My mountain bike is gathering dust and I'm wondering, do I need it for riding off road?
I've nearly sold it before, not having time to ride it you see. And I realise I'm not going to get time in the near future. I've also got the fully rigid cannondale M500 which is currently confined to commuting duties, but will stripping off the mudguards and fitting off-road tyres make it anywhere near as good as my modern mountain bike?
The cannondale weighs in at about 10 kg, it's super stiff and very responsive. It has good quality vee brakes and shimano stx components.
My front bouncer weights 12-13kg, has SRAM x5/x7 components, a RockShox Reba SL air sprung front fork with 100 mm of travel, and juicy 3 hydraulic stoppers. Those brakes do give a lot of confidence in stopping and the whole setup of the bike seems very sure footed. That said, I've more experience towing trailers with it, than riding it off-road.
I have some friends to do lots of off-road riding and the plan was always to tag along with them some time. Am I going to find it easier to keep up with front suspension?