Mountain Biking is Harder on a Rigid Bike

I rode the trails at Theodore Wirth park today on my backup bike. That's it in the overexposed garage-backdrop photo.

I've ridden the trails at Wirth many times, but only on my dual-suspension bike. It's quite different on a bike with no suspension (don't mistake the springy stem and seatpost for suspension). It's a total body workout. My legs feel like they have growing pains. Remember those? My legs ache like that right now.

Dual suspension is a pain in the butt for maintenance, but it keeps the rider fresher. I'm in the market for a new mountain bike and I'm not sure what to think of all this. I've been through it before with two other dual suspension bikes. One time, I conducted a sort-of experiment. I brought a dual suspension bike and a hardtail to the same trail and rode laps with both. There was no question that my laps on the dual-sus. bike were more comfortable and easier. I didn't time the laps. I don't really care much about that.

Maybe I should get used to my flip flopping opinions and just buy all the bikes in the world. That will allow my to ride whatever I want.

I almost forgot to mention that I really like the trails at Wirth. They are lots of fun to ride.