I’ve only ever had hardtails, and have never really ridden a FS bike on any proper trails – messing about round a field on some Cove that felt like a pogo stick. Never thought much about it before, and I’m really pleased with the bike I bought last year, but these days I’m riding with some good riders, on steep, twisty, rocky, rooty stuff. Its great fun, but I just keep watching them on their FS bikes and can see the difference it makes, and I end up thinking that maybe I’m missing out on some fun somehow. There’s quite a few threads on here on HT vs FS, and it seems there are plenty of people who end up going back to or preferring their hardtails. Not likely to have a new bike for a few more years, and that’ll be a 40th birthday pressie, (which was always going to be a Curtis), but I just keep wondering….

I suspect the answer is to try my mates’ bikes, but Id be interested to know if anyone else has wondered along the same lines?

Ramble over… 🙂

I went out last year with the intent of getting a hardtail, and ended up with a clown bike Fs ex demo giant trance for the same budget

Much more comfortable and capable than me or my old hardtail – I’d say get one but expect higher maintenance bills

Had many, sold them all,HT all the way now

I’ve got a rigid 29er, rigid forked fattie,650b front suss and 26/650b carbon full suss. The more suspension I find generally makes me faster in most areas so if speed is your thing then yes f/s is more fun and maybe less tiring. I find I use my other bikes more as I like to feel a lot of the trail and not have it damped away as such. So to sum it up , your right ,I don’t actually know !

FS is worth it if you’re willing to keep on top of pivot/bearing maintenance, and of course also the shock.

I ride with a few people who only use FS for heavy rides, i.e. Alps/DH, but here the Peaks, they just fly around on HT 29ers. It’s all about their confidence and experience.

But I think for most riders, especially if you’re only going to have one bike, I’d go with FS, but maybe not too much travel. I reckon 140/150mm is plenty enough for a 26er, and then 130/140mm for 650. My preference would be with the latter.

I was an HT rider till late last year. FS is harder to pedal generally, but they do have more grip when climbing, especially on techy stuff. But point them down, hang on and enjoy…… 😯

They are sooooo much faster……… 😉

Love my FS and HT I wouldn’t be without either. For me HT is still fast over rocky stuff but it takes more out of you, FS let’s me ride harder for longer with less pain and just as much fun. These days I have a knackered ankle so have to be careful where I did my HT and how I ride it, I don’t get on it as much as I would like to.

Another thing that I find beneficial with FS is being able to sit down and pedal over bumpy ground without my arse being battered.

I’ve yet to ride anywhere that I couldn’t ride on a HT – however, it’s more fun on a FS.

It’s not about comfort for me, it’s about how fast I can ride technical terrain.

I have a HT also btw

Of course it depends a lot on how, where and who with you ride.

If you can’t have both…..

After last nights ride on my Hardtail If I only had one bike it would be a full suss.

I think it depends on where you ride and how you ride. I live in the south and ride a rigid 29er. Cheap to run and does not make the easy trails around here too easy. I would not want full sus around here. But I’m looking at some 2nd hand 150mm ish fullsus machines for trips further away. I think if I liver in Wales I’d still want a rigid or HT bike for most riding and fullsus for special days.

I ride a HT most of the time, FS are just loads of fun.

HT for me here. Posted a few weeks ago about this. Only time I guess a floppy back end would benefit me (according to riding mates) is proper bumpy stuff. Most of the time I can use my legs smoothing the bumps out.

See I totally get that a FS is , all else being equal, faster and more comfortable and presumably less fatiguing, and therefore could be more enjoyable. Then at the same time I wonder if there’s some sort of perverse satisfaction from riding the same stuff on a hardtail, if you’ve had to think more or it’s been more physically demanding, and that I might be constantly thinking ‘ah, but could you do that on a hardtail’. This leaves me wondering which would, overall, be more satisfying.

All mine are fully rigid now.
Still debating buying a full suss tho..

I’m shit at looking after my bike.
Bugger that though, they are just more fun, stop worrying and get one.

TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR

I totally agree, there is nothing round here I didn’t ride on the HT (and not far behind the FS riders), however, now on the FS, its much., much faster…..

But hurts more when it goes wrong. 😥

however, now on the FS, its much., much faster…..

But hurts more when it goes wrong.

This is another factor. I was out with my wife today. She’s much faster up the way, I’m much faster going down (credit for which must go predominantly to Sir Isaac and his gravity, not me). She was remarking that ‘if you hit the ground or a tree at that speed it would be like getting hit by a car’. Maybe the enforced extra care/caution of the hardtail has some merit?

Define “fun”?

In the UK, i’m going to suggest that if you’re relatively fit and strong, a good long travel lightweight HT is more “fun”. But, you have to ride them properly to keep up with a modern FS bike when it gets rough, and you definitely get beaten up doing so.

If your rides are typically multi-hour epics on rocky trails, then a medium travel FS is going to be a lot more forgiving, and you’ll go faster with less effort.

But if your rides are a couple of hrs mucking round in the woods with your mates, then a good HT is a lot of fun too.

In all cases, you need to put more work it with a HT and be significantly more “active” on the bike to make it flow, but when you do, you go fast and really enjoy yourself!

I’d say try one of the shorter travel fs frames. the 120 plus are geared more towards trail/all-mountain as they say these days…I have a ht which I use most but also a 120 fs which is great fun in tougher rides where I know I’m going to be hitting some bumpy stuff and the ht would be utterly punishing – I’m thinking more actual mountainous terrain than the comparatively sedate south downs or something.
One thing I notice is on the HT I always aim for the smoothest line which in return tends to give more speed, with that same mentality on the fs – and the added bump-absorbance – trail speed is kept up pretty well and it’s hugely fun

I’ve had FS in the past but am exclusively HT now. There’s no doubt that FS makes the downs faster and stupidly easy in some cases – I borrowed a 650b Giant Trance last year and found I could hit rock gardens however I liked and it would barge through. But I don’t necessarily want things to be fast or easy when I ride. Plus I really have little interest in shock settings or maintenance so HT suits me.

But if your rides are a couple of hrs mucking round in the woods with your mates, then a good HT is a lot of fun too.

Almost exclusively this at the moment…

If your rides are typically multi-hour epics on rocky trails, then a medium travel FS is going to be a lot more forgiving, and you’ll go faster with less effort.

…but hoping for a bit more of this when my littlest one starts school later this year.

Was a HT dogmatist for years. Finally succumbed and got an FS (160mm) last Autumn. Both obselete 26ers (BFe and Alpine).

Lucky enough to keep and ride both, but if you really pushed me to choose I’d keep the FS.

Both are fun in different ways – the HT I find forces me to think more about what I’m doing and actually ‘ride’ the bike to get the most out of it and the trail. The FS is fun for the sheer speed it can carry – just point it at something rough or steep and hang on…

The FS can do everything the HT can – some a little worse, some a little better – but then it can also do a whole lot more that the HT can’t (at least under a rider of my skills).

I use my hardtail for local, door to door, xc type rides which includes some tarmac, forest roads and some singletrack. I use my fs more on trail centres and so forth. I’d buy the bike thats more suitable to your riding curcumstances or one of each if you tend to mix up your riding.

I have an xc hardtail an xc FS, the FS is smoother and easier on the bumps, but I admit I prefer the drive I get on the Charge Cooker. I’m faster climbing on the Charge too, over a 6 min local climb I’m 10s quicker on it.

As with other posters, choosing for your typical riding makes all the difference. I had a 5 for years and sold it 2 yrs ago as it was only really being used for bigger days and trail centres. I used my 100mm steel hardtail for all the local and winter stuff. Got rid of them both for a 120mm Soul with a dropper which covers all bases for me…..

However, recently got a short travel light FS for longer days, summer dryness etc and am really enjoying having FS option now. At age 49 with health issues it is a bit more forgiving than the Soul on real mountains !

I have a XC orientated HT – Kinesis Decade Versa II – and a 650b FS – Whyte T-103 Works – and enjoy both just in different ways.

