For the last few years I've been riding around on a ubiquitous UK brand, steel 'hardcore hardtail' with 5" forks, stubby stem, chunky tyres, etc.
Now I really liked the look of my bike & I loved the idea of riding a manly hardtail down some pretty tough trails. I liked its simplicity & the fact that it didn't require much maintence & there was definitely a certain satisfaction gained from cleaning technical sections or landing drops & jumps with no suspension to flatter my riding.
However, I've just changed the frame for the complete opposite - a 6" travel carbon frame. Riding this new frame goes to show that I was kidding myself riding a hardtail for so long. The difference is remarkable...
It climbs so much better - no longer does the back wheel hang-up on every root & rock - instead I have traction & I can attack technical climbs instead of mincing up the smoothest line I can find.
Its much more comfortable on the flat - My back doesn't ache & my fillings aren't being rattled out.
Its downhill performance is in another league... The suspension allows me to pick faster more direct lines, stay off the brakes longer & pop off rocks & roots rather than just hanging on for grim death. The brakes work better too & as the suspension compresses, the head angle slackens making the bike more stable & confidence inspiring.
Basically its much more fun to ride than my hardtail & faster in every situation I can think of. Unless you're riding on the road, or on extremely smooth trails then stop kidding yourself - you will be better off on a suspension bike.
Bike Forum
Hardtails - Outdated
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Posted 2 years ago #
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Maybe I want to work harder at it
Maybe, just maybe, I won't be happier with 6" of talent compensation beneath me.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Maybe you should try it before you dismiss it?
Posted 2 years ago # -
These are pretty good for stability too
Not sure if they make them in carbon?
Posted 2 years ago # -
ok so why are the locals on the Q's going bach to or are now using hardtails????
BTW I have just spent 3hrs replacing all 8 of my rear end bearings sorry i am going back to a hard tail to.
the thing is each year the manifacturers release the best ever suspension system does that mean that last years effort was shit? just a thought
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ride what you like no one gives a ****.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Jimbo has a shed full of toys you know
Posted 2 years ago # -
i p/x'ed an o6 stumpy fsr comp frame for an 08 s works carbon hardtail.i have no regrets.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Tried it. Prefer riding a hardtail, because full suss makes the tech stuff easier; I'm no riding God, but stuff like the Beast in the Peak is a challenge on a hardtail, but a motorway on full suss.
Each to their own, and I have both, and ride both, but that feeling of "wow, this is so much easier than riding a hardtail" doesn't last forever.
...and there's always someone quicker, or as quick as you, and if they are on a hardtail and you're on a susser....
Posted 2 years ago # -
I had the pleasure of riding some of the new Scott FS bikes a while ago. I was seriously impressed in how much the technology had moved on since I last rode a FS. Really quite light indeed and as you say, fantastic at tracking the ground with very little bob under proper climbing conditions.
Saying that, I doubt I'll be buying one for a long time yet, I enjoy the fun a hardtail gives me on the downhills way too much. You lose a lot of the hardtail experience by charging over it all, speed isn't everything. Nothing like a bit of hoppity.
It's all personal taste though.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've just spent a hundred bloody quid on a couple of plastic bushings and an axle or two for my trek top fuel. Was expecting change from 30 quid.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I prefer a hardtail, I just don't like having suspension on the rear, can't really explain why...I just don't like it! Also - probably due to the fact that i don't like full sussers I'm faster downhill on my hardtail
Posted 2 years ago # -
i like bikes
Posted 2 years ago # -
Gone the other way, from Helius to Chameleon. Much more fun.
Posted 2 years ago # -
...and remember, Grasshopper, some of us have been riding those same trails for 20+ years on rigid bikes, on cyclocross bikes and so on, so save the evangelism for the MBUK generation....
Posted 2 years ago # -
Fast forward a few months for the "I'm going back to a hardtail!" thread
Posted 2 years ago # -
I can't help but think a full susser is a bit like Jordan (the model not the country). I fancy a shot every now and then but i wouldn't want to have to live with one.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I liked my hardtail a lot, but recently I've come to realise that its not the correct tool for the job. Riding a good full sus was just the final nail in the HT coffin.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I have a hardtail, a 4" fs and a 6" fs. hardtail wins.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted 2 years ago # -
I liked my hardtail a lot, but recently I've come to realise that its not the correct tool for the job. Riding a good full sus was just the final nail in the HT coffin.
...for you.
