[Closed] Full Sus or Hardtail??

here we go!

which one looks best?

munch munch said the troll after being fed

*grabs a comfy seat and enough food and drink for a few days*

Go with the hardtail

It'll be easier to convert to singlespeed when you realise you don't need all them gears

There's no decision to be made her. Both! Obviously 🙂

I now have both, I have been pootling about on my hardtail for 10 years or so and had a chance to get a full bouncer a few months ago and took it.

The main differences are that when riding the full susser I am much more inclined to spin up the hills as I can feel so much effort going into moving the suspension when I get up out of the saddle and honk the bars. The FS bike is also always clicking and creaking, I now really appreciate the relative quiet of a HT. I have a feeling the FS is going to much more involved (read expensive) to maintain in the long run.

If I could have only one I would go for a HT, it is more versatile (I could easily commute on it whereas I would feel a bit stupid going to work on a 5" FS bike), easier to maintain, is perfectly suitable for all but the most rocky stuff, easier to clean, more reliable and will help you develop skills that will stand you in good stead for when you do eventually buy a skillz compensator.

I like these ones. I've just been to Waitrose, Yum Yum anyone?

Would the Full Sus' be better in any way?

Would you buy a motorbike (or car) without suspension?

No. Of course not.

Hardtails are for masochists and ludites.

Yeah, of course, it is easier on your back and you are less likely to get a saddle enema as you cling on for dear life down a rocky descent. It is a bit more comfortable for long rides, will bail you out if you get into trouble (obviously not always, but often), builds your confidence for going harder and faster, has more pose value in the car park.

The FS is more fun, but you have to pay a price of practicality and expense so probably not the best choice for your only bike.

Suspension is designed to do one thing and one thing only on MTB's, it keeps your tyres in contact with the ground. I like my tyres being in contact with the ground. I understand that many people claim that legs and arms can do a similar job, some of them can actually prove it at FS speeds and they are called legends. I am not a legend and therefore I ride a full susser.

take the HT, but spend the difference on two things
1 day 1-2-1 training
1 weekend bike holiday

"The FS is more fun, but you have to pay a price of practicality and expense so probably not the best choice for your only bike."

Would locking out the rear shock make much difference, also with the hardtail is about a kilo lighter than the full suspension, does this alone make the bike better/ "more practical"?

Sorry to be a party pooper, but the Boardman bikes aren't necessarily the best deal out there. What's your budget?

I'd rather get a great hardtail than a mediocre fs, so budget is a big part. It also depends on what you want to do with the bike, it would help if you added some info about that too 😉

Would locking out the rear shock make much difference

Yeah, I spose, but I don't have a lockable shock so can't really comment.

the hardtail is about a kilo lighter

Unless that is all on the wheel then you likely won't really even notice 1kg.

What makes the HT more practical for me is the fact that it is much less maintenance. Again, I have not had a FS for long enough to really comment but in true STW fashion that ain't going to stop me. From the comments on here, it would appear that FS bikes have much more maintenance.

I have also been out with friends who have had a shock go 'pfffft' halfway around a ride and they have been able to do nothing about it.

Don't get me wrong, I love my new Zesty, it is a cracking bike and is enormous fun but if I had to choose between it and my P7 I would probably stick with the P7 because it is bombproof, more versatile (wouldn't want to be climbing hills all day on an FS bike) and cheaper to run.

Advantages and disadvatanges to both. It's personal choice and one isn't any better just different.

Hardtails are generally cheaper to buy and to keep running. They require less maintenance as care as they have less moving parts. They make riding harder. This can be good if where you ride is not very challenging and you are limited to that area. They are often lighter.

Full suss is more expensive and requires more maintenance as all those bearings will need to be replaced at some point, especially if you rode it all winter on salty roads with no thought to wash it. They make harder riding possible if you ride with people who are better than you or in an area with lots of challenging riding. They are often heavier.

On the cost front I assume you've factored in all the accesories and the like you "need" to ride. Camelbak, pump, tubes, multitool, clothes, helmet, lube, cleaning stuff, more tools, the ideal tyres for that particular mile of singletrack, tubeless conversion kits, niche bottle openers attached to your bike, ss conversion kits, upgrades etc.