My riding buddies are all quicker up hill than me, I’m heavy :-), but only one is quicker than me downhill. The quicker guy rides a 26″ Five and is one of those riders whose just fast everywhere. If I’m on the HT I’m usually 20 – 25 metres behind him on our longest singletrack descent and on the FS it’s more like 10 – 15 metres.

One of the biggest changes I’ve made to the HT is to put good quality, Maxxis Ardent 3C, tyres on it rather than the slightly ancient Panaracer ones I was running, this has increased my confidence in the HT’s grip and in particular corning speeds.

Both FS and HT get mud tyres in the winter but mostly ride the HT just due to the extra maintenance the FS takes in winter.

I have gone back to hardtail as it suits my long/XC/muddy rides more. I had a full suss for about 5 year s and did enjoy it but when it came time to retire it a hardtail was the right choice for me.

I’d suggest if you have never ridden one for any length of time then you are missing out. There is a reason why they were invented. THey are better in a great number of situations.

5 years of HT, went to FS, and faster everywhere, still do the HT “looking for the best line” mostly tho

if i had the room, would have a HT for local/easy rides to keep wear down on the FS

Agree, totally depends on where you ride.

I am solely fast fire roads, single track etc,. with very little challenging terrain.

Rigid single speed still does it for me.

Yes you are.

But be honest, is this one of those threads where you really just want people to say “no”?

Lucky enough to have both but the HT gets ridden more, it has a responsiveness and sprightly nature that you simply cannot get once you put a hinge and spring halfway along a bike frame, which is essentially what full suspension is!

Put a gun to my head and ask me to post my fastest time down a trail and i’ll reach for the FS obviously….but i ride mainly for fun so find myself taking the HT out most days, its great.
All my uplift days so far this year have been on a HT (BPW, FoD, Black Mountain Cycle Centre) and my sole DH race entry so far this year is tomorrow in the HT class….steel frame, coil forks, short stem, wide bars, flat pedals, big brakes….it feels bombproof which just encourages silly riding!

am I missing out?

Yes, get one, so if nothing else you moan about it for the next 10 years for being rubbish (ala most of the haterz).
Been riding purely a HT for the last 2.5 years & it’s great, but I would currently travel to South Asia, if it meant I could collect my new FS frame quicker..

I’ve tried the HT thing, on paper it should work, but I’m afraid I just don’t get it.

Mot of my riding is what you’d class as tame. I’m not really into the whole adrenaline-fueled, MTFU, let’s see how fast we can ride down this scary looking slope side of mountain biking. Been there, broke that 🙂 These days I’m just as happy exploring the huge network of forest trails, stalker’s paths, wind farm access roads etc that criss-cross the local mountains. Just seeing where they go, which is often nowhere. On paper a hardtail 29er is the perfect tool for the job and I’ve owned two now; an FF29 and a Solaris. Both great bikes. However there is also a Five hanging in the shed and the simple fact is that, no matter how tame the trail may be, the Five is always more fun. It’s more comfortable if I just want to spin along and admire the view but if I’m in the mood to play I can bounce up and down on it, like a kid on a trampoline, try and hop over that rock or puddle and if the path I’m exploring happens to dump me at the top of a steep rocky path I’ll give that a go too.

The whole maintenance thing seems to be a non-issue too. There are two big bearings, which cost a few quid and can be replaced in ten minutes with a hammer and an allen key. The rear shock needs about ten minutes for an air can service every six months. So what’s that, about 30 minutes extra maintenance a year, which can be done on a nice sunny day in the garden. I’ll send the shock off every year or two for a proper service, so there is a bit of extra cost there, but it’s a small price to pay for having a bit more fun on every ride.

