…no, not a new Ellsworth, but rather my mindset after my first ride on a hardtail in 16 years!! I used to race when I was at school and had a shop supplied Fat Chance Wicked! with RS Mag 20s back in the day, but having given up cycling when I passed my test, the Fat Chance sat in my parents garage for for 11 years until I decided to start cycling again, but was sold on retrobike and I started riding again on a Klein Palomino. Roll forward to today and I have been riding a 160mm Maverick ML8 as my only bike for some time now, and whilst I know it is a bit much for most UK stuff, at 28lbs it is light enough and climbs fantastically for me to think I didn’t need another bike.

Since selling my road bike a couple of months ago due to lack of use, I have been slowly building up a Whyte 19 Trail from the classifieds and today was the first day it was used in anger when I headed over to Swinley.

I think I have just redisovered why I enjoy this sport so much!

I love riding the ML8 and have been getting braver and fitter over the last few years, but the 19 has just brought a whole new level of interaction and involvement which just takes me right back to the old days. Apart from not having the confidence on it yet to get any big air, I don’t think I would have been any quicker on any of the trails there on my ML8 and I certainly wouldn’t have had the same experience.

My thighs and forearms were pumped up at the end of the long singletrack sections which I have never noticed before on the ML8 which is just such a capable bike that it makes it all a bit easy I think.

I don’t think I’d take the 19 to Wales over the ML8, but as a winter bike it is just about perfect and I have fallen in love with biking all over again!

If you haven’t ridden a HT for a long time (or ever) I really do suggest you give it a try.. It’s mountain biking, but not as you know it..

Here’s a couple of pics of the bike including a rather half assed jump pic from a guy there taking proper photos:

HTs are addictive. I prefer my FS on anything choppy but otherwise the HT is super on dirt trails.

HT’s are definitely more fun on smooth flowing trails, especially places like Swinley. Like you, my Maverick is just so capable that sometimes you forget what it’s like when you have a more direct connection with the trail, for that purpose I still keep my Genesis Altitude HT to ride (when the GF isn’t riding it anyway!) as it’s so direct, and has such fast handling.

V nice looking bike by the way, I’ve always thought the Whyte 19’s just looked spot on, yours especially so!

Ht=hairy bollocks.

That is all. goodnight.

RustyNissanPrairie – Member
Ht=hairy bollocks.

speak for yourself…

i like my HT and will happily ride it where others ride their big bouncey bikes.
i’m going to have to get used to riding FS over the winter, but i’m thinking i’ll be yearning for my Alpine most of the time.

oh, and nice looking bike! (apart from bent seat post).

if by Wales you mean trail centres, take your hardtail, it’s way more fun. you only need full suss on rocky and big stuff (i.e. peaks/lakes)

i usually use my HT at Glentress and most groomed centres. SO Much fun.

chapeau !

I had the same epiphany with a Stiffee, in Wales. Enjoy!

Yeh, take it to Wales. You might not be first to the bottom of the hill, but you’ll have a big grin on your face when you get there. Just stick on some big tyres.

saxabar – Member
I had the same epiphany with a Stiffee, in Wales. Enjoy!
POSTED 23 SECONDS AGO # REPORT-POST

Me too,but thats another storey 😉

I had the same thing 3 years ago, going from a Marin to a stiffee. Love the simplicity and the point and shoot nature of the hardtail but alas, my back is starting to complain louder and recover slower so thinking of going back to boing…

I’ll try and keep the stiffee if i can though!

If you haven’t ridden a HT for a long time (or ever) I really do suggest you give it a try.. It’s mountain biking, but not as you know it.

+1

I came from a similar place and love riding my P7 , in fact my FS bike hasn’t seen dirt in nearly 12 months.

I have a HT and Hairy Bollocks, I’m fond of both and would hate to have to give up ether!

You might not be first to the bottom of the hill, but you’ll have a big grin on your face when you get there. Just stick on some big tyres.

this is so true. went HT this year on a Soul after 8 years on FSR / Flux and is just great.

had mine out for a proper rocky highland blast today – brilliant fun 🙂

I prefer my hardtail to any of my other bikes.

Admittedly, the fact that I don’t have any other bikes has some bearing on this.

I am planning a trip to Cwm Carn soon so think the FS will be better suited if I fancy giving the DH section a go but concede that Afan would probably be better suited to a HT. Looking at the pics remind me that I need to sort that front hose out!

I had the opposite in Spain last week, I really need an FS, after a week riding arround on stuff you just don’t see in the UK (proper rocky 15 minute 1in3 decents for a start) I know know a whole new type of arm pump, and my legs are barely capable of walking!

I had the opposite in Spain last week, …. I know know a whole new type of arm pump, and my legs are barely capable of walking!

Know exactly what you mean after riding the Rangers on the 456 yesterday. I have aches in muscles I never knew existed. Still bloody good fun just in a different way to doing it on an FS.

Same epiphany here! Used to ride Klein and Litespeed hardtails back in the day. Then got into road biking and touring (no facial hair though). Got back into mountain biking 3 years ago with a Specialized full sus – then last month a Lynskey hardtail appeared and I had to have it – maybe it is my roots but hardtail is a revelation to me! Like taking up a new sport!

Ya I’ve had a similar experience..
used to race way back in the day on a KHS pro montane and with rigid forks for a while.. so light too!

But I was bitten by the FS thing and only a year ago I purchased a stumpy s works carbon and man are HT fun 🙂
Raced all this season on it instead of the FS!

Would never get rid of the FS but moving down south I was struggling to justify using it as often…

Afan would probably be better suited to a HT

Whilst I love my HT on all the local dirt trails, I was a bit shaken about riding it on my last visit to Afan doing W2+black. I later realised that I had over pressured the fork which may have been why. But I think there are enough chattery rocks at Afan to prefer the comfort of a light-ish FS, esp. all those rocky steps on Skyline. Or maybe I should fit bigger volume tyres to the HT, if the frame permits.

But Brechfa, Llandegla and the excellent Nant-Y-Arian seemed smooth enough to get the most out of my HT as-is, without that feeling of being beaten-up. I’m lucky enough to own 2 different horses for the different courses.

I was crapping myself about taking the SS to afan – did the July trail and Penhydd.

I was worried about making the climbs with an SS and worried about being battered about on the descents.

In any event, the climbs were fine and the descents were fine too.

8)