I have one of each, rode a hardtail for years before getting a full suss. I like both in different ways.

Well Herman Shake,
I want to use the bike to get to school everyday (during the week), at weekends I want to get out on trails on a regular basis. I want to get into going on trails regularly, this summer especially. My budget is around 800 and no more. I have really looked at all makes of bike, I started with Claud Butler last year in june, then I stumbled on Cube and Ghost bikes, but I missed out on the sales and the new ones arent exactly well specced, I had pretty much decided on a Spesh Rockhopper, when i popped into halfords a couple of months back and saw they were selling a Team with Rebas for £20 less than a Rockhopper with Suntours
Well thats my history of research, hope it helps 🙂

Chris - have you ridden a full suss on the sorts of rides you want to go on every week? Its quite a different feel, which some people hate (both the extra effort climbing and the smoothed out technical bits); others love it and can't understand why everyone doesn't have one. I'd suggest you need to try it for a full day in the saddle on a good HT and a full suss (one around your budget - or at least with the size of travel you are thinking about) to get a feel for how it actually rides. You might want to try it on the "school run" (or something similar) too - as it will be a slow commuting bike.

Personally unless you spend a lot of time with your wheels off the ground I'd go for the hardtail. But I also wouldn't be riding an 800 quid bike to school...

easy, get the full-bounce.

then, in a year or so, when you're a bit bored of it, and the faff, you can sell it for nearly enough to buy the hardtail.

then, when you're bored of that, bin the gears and run it singlespeed, and then you can stalk the internet as a singlespeed evangelist, confident in the knowledge that you are 'right' - because you've tried the alternatives.

this hasn't happened to me at all - hardly.

😉

800 quid - hardtail

end of thread

Hardtails are for masochists and ludites.

Or those on a budget.

As above - 800 = hardtail

Ok, well for starters leave Halfords alone. We all went there before, bought overpriced rubbish and eventually learned not to do it again. Please, please, please don't go there. They prey on the novice/new cyclist and flog rubbish with the illusion of helping.

That rant was for them, not you! £800=hardtail definitely. This looks amazing

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Bikes/Mountain+Bikes/Merlin+Bikes/Merlin+Malt+3+Bike_M3-BIKE.htm

SLX cranks and rear derailleur, Deore hydraulic discs, Rockshox Recon forks (don't consider Suntour) and generally great kit all over the thing.

This is the cheaper version at £650

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Bikes/Mountain+Bikes/Merlin+Bikes/Merlin+Malt+1+Bike_MERLIN-MALT1-BIKE.htm

Recon fork, Deore hydraulics, Raceface Ride parts (nothing fancy but good quality). I'm not sure if you will notice the difference as a new rider as it has the same frame, forks (minus lockout) and brakes. This looks like a great deal to me.

Oh, and you need to get pedals separately. I recommend DMR V8 flat pedals; get raw to match your brand spanking new frame 8)

Generally, these are good shops to get mtb stuff from:

wiggle.co.uk
chainreactioncycles.com
merlincycles.co.uk

Stuff is always cheaper online, shops are good for when you need to try something on. I got my bike from Merlin, they're great. Also they have a 10% discount for VIP members, this is free to get (it's obvious how on the site).

They were the first bikes I found, but the deals are so good I don't see any point looking further. Review here:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/malt-1-09-33656

Hope that helps!

I was very sceptical of full sussers for years and after various models I ended up with a lovely light comfy steel hardtail. I loved it..... but now I love my SC Superlight better! It's not too heavy or high maintenance either. I just bought a used frame and put my existing components on it. I know the Boardmans are both good why not get the hardtail, put the extra for the full suss in a savings account, and then do some riding for a year or so. Then try some full sussers so you can work out the differences. When you find something you really like, get a used frame and transfer the bits from yer hardtail.

Both, HT for 6 days of the week, FS for sundays. 😉

I'd have to say, look at what you are going to ride mostly on it...

Lots of longer distance rides or shorter local loops?
Do you plan ot get into XC or Enduro Racing at all?
is it going ot be used in summer only or is it an "All year round" bike you want?

also consider how much time and funds you think you'll be able to give to looking after the bike, HT inevitably has less to go wrong and thus less maintenance to consider...

