a 29er hardtail will do as much for speed as a 29er fulsus will IME. The fulsus ‘justification’ is mostly climbing traction and reduced fatigue from long / rocky rides. Or because you want a new bling machine! 120m 29er hardtail would suit the surrey hills trails I’ve been on.
Single biggest piece of bollocks I’ve ever read on STW, fastest DH hardtails were over 30 seconds slower on short UK dh tracks last time I checked.
You let off the brakes properly on a hardtail and there is eventually a limit where you don’t have enough chassis stability, grip and every square edged hit is sucking speed out of you – thats coming from someone who rode bmx and hardtails for years.
Sure, there is probably not much in it in the surrey hills but its not just about comfort. I don’t buy hardtails making you a better rider either, if anything they made me lazy in terms of jumping where you have to exagerate everything more on a full susser.