i think that for 95% of most peoples riding full-suss isn’t needed.
i have a mate who grew up riding FS. he’s not a bad rider, reasonably fast (on the downhills, not up). he’s recently moved his rear set-up to 4″ from 6″. he now keeps telling me how much more connected to the trail he feels. duh.
o my Alpine i’m able to keep up with/pass him on all but the very rootiest/rockiest sections where his FS allows him to take, within reason, almost any line. at the bike park, my Alpine handles everything that his 6″ jobbie does. ok he may not to riding it to it’s full potential but still, neither bike is holding us back.
LG-HT have all the benefits of a normal HT; climbing ability (obviously helps with adjustable forks), simplicity and weight with some of the advantages of FS but not the weight of a FS. often my mate is puhing to the top of a climb i’ve just cleared because of the weight of his bike.
my Alpine climbs up almost as well as my 100mm Sanderson. slightly different position but it isn’t hard to adapt.
it annoys me slightly that so many people ride FS thinking that is what they need. everyone should do a three year apprenticeship on HT before being allowed to buy a FS.