Either will be a good bike, there is no "Better" choice, only the one which will fit your needs best....

Well 'TimCotic', similair was my reasoning, i know that the parts on the Boardman are alright (brakes and forks), I thought that with time I would be able to afford a specialized stumpy or enduro frame, unto which i would then put the parts from the boardman.
'Herman Shake', i've ha a look at the Merlins, i am impressed by the Malt 3, only it is right at the top of my budget which I would prefer to keep about 50 quid away from,the malt one is slightly overshadowed by the sheer spec of the boardman, what makes the boardman such a bad option exactly or is it just the issue with Halfords? My local branch seem very friendly and eager to help, they have not hesitated to recommend me sites like ebay and chainreaction to get bikes and help me make a more informed decision.
'cookeaa' I am looking at an 'All Year Round bike' more.

At £800 save your money and buy a Hardtail, at that price full sus tends to be too much of a compromise. Also consider that suspension bikes break and need repairing, bushings wear, shocks need servicing.

If you have time and don't mind tinkering it will save some costs but not all.

FS bikes are great on technical rocky/steep stuff and ridable on everything else. HT's the opposite.

Boardmans appear to be a great bike, if not planning to ride anything to tricky go HT but if plans to ride trickier stuff then go FS. If mates ride HT's then you may be slower on the ups and poss faster on downs.

I'd buy a 2nd hand FS for £800 off here as you will get great VFM and a good bit of the depreciation is gone.

I have a FS, geared hartail and SS HT and like them all. If I had to have one bike it would be a geared steel one one inbred as they are so noice to ride all day but they dont seem to be so trendy these days. My One-one is ridculously scruffy and less nickable which you may want to consider if security is an issue but steel frames may rust if left out in the rain all day.

So the choices are:-

- used FS off here
- new boardman FS
- On-One/Malt
- new boardman HT

You wont go wrong with any of them!

I think the customer service and knowledge at Halfords can be lacking from what people say. The Boardman bikes always get good reviews in the magazines (including Singletrack) so if you read up before you buy about sizing and set up etc, you shouldn't have any issues even if the staff don't know what they're on about. The spec's on Boardmans are really up there for good value, so I wouldn't be too put off just because they come from Halfords!

Do you have an existing bike you can use for the school run? In which case I'd go full suss. The cost of maintaining full suss is sometimes much exagerated when compared to chains, cassettes etc that will wear out regardless of which bike it is.

In my opinion the Boardman Hardtails are specced fantastically (for the money) and, I believe, they have had some favourable reviews.

The downside is that Halfords tend to come in for a lot of criticsm with respect to their customer service and general bike knowledge. If you search the forum you should get a feel for people's experiences.

If I was in your shoes I reckon I would also buy a Boardman hardtail. What's the absolute worse thing that can happen... You get a great spec bike but have to take it to another "decent" bikeshop to get sorted which is exactly the same if you buy the other good spec bikes mentioned above online (caveat unless you live near Doagh, Chorley or Portsmouth)

spend as little as possible

ride it

work out for yourself what you like and dislike about it

find something else you think will be better

repeat from top

Bought 2 bikes from halfords now on bike2work. Both were setup fine.

Bought a bike for my wife from halfords...the chap there adjusted the saddle for her and explained that she should be very slightly on tiptoes while standing on the floor and sat on the saddle.

Twice I gently suggested that the seat might be a little low, but he didn't take the hint. So I was forced to do it myself.

One other gripe is that they won't let you demo a bike except by pootling round the shop.

My advice would be to research bike fitting yourself or bring someone with you who can do it for you. Otherwise you may leave with the wrong bike - and I'm not convinced that Halfords will allow you to return a bike if you decided it's too small/big.

I've heard bad things about the frames on the Boardmans, where as Merlin make award winning frames and have done for years.

I can see the spec on the Boardman is quite tempting, but consider 650-10%= £585. The Boardman Team is 679.99 (we're talking about the Team right?) so the Merlin not only has all of the things I raved about, but with V8 pedals will be £605. That's 74.99 less and a 4.5/5 bike. Merlin are also highly respected for the quality of their wheels which they add on to their own frame. Given the bargain, I would even stump up the £35 for the Evolve finish kit upgrade; £640 all in. Did you read the review?

