this is following the teaser for mag 81

[/quote][/i]Benji’s just thrown away his hardtail. For good. And he’ll tell you why you need to as well.[quote]

So guessing Mr Haworth will be stating that full suss are pedal friendly comfortable, faster, more fun,engaging and so, and I would have agreed with him but a 29er Scandal MK1 has made me reconsider, it is fine, ideal for what i do at the moment and touring but I know it wont last and i will be full suss centric again.

So how many will be throwing out the hardtails?

I’m considering going the other way and back to a 29er hardtail. Would be better suited to my riding than the full suss that I’m currently riding.

I’d love an FS bike but would not get rid of my HT if I were ever to get such a purchase past Mrs Danny.

Cheers

Danny B

Horses for courses init! I think pretty much everyone would have both if the could afford it and had the space, if not a variety of each. If you are constrained to one bike then it really depends on your riding and what you enjoy. If I really, really had to get rid of some bikes then the hardtails would definitely be the ones to go.

When I built up my trail bike at the end of last year, I sold my hardtail, partly as I needed the funds, but also because I thought I wouldn’t ride it anymore.

Last weekend I built up a cheap jump hardtail as I missed having one..

It really depends on your riding though surely.

I’ve never got on with full sus other than for DH. Always revert back to a HT after a while. I find FS boring on anything other than DH. I firmly believe the opposite.

I swing the other way.
I threw out the full sus. Well brought a new hard tail frame. Now have 150mm hardtail for trails and 120mm for xc work.
Don’t miss full sus at all.

I don’t have a hardtail ATM, just the full-suss and the roadie. If I had the finds I’d like to build up something special as a hardtail… I’m thinking Ti. My bank account says no though.

Love my FS (Orange 5) but love my HT* (inbred 29er)as well. They do different things!

Thinking of building a DJ HT for messing around the garden with the kids as well!

*Actually it’s rigid ATM.

I’ve got both… would happily sling the HT, but only because I’m not particularly taken with this particular frame. Time for an update I reckon.

I have a FS and two HTs, Spent most of last summer without the Susser, didn’t miss it until I got a new one, then it was an eyes open moment. But I’ll ride the susser nonestop for a month, then for whatever reason take the HT out, and its a revelation. In short, if you only have one bike you may be fine, but there is a freshness in having different bikes which I love.

Recently bought a hardtail to compliment my full-susser. I’m running it fully rigid 1×9 for minimum maintenance during the winter months. Great fun and massively improves your riding skills.

If I could only have one bike though I would ditch the hardtail i’m afraid.

Full Sus (Blur XCc) hasn’t been out of the garage since last summer. Hardtail, tourer and fatbike get all the attention.

I have both and wouldn’t lose the HT, however it donated it’s drivetrain to the wifes new bike at the weekend so is currently out of action.

(This was a clever ruse to help justify a shiny new 1×10 set up on the HT when I have the funds).

Mine went in 1997.

When I have had both, the sus has left the quiver.

1×10 hardtail for mud riding, its just less hassle than the FS when its really grim out there(which seems to be a lot lately) , lighter, holds less mud, no wear on pivot bearings, also use it for comutimg, pootling, towing the kid trailer etc

Currently have Stumpy FSR and Boardman HT Pro.

If I had to have one, a SC Tallboy Carbon XX1, more XC than DH and good for the spine 😉

A spare bike is a *must* though.

Cheers
Paul

My HT would be the first out the door if one had to go, especially since getting a CX bike for easier pootling.

But I wouldn’t make a big thing out of it or write a magazine column. Unless I had one to fill anyway, maybe.

Just about finished selling my H/T, component by component and am now left with a 120mm F/S, which I tried to sell but never got a sniff despite the reasonable price. I’d have preferred to keep the H/T over the F/S but needed the cash to fund a new road bike.
:¬/

When I bought my, still hanging in there and much upgraded f/s, 5 years ago. I gave my h/t to the lad over the road, who wanted to try riding, he had it in return for a £40 charity donation.
I miss it , in as much as I’d like a pub bike for thurs evenings and something which I’d “risk” outside the shops, for those run out of milk or peas moments.
Lazy sod hasn’t ridden it, but maybe it’s because it’s a Bomber forked, v braked, Carrera. Do I ask for it back ?

I just had a full sus for a long time but it felt overkill for just mucking about in the local woods so built up a dinky BFe for mucking about on and am glad I did. Despite my local woods being quite tame, it makes everything feel faster and bigger than it is.

I like hardtails, but I like bouncy bikes too so I have one of each!

No. If forced, the FS would go and a xc/trailsy 29er HT would stay.

