Prophet's gone, Heckler will be gone soon, Scott given away.
Staying with the 456ss with 36 Talas, soon an old road bike to arrive· Might get a SS MTB at some point too.
Am I mad not keeping the FS or will I benefit? Not money-wise, more like enjoyment-wise. Has anybody done a similar thing? How did it go?

Buy a rigid 650b/29er/nichewagon instead. It's the only way to really fit in.

i got rid of my full sus about a year ago and got a hard tail.

now going back to a full sus so i can enjoy the trails in more comfort!!

Depends if you ride lots of rough stuff or like the FS's

worked ok for me, got rid of Patriot and got a 456. Accepted that 99% of the riding I did, did not require full sus. Did wonder recently about getting another, on the grounds that I am keeping up with my friends downhill on their full sus's, therefore I must be faster on a ful sus than hardtail? but I enjoy the ride and the challenge. Keep it singlespeed for added fun.

nope you are not mad

Lots of folks going back to hardtails
I did 3 years ago and still have the grin factor when riding
just a bit slower on the downs but just as much if not more fun

dont miss the compensator at all ( yes I do on the flat bumpy bits )

I've done the same as Meehaja. My one concession is selling spangly bits to finance a Ti456.

Not really missing the FS, but I have it lurking (in rather less spangly form) should I require a fix.

(I'm not selling my full sus BTW) on Friday I'd finished building a nicely specced P7 – I wanted a HT to save the parts on the LTc and to use when the weather/conditions are gloomy.

This weekend the plan was to do a shakedown ride on the P7 to make sure bits didn't fall off and the Sunday ride would be a techy affair with big drops and some jumpy bits – perfect full Sus riding.

I didn't get the blur out of the cellar this weekend – the P7 is fantastic, I was able to keep up with the peeps on bigger bikes and could do all the stuff I would have avoided on a HT before. I feel like I'm born again – I'm really excited about going out again on it as all the regular trails feel like new trails.

I can see why people go back to HT's (I do think it's bike dependant as I built up a 2010 chameleon which I hated and I didn't much like a Genesis Alpitude I had previously)

I did it, then thought I needed a fs for bigger stuff, so bought one, realised I was wrong and just needed a slacker hardtail, which I now have and am very happy with. I enjoy riding more, even though most of the time I would have probably been faster on a fs.

I did it too.

My riding is mostly flat-ish XC nowadays. I have a SS HT at my parents' and never missed the rear bounce there despite proper mountain ranges some 60 miles down the road.
I think I'll build some heavier wheels as a 2nd set and re-learn to ride on flats (Burgtecs already here, need some shinpads 😉 ).

Same here, just fancied a change really. Went from a Remedy to a BFe.

Rock gardens and other rough stuff is not much fun on à hard tail. Full suss is nice for trying new stuff to give you à bit more leeway. Hard tail for out else.

I disagree – Rock gardens can be hilarious on a hardtail. 😛

I sold my 26er HT* in favour of a Ti On-One 29er HT.
That was a good move as it's far more involving.
Kept the 4 inch FS, which was wise.

Sold the road bike (got almost +50% for what I paid for it), next up this week is the Whyte FS which I've not ridden in 2-3yrs.

*It was a Pace RC300 – which everyone seemed to lust / reminisce over.

I only kept my full sus for trips abroad and ride my 456ti in the UK these days.

Its all I need for where I ride,N Wales, Peaks, Scotland, NW England.

The Enduro is beefed up for Alp trips and only comes out when a holiday is approaching, just to get me used to the skill compensating rear end. OK its faster down hill but weighs a ton compared to the hartail.

Haven't regretted selling mine. Doubt I'll have one again

I recently sold my full sus and all my bouncy forks. I then purchased a niner with rigid forks i can honestly say i will not miss my full sus at all because i dont wanna ride anything else now 🙂

Just let my Five frame go and bought a Sovereign. Absolutely love it – definitely the right move for me. I had noticed for a few months that I much preferred the feel of my lightweight xc hardtail to the Five. Direct acceleration, no bob, fewer pedal strikes, better handling all round (in my hands at least). Made myself take the FS out a few times (Cannock, Dalby, Glentress this year) but it just felt a bit 'bloated'. The Sovereign is no lighter than the Five, climbs fine – it is a bit weighty; but I feel more in control without the extra dimension of FS on tight woodland runs such as those at Cannock. Its reasonably slack and feels right at home on steeper descents. Like it so much just did a four hour xc run on it today. I did detour into the woods halfway round to find a few small jumps though. So no you are not mad. I'm sure there will be people on here who ride differently and get more out of FS than I did.

took al the bits off my Kona fs and fitted to Blue Pig, Kona could be for sale soon.

Full sus bikes are getting a bit too pricy for my liking/purse

HTs are addictive. Crashed off mine today; sore as hell. Want to ride it again but it's broken at the moment.

I've never ridden a FS. The only time I've not really enjoyed riding my HT was at Wharncliffe over the rootier downhill bits. I see loads of people riding full sussers at Cannock, I know it's quite bumpy in places as the trail is torn up, but it seems a bit excessive.

I'm a reborn HT fan I've had a few DH bikes, I can't really see the need for me personally to get a "mid travel" bouncer for trail riding I tried an old SX once but it wasn't for me, I feel much better now on a sturdy build 4" forked HT…

I don't really do alot of DH anymore, but I have an Exalt in the garage for uplifts and the odd bit of DH when I fancy it, cheap kicks compared with a proper DH bikes and almost as good, I've yet to come across a bouncer that doesn't require more maintenance and spend than a good HT which can easily give as many "smiles per mile"…

But that's just me, will you miss them? not as much as you might think, but there will be the odd occasion where you'll look at something a bit gnarr, and think; "Oooooh, if I still had the big bike…." but these moments are few and far between…

i love riding both when i get bored of riding the ht I'll go ride the same trails on the fs it two completely different rides. couldn't get rid of the fs don't fancy the peaks and alps on a ht.

Yep, mad as a box of frogs. love my fs and halved my osteopath bills since I started riding one.

However,that's me not you. Ride what you want, niche or not, it's all pedaling 😀

Love my summerseason. Even tho the enduro is awesome, I ride the SS 90% of the time. Suits me perfectly.

I've just sold the Ellsworth frame and strangely, I've also got a 456SS now with the Ellsworths Fox36ers on.

Sold a VERY nice SC Heckler about 6 months ago and have gone 29er HT. Love it !
Dont miss it at all, never really needed all that travel and inturn weight, always worried about seized or **** bearings if I never used it for months, in the end, HT won and no intention yet of going back.

Some say its just a case of wheel turning full circle, some things are 'in' they they fade and something else takes your fancy.

Just like women I guess 😆