If you have been keeping up with bluecollar for a while you are probably already aware that I am new to the crew. I have been mountain biking for about eight years, but my primary sports focus has been ultra-marathons. After three years of trail running and athroscopic knee surgery I have changed my focus from running trails to mountain biking. Given my new focus I hope to help some of you with your purchase decisions by performing some of the evaluations you might be making if you are new to mountain biking or making your comeback.

The first torture I’ll be enduring for your sake is to evaluate the performace differences between hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes. In addition, I’ll be comparing the performance between an older bike and something nice and shiny.

I’ll be riding my ‘97 Trek 6500 and comparing it to the Diamondback XSL Trail and sharing the results with you here. My goal is to give you some insight into what type of performance increase you can expect when deciding whether to buy a new bike or go with something used. If you have any suggestions or want specific tests performed be sure to give me your feedback.