Full Suspension Mountain Bikes - Mountain Bike Zen
Are full suspension mountain bikes the best?
In a word, yes. However you will have to pay a premium price for a good full suspension bike, a cheap one will be far worse than getting a half decent hardtail bike.
With a full suspension bike you will get suspension on your front forks and suspension built into the rear of the bike frame. This allows the rear wheel to absorb impact but also it allows the overall frame to bend with the impact too. This can be a huge advantage when riding downhill as on a hardtail the rear wheel will jump around and be much more difficult to control over lumps, bumps and in bends etc. As the rear wheel of your full suspension will move up and down the rest of the bike doesn't and this helps you maintain your riding position and keep the rear wheel in contact with the ground so you have more vertical adhesion.
Ultimately the main real disadvantage of a full suspension bike is the purchase cost and the ongoing maintenance cost/effort. Hardtails are often cited as better climbers, and it is true that less of your effort is lost by being absorped by the the suspension but even then they are not so hot at climbing rough and bumpy ground as the back tyre tends to jump around alot whereas a full suspension bike will keep that back tyre in contact with the ground much more effectively.
Whether you opt for rigid bike, hardtail or full sus, just make sure you steer well clear of cheap steel framed full suspension mountain bikes. They will be very heavy, will not last very long and are unlikely to yield much in resale value. At best you might find your enthusiasm for riding is somewhat dulled, at worst if you use them for any proper mountain bike riding you may end up injured.