My first MTB, vacation pics, and advice needed.....

[Crankin]

Hi Trisk!
How exciting that you are retiring to Portugal. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a mountain biker, but I did spend a few years trying to be one, and gave it up when I realized I was not willing to practice enough to get good, because it took up my road time and miles. I had a full suspension bike (a 2005 Norco, regular 26er) that did make it easier to roll over roots and rocks. Now, I never got the point where I was good at doing it going uphill, but it gave me a lot more confidence. So part of me says, it might make it a bit easier for you, as well as be softer on the joints. Others will dispute this, and say it's not necessary. I rode a few dirt roads in Maine a few years ago, and I appreciated the FS even then, because it was full of huge rocks.
I have a mountain derailleur on the rear of my custom road bike, with an 11-34 and a 50/34 on the front. I can get up anything with it. I can't remember the exact gearing I had on the Norco, but it wasn't quite as low as you are talking about. I'd say, go for the lowest gearing you can get, because my favorite saying is "your most important gear is the lowest one."
I think this applies to mountain biking, too. You want to have fun and to be able to use the bike for shopping, etc. Why make something that is technically difficult harder? I never felt my full suspension mtg was super heavy, because you can't compare it to a road bike.
Where in Portugal are you moving? I am going on a cycling trip in about 5 weeks; we will be riding from Lisbon to the border of Spain.

[Triskeliongirl]

Hi Crankin- We aren't retiring yet, probably in about 3 years, but I am starting to prepare. My husband is originally from the Algarve, and his parents are there, which is where we plan to live. They live in a little town just outside of Faro, but we like the area on the western coast around Aljezur a lot, so hope to purchase something there. I too have an 11/34 on my touring bike, but might put it on my racing bike if we decide to do serious climbing.

I was surprised on this vacation to see that road riding in Portugal has improved a lot. We thought we would need MTBs to ride at all, but its clear we will be able to do both. But there are many nice trails that go from Spain all the way to the western tip (cape sagres), such as the transalgarve, transportugal, and transalgarviana. On this vacation we spent a lot of time on the transalgarviana. I still like road riding more, but think it may be a skill thing since there were some very beautiful things that one could only experience on a MTB. I also liked that for roads with narrow shoulders, the MTB let you ride on the dirt path next to the road that would not be rideable with a road bike. My reluctance to get a full suspension bike is the weight factor. Maybe someday I will try renting one to see how I like it (if they will allow me to put my custom crank on it).

I'd love to have the info. on your trip. Have fun! Maybe we'll do something like that some day.

[Irulan]

They say the larger wheels roll easier and full suspension and ‘modern geometry’ (whatever the hell that is) give you more ‘confidence’ to ride over scarier stuff.

Modern geometry IS going to be more stable but 2005 isnt "that" old. I don't follow your gearing discussion at all, but I certainly would stay away from 29" wheels, especially if you are small. I've met enough small women that do not love thier 29ers to make that recommendation.

Really the best thing for building confidence is learning skills. It's not the bike, it's the rider and if the rider is not confident, it doesn't matter what bike you put them. If you want to gain confidence, look for a clinic.

[emily_in_nc]

Hi Trisk ~~ I am excited for you! I remember when I first started MTBing, you weren't interested in it at all, but as you see, sometimes it suits the terrain, and it can be really fun. I pretty quickly (after a few painful falls) decided I didn't care for technical stuff and wasn't willing to devote the time or energy it would take to get good at it at my age, especially since I still want to spend a lot/most of my riding time on the road. That said, I love the kind of "backroads" in your photos (the more rocky, the less I like 'em) and have found many places to ride back gravel roads, fire roads, double track and even easy single track (emphasis on easy!)

I agree on going with the lowest gearing. My MTBs have all had triples, and I rarely use the large chainring. I also don't use the granny much, but it's nice when you really need it. I am in the middle ring about 95% of the time and shifting only in the back since I have 22-32-42 crankset and 11-34 in back, giving me a wide range and plenty of low gears even with the middle ring alone. I have never tried a MTB with wheels larger than 26" and feel sure anything larger would be too big for me.

As for fullie vs. hardtail, don't assume all fullies are going to be heavier than hardtails. My FS Titus Racer X was lighter than my low-end REI Novara hardtail. I'm sure for a given price point, a hardtail is lighter, but I love, love, love full-suspension and would never go back. It's so much comfier on gravel and rocks. The Jamis Dakar XC Comp I bought from Catrin on here is a full-suspension and not super heavy. I can't remember its exact weight (and don't have it with me to weigh), but to me any added weight of rear suspension is well worth it. I know that more technical riders prefer hardtails and hardly ever even sit on the saddle, but that is not me. I get out of the saddle when I can and when it makes sense, but a lot of the roads I ride on my MTB are similar to roads I'd ride on my roadie, only unpaved, and I probably ride it more like a roadie, since that's really what I am.

I hope you are able to get what you want dialed in, and ENJOY your new mountain biking adventures. Loved the photos!

P.S. If you are interested, here's a blog post I did on some of our backroads riding we did this past March in Patagonia, Arizona: http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...redible-sights. These unpaved roads were not too rocky and were a blast to ride. Some good climbs and beautiful scenery. You get to see a lot more with knobby tires as we would have missed all this if we'd only ridden paved roads while we were there.

[Crankin]

Trisk, here is the link to the tour we are doing. I noticed it's rated as "easy going to moderate," but we got the specific details a couple of weeks ago, and I would not consider it easy going! There are a few big climbs, which of course, I guess you could skip, to make it easy.
Emily's experience and comments mirror mine exactly. If I remember, Trisk, you were close to my height, so anything bigger than a 26er would not be my choice.
Sometimes I get the yen to buy another mountain bike, to do the kind of riding Emily describes. There just aren't a lot of dirt roads right around here, although, I seemed to have found some on my birthday "ride 60 for 60" ride last year, in Wayland, MA. Not fun on my road bike, but, I did it.

http://www.cyclingcountry.com/CycleT...cling_Tour.htm