I have a 150mm FS and an aggro HT. FS is easier to ride but i find the FS is only noticeably faster in prolonged rough stuff i.e. the kind of terrain that slows the fs down too. Everywhere else there’s not much in it. I do ride the HT differently, as in less braking and trying to hop of the worst of the rough stuff to keep the speed up. Line choice is very similar and i prefer jumping the HT. My bestest riding buddie only has a HT (Bagger with 170 forks) and it’s amazing and somewhat distracting following him. The rear end bounces about so much that it makes it hard to concentrate on the trail ahead – like trying to watch TV while someone waves their hand frantically in front of your face. If i’m feeling fit i’ll join him on the HT (no dropper or granny which is the reason i generally ride the FS on big mountain days) and he says the same about following me. At the end of the runs, the man hugs are stronger and the high fives harder when we vibrate down the trails together. There is a certain satisfaction* to bombing down a trail with a like minded maniac 😀

Edit: When i get down a tough trail on the FS i think my bikes is awesome. When i do it on the HT, it’s me who is awesome 😛

I think the same thing, sort of, to the point that I ended up with an itch that I had to scratch. There’s a 1km downhill (byway) 5 minutes from us that is brilliant fun bombing down on a long travel HT and I really fancied a go at it on a FS but couldn’t justify the expense of a new-ish bike that may end up not getting used so I bought myself a 2006 Kona Stinky (yes, it’s a essentially a DH tank of a bus of a boat of a thing) on Thursday for £notverymuchatall and am waiting for the weather to clear so I can bomb down it on that. If I end up thinking it’s great I might save up for a newer, lighter FS frame to build up and keep the Stinky for ridiculousness’ sake. I’ll be keeping the HT whatever I end up doing, it’s gaan neewhere.

So yes, but no. Try having a go on your mates’ bikes. The worst that can happen is you don’t enjoy it and the best is that you end up wanting a new bike to live with your HT >>> n+1, everyone’s a winner! 😀

Yes you are.

But be honest, is this one of those threads where you really just want people to say “no”?

I don’t think so, I wasn’t expecting that anyway. I never gave it much thought until recently, and have started wondering if the riding I do now might merit one. Not that these things need to be justified of course!

I’m another rider fortunate enough to own a FS (26er 120mm with short stem / wide bar – call it a mini-enduro bike*) and a HT (steel 29er on 100mm forks).

I ride mainly woodsy singletrack and fire roads plus linking them with the odd stretch of tarmac / grassy fields / towpath etc.

Given a body full of injuries I so wanted a FS and even sold the HT I had at the time as the FS was about 4 lb lighter!

Problem is I found that although the FS helps my back and prevents fatigue, the pedal bob (even with propedal on) irritates my hip like crazy.

I then bought a 29er HT as I was offered a great deal on one. It was my first big wheeler and I was won over immediately. It became my total ‘go to’ bike.

Then, about a year later, when my son was looking for a replacement bike he asked for it and, despite saying no at first, I did start looking at other 29ers and a month later I had a new bike and he had my old one! (I still think it’s too xc for his riding but he loves it 😉 )

Even after playing around with the set up on the FS and getting it as ‘right’ as can be I still grab the HT first. All this despite often feeling beaten up after 20-25 offroad miles.

So really then, as others have said try one. You might like it. You might not.

*pat pending on that rad to the power of gnar marketing term.

I’m a HT rider, tried full suss along the way but always prefer to ride HT.
Currently do have a big 160mm full suss but I only use that for uplift days and Alps trips.

For me the HT is always more fun, the full suss only really sees use for uplift riding because I can’t ride the ht as hard on the lighter wheels and tyres and a repeated long descents get tiring fast on the HT. I wouldn’t want to be without the full sus but if I had to bin it I would. Anything I wouldn’t ride on the HT I wouldn’t ride on the full suss either!

I’d say if you’re happy with what you’ve got, why not try a full suss out and see how you like it, but don’t just ride where you would be happy on the HT, go do an uplift day or something new that you might not fancy on the ht.

Should be easy enough to try a couple of different ones then.

Righty-o, I had a blast out on the Stinky this morning and it answered my question insofar as I wouldn’t choose to take a FS out for a ‘normal’ trail ride around here but I would choose to take it somewhere that it would be put to use. I know it’s a world away from more recent (ie lighter!) trail FS stuff but I kind of like the sketchyness of a HT- the Kona just steamrollered over/through everything 😆