I think it depends partly where you live/ride though. 95% of my riding is very HT compatible, no rocks down here.

I ride loads of fast swoopy forest trails that are more boring on a FS

My hardtail struggles to compete with my rigid bike given our current climate.

If you ride 4x tracks/bmx tracks/pump tracks etc… They suck on a full susser unless maybe it’s a 4x-specific full susser.
If I just rode xc and dh, I could manage without it.
Can’t beat the ‘zing’ and responsiveness of a good hardtail, will always have one in me quiver…

Absolutely, where I ride mostly, in the Peak, most trails are completely impossible to ride safely on a hardtail. And with full suspension carbon frames becoming so affordable, there’s little or no weight penalty involved. I suspect that within a few years the hardtail will go the way of the three-wheeler motor car – popular in its time, but not overtaken, literally, by cars with more wheels.

No way in the UK. Prefer the FS but so many classic routes are made for the HT here.
If you made a top 50 route list in the UK, trying to come to some sort of broad consensus, then how many would you think demanded the FS to get the best out of them? Relatively few IMHO.

@BWD – people were riding most of the Peak trails long before even front suspension existed (or disc brakes for that matter)…

Cheers

Danny B

Benji’s just trolling.

DBG – hook line and siker

I love having both and being able to switch – Its like having double the trails to ride.

When Im ridng the lightweight hardtail Im loving the direct feel of the peddling and handling. – flying up hills, covering greater distances and enjoying the challenge of the different style required on the more techy descents.

When Im on the burly full Susser im loving the increased speed that’s possible, riding more challenging stuff and going bigger off the same features I ride on the hardtail. Also loving the increased comfort and traction on the techy climbs and the extra workout on the long drags.

Once I get tired of one I cant wait to get back on the other.

I haven’t ridden my FS since I built my hardtail. I’ll still use the FS for trail centres and rough natural trails but for my local XC routes the hardtail makes so much more sense and is actually more fun to ride.

I have both and not planning on getting rid of either. Both different bikes. The full suss is more fun and I use for shorter rides over more knarly terrain and working on jumps, the hardtail is for more trail/xc orientated rides – its less fun than the FS, but still fun enough to keep your interest on longer XC rides. Its like having a 4×4 for green laning and a small Lotus Elise for track-days and summer country lane blasts.

I would not get rid of the HT. It fulfills winter, exploring, night ride and training duties and it’s an exceptional trail bike. It’s been the go-to-bike for the last 6 months, mainly due to the weather, and requires much less maintenance.

More importantly I care for it less, if that makes sense. My FS is more expensive and therefore more precious.

Three fantastic winter/spring sunshine, blue skyed, (mostly) dry and dusty rides in the Peaks, Lakes and Calderdale in the last two months have made me realise how much I was missing the FS though. Bring on Spring…

spent a small fortune on new 36 forks for my fs 4 yrs ago in an attempt to revitalize my interest in it after buying the soul. They have a less than 50 miles on them, have been thinking of getting a BFe frame for the forks.

I’ve been full sus only since about 2007 ’til this January, until I thought I’d try a 29er for an XC bike. Built up a scandal and it was good fun, quite liked the big wheels but not so keen on the HT bit. So I’ve sold it and bought a spearfish.

HTs are fun, but I prefer bouncy.

I have a bfe and a covert as my every day bikes – set up simlilarly in terms of cockpit, they feel similar until you come to rocky/rougher ground, then the obvious suspension qualities of the covert come through.

I don’t subscribe to this crap about skills compensation, a rough as rock garden will be blooody hard work on a hardtail no matter how amazing you are. Yes you go for a different riding style/lines on a hardtail, either avoid or clear jump any rough stuff (yeah right), but the truth is despite all that, I am quicker on my full suss, and more comfortable.
Still love riding and mucking around on the BFe, I would be stuck if I had to make a choice between them, but don’t go falling for this crap that FS is for people who can’t ride.

When it comes to doing everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is there anything more versatile than a hardtail?

I’ve had a number of full sus bikes over the years but eventually sold them all. I can ride my hardtail (BFe) for XC, DH, AM, DJ, BMX track, park, pump track, and a whole host of other acronyms. In my opinion it does them all pretty well.

Of course, if I had unlimited funds and a giant warehouse, I’d have a vast fleet of different bikes, in 5mm travel increments, but I don’t…..so I don’t.

I’m relatively new to mountain biking ( 1 year in ) and have a hard tail i either ride local or peaks and although i cant say i prefer hardtail as i have not ridden fs its great for what i need which is a all rounder no cash or room for another bike.

I often catch up full susser riders in the peaks (lockerbrook taty ally etc) so maybe i would be super fast on a susser?