only speak from my own experience and I have to say I can't recall a hair raising moment due to the fact I was riding a hardtail. Maybe I was just lucky, maybe I rode with a little bit of common sense.

[Drew]

Robert, it's an XV535 for fuck sakes! It wouldn't be as fast as the ancient bikes that were built as a hard tail.

Biggest thing crossing my mind, is careful tyre selection. If it has the same enormous hoop around a 16in rim like the 750, get something that can run at low pressure. 20psi is firm for a hard tail.

[Robert Taylor]

Robert, it's an XV535 for fuck sakes! It wouldn't be as fast as the ancient bikes that were built as a hard tail.

Biggest thing crossing my mind, is careful tyre selection. If it has the same enormous hoop around a 16in rim like the 750, get something that can run at low pressure. 20psi is firm for a hard tail.

Its still stupid. Why would you make something handle a lot worse andf take away a whole load of mechanical grip? And the point I am trying to make is that you are significantly lowering the ''threshold'' of how easy it is to crash that bike.