I'm sceptical of the build quality of the Boardman when the price of the components are obviously high. This doesn't leave much for the frame which is the backbone of your bike. Read about Merlin and Rock Lobster frames [url= http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Custom+Bikes.htm ]here[/url].

I'm not saying that people in Halfrauds are bad! The shop sells bikes and equipment of low quality to those that can't yet distinguish at prices similar to reputable brands. I find it deeply unethical that they use their familiarity to fleece people for cash.

By the way, selling a Merlin on will be far easier than selling a Boardman on. You will eventually refine your taste to something more niche and this is another consideration. I think of my mtb as Trigger's broom. The parts come and go, but it is always my bike

Oh, as said above 2nd hand is also a great option! My road bike was from the classifieds (Specialized Allez 2006, rrp £650 I paid £325 posted and it was upgraded with £100 of kit).

A budget of £400 for a 2nd hander would also get you a great hardtail for your purpose. That is a whole other thread of discussion! Lucky for you I have assignments due in, so I will be procrastinating a lot on STW 😳

Just wonder whether anyone with more knowledge than humble old me thinks maybe the guy writing the OP should consider this ... http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_515327_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

Seems Halfords have a few 2010 models of the Voodoo Wanga going for a bargain £650 and perhaps that steel frame might feel better than the Alu Boardman frame? My way of thinking is perhaps that might strike a happy medium between the HT vs FS choice?

Both are great, and I ride my Boardman Team HT all the time (I just bought a frame and custom built it up). It's fairly light, lively to pedal and quite comfy for all day. I rode two DH trails on it at the weekend, and it's fine (not the big jumps).

Having read what you intend to use it for, I'd say the HT. Hold back some money to replace the tyres with something a bit bigger volume. The stock conti tyres don't do it any favours.

Because Halford assemble them, do check everything thoroughly as they can be hit and miss.

Buy a big lock.

Other than my offense at the gearing in the pic (big ring front and back!) it's a possibility. Voodoo have a good reputation, but I feel strongly that the Malt is a hottie. At £605 or £640 it's cheaper than the Voodoo.

I'm not sold on steel, I get it but aluminium is an amazing material! Maybe if we saw some good quality steel fs bikes I may feel differently. It's plausible with butting/air hardening, but it's not done. With so many elite bikes being aluminium I think it reinforces the reputation.

I'm sure a wealth of people would disagree, as I'm sure they will 😆

Oh, unless you are clumsy/crash prone. Then get steel.

Mental Mickey, ive had a look at the Voodoo bikes, but the frames on first impressions seemed a bit fragile; I had always wondered what "Chromoloy" was 😛
I tried second hand, namely ebay, I missed out on a Boardman Pro by 20 seconds, a sneaky bugger put £681 20 seconds before the bidding finished, further losses included Boardman Pro FS, the winning bid being £741 and a Spezialized Stumpjumper at £720. Frustrated and with a major dent in self confidence I moped down to the shop and tried out the display model which they offered me with 10% off. So the FS would be £720 and the HT £610. Still sound like a bad deal? Halfords have been known to replace bikes that have been set up incorrectly and which have had frame issues.(??)

Oh yeah and they offered to exchange the 2.1" speed kings with 2.3"ers at no cost.

Hardtail for me. Full sus seems fun as you can get more speed and not worry about lines quite as much, but I tend to enjoy doing things the "hard" way (same reason I use thick strings on my guitars!) so for me I think I get more out of riding a long travel HT. Also less to go wrong on a HT.

I bought a Boardman HT Pro coming round to two years ago. I recently replaced the frame with a Cotic Soul (onto which some longer stiffer forks will soon be going). It didn't feel much different with the Boardman frame - a little snappier steering, a little buzzier on rough stuff. And the old frame (which needs a new home!) looks just as well made as it did when blinged up with the standard high spec components. Halfords were pretty useless but I never took the bike there again once I'd bought it. Good bike - deeply unfashionable but if you ride rather than pose then who gives a...

To answer your original question...

If you're spending less than £1500 get a hardtail.

If you're willing to spend more then get a FS if you think you'll need it.