Recommending that the rest of the world should do what you think is right makes you sound like a bit of a cock really.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm buyiong a hardtail next spring, just as soon as I can decide which one. Whole new thread....
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've never quite understood the idea that bikes should make mtbing as undemanding as possible - why not go the whole hog and trade the mtb in for a crosser? You'll need even less effort and be even faster!
I've got a 6" full susser for the Lakes/Peaks etc but sometimes it makes things too easy so I bought a SS rigid thing to challenge myself around the easier local trails. Next month I'm buying a HT to split the difference - I'll have a bike for every mood then...
But I reckon some the best times will still be spent thrashing the "even more outdated than a ht" rigid SS around the woods! Just because something is technically better doesn't automatically mean its always more fun - and thats why we all ride surely?
PS - classic trolling?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm thinking of selling my hardtail and just keep on my roadbike...
IGMC...
Posted 2 years ago # -
why not go the whole hog and trade the mtb in for a crosser? You'll need even less effort and be even faster!
You've never riden a crosser have you.....
Posted 2 years ago # -
Until 18 months ago I'd been riding full sus for 8 years , I was flicking through the local evening papers classifieds and spied an ad for an old Orange P7 for £120.
Thought to myself 'I can make a few quid on this' so coppered up and bought it , 2 days later while cleaning it up I took it for a quick bez in the woods over the road and that was it I was hooked again ,it just took me back to where I started and it was fun and you had to work at it not just float over everything.
When I got back home I started stripping my 4" travel xc bike of the best parts to put onto the P7. I now run this which has become my main bike and I also have a 6" bike for more hardcore duties.
No way are hardtails outdated if you want a more connected to the terrain ride(not literally) then a hardtails definately where its at .IMO.
Posted 2 years ago # -
CR250R...
Posted 2 years ago # -
CR250R..
You'll know it's a lot harder work to ride fast then....
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hardtails - Outdated
spurious claim FAILmy fillings aren't being rattled out
change of dentist needed over change of bike...Posted 2 years ago # -
j-claw - Member
Now I'm not saying that everyone has to be a riding god to get any enjoyment from mtbing - I'm sure even the most basic riders have a lot of fun on their bikes...However, it strikes me that some 'lesser skilled' riders use their niche bike as an excuse for their crapness.
For example; a rigid singlespeed is never going to be any good as a mountain bike, so no-one expects its rider to go anywhere particularly quickly (well maybe up a smooth hill). Therefore the bike can effectively be blamed for the rider's poor performance. Add a fixed wheel or some stupid bars & you have an even more unusable contraption - then everyone applauds you for just making it along the trail & your mincing goes unnoticed.
A bit scared of that tight, exposed switchback? Get a 29er & no-one will ever expect you to ride it again.
Can't do drops? Bin those suspension forks & you'll have a great excuse not to learn.
You can see where I'm going with this...
from 5 months ago.Yes, I can see you're already a cock, and that isn't going to improve....
Posted 2 years ago # -
Outdated? Yes.
Fun?? YESYESYESYESYESYESYES
Posted 2 years ago # -
+1 for "ride what you like, just be sure to enjoy it". The biggest reason I love Mountain Biking is that "he who has the most fun wins" attitude. I love the technical advances, and ride a FS bike myself, but isn't it great when someone turns up having ridden their Apollo round a trail for the first time and has a grin that endangers his ears?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Since changing from a hardtail to full suspension I've shaved 45 minutes off my journey to work.
Cars sure are fast.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I haven't ridden two hardtails that were the same, neither have I ridden two full suspension frames that compare. Come to think of it, frame size will have a significant bearing on performance. Forks matter a great deal too.
It is unlikely that many people get to discover their ideal ride. I'm kinda envious of j-claw having found such a good ride for him. I like my bikes, but can't help thinking that there are much better alternatives out there.
After all is said and done, if something is unreliable then in my view, you are better off getting about on/in a wheelie bin.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I went from 12 years of riding a rigid bike to full suspension and it was wonderful not to be in pain after a couple of hours riding. 10 years on from that I turned my rigid commuter into a hardtail just to see what it was like. For me it was an even bigger revelation in that I realised 90% of the benefit that suspension gave me came from the front end. I would still like a FS but I like the simplicity of a hardtail and mine has a Rohloff so it's virtually maintenance free which is good as I commute off road all year round. I fancy a lighter bike for longer rides and still don't really know whether I want FS or a hardtail.
Posted 2 years ago #
Topic Closed
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