[Closed] Hardtail - do I really want one?

After buying a hardtail im struggling to find love with a FS now. Put some reasonably fast tyres on there and suddenly the roads arent so dull and the descents and more fun, win win for me

Only one answer! YES. I ride both and love the extra grunt uphill and simplicity of cleaning after a mud run (had lots recently!) No down side for me......

I had a 2017 orange 5 with full fox factory suspension. Basicaly a dream build of mine. It was stolen and to replace I have baught a new cotic soul to replace it as I couldn’t afford to spend another 4-5k on a bike. Am I missing the orange, yes I do on some trails. Am I having less fun, No I’m having more fun on the hardtail. In my opinion fs is faster ht is more fun.

Yes.

Bike hardtails und full suspension bikes. Both great fun.

For me, hardtail: good fork with minimum 130 mm travel and tyres around 2.4 inch are key (25...30 mm rims). 27.5" is more playful - 29" a bit faster (but I like 27.5" bikes more).

2.6 inch tyres are getting really good - would try to get a bike which is prepared for these fat tyres (if you like to bike already now 2.6 inch rubber the rims should be around 35mm?). In combination with a good 130...150 mm fork?

Can't say if full suspension or hardtail is more fun. But would add always "more travel" and "fatter tyres" onto the hardtail. Take the 29" bike only if I plan very, very long daytrips where I like to cover long distances.

Hardtail stop you being lazy and make you a better rider.

Why not use a FS with rear suspension you can lock out for your HT fantasys.

My Scott Spark had the twinloc feature, you could switch it from fully open, trail, locked out from a bar mounted switch.  Brilliant.  Meant I could smash the smooth uphills like a HT, but cruise the bumps like a FS.  Bloody perfect.

You'll have no regrets if you choose right. Just bought a Whyte 909 with 2.8 tyres. It's the fastest and funnest bike I've owned.

You do, whether it’s a good idea or not remains to be seen. I like mine, but it’s hard work, and I miss my FS sometimes, but I like the fact that it’s there, it works and it doesn’t take much cleaning.

I agree with Trailrider Jim (are you the same jim from the facebook owners club?). I also have a 909 and it is simply brilliant. Beat lots of PB's at BPW on it compared to my 140mm trail bike.

Will be taking it when i am back there in a few weeks.

A hardtail is especially good if you are lazy at maintenance as there is slightly less to go wrong obviously.

Get one, it may suprise you how fun it is.

Hardtail stop you being lazy and make you a better rider

And the world is flat.

I have just bought a 901 today and am off to Swinley in the morning.  I'l let you know tomorrow!

Dogsby

All depends on what your riding tbh, local xc bridleways footpaths etc great for a hardtail riding anything more mountainous then maybe go FS. Just purchased a 2016 Trek ex fuel 9.8 myself for the rougher stuff but the Trek Procal 9.9 is a joy to ride on the majority of stuff but can take its toll on all dayers but local epics across the Clwydian ranges is ace on that

having both would only be a good thing

local xc bridleways footpaths etc great for a hardtail riding anything more mountainous then maybe go FS.

Not sure I completely agree with this. The very latest hardtails with dialled geo and wide tyres really do need to be tried to be believed. Arguably they can be more fun and satisfying on the biggest terrain, compared with a big enduro rig.

All depends on what your riding tbh, local xc bridleways footpaths etc great for a hardtail riding anything more mountainous then maybe go FS

What if I'm riding an open access woods, what do I need then.

You can ride a hardtail anywhere, it doesn't improve your skill by doing so it's just a different form of riding. You can ride down Snowdon on one if you wanted.

I've been riding 150+ bikes for nearly 20 years. I bought a 901 last year to add to my collection and it's bloody brilliant! More fun in local flatter rides and general mooching. I still wouldn't want to be without my Enduro bike for big mountain and bike park days, but I don't regret it one bit. And it was only a cheap one.

BITD I did 2 weeks in Morzine on a Ti Hardtail with 100m forks. Rode the Pleney, Swiss DH, Les Gets worlds & dual courses & the old Kona bike park etc....  It was awesome fun. The next year I hired a full sus out there & it was funnerer.

I currently own & love a 29er xc race Hardtail. Last bike was a Stanton Switchback, before that a couple of Transition Bandits in different wheel sizes.

All were loads of fun but interestingly over a whole ride there is very little overall difference in my Strava times. The fs were slightly faster downhill, the xc bike is quicker up. The Switchback was somewhere in the middle. I think that if I only ever intended to have one mtb & couldn’t afford to change on a whim something like that, a steel Hardtail, reasonably ‘on trend’ geo with a 140mm fork would be the ideal bike. I rode BPW, local trails, enduro races & 24:12 on it.

I'm having this debate too.  Got a Whyte s-150s, and have now decided a 905 would be the perfect stable-mate for it.  It doesn't matter what it'll be 'good for'.  Mainly getting out on bikes and staying sane (and maybe a bit less cleaning faff/wear and tear on those filthy mid-week night rides). Surely I'll save money in the long run as it'll be so well colour-matched and I won't be sucked in to buying any further kit to match it.

wear and tear on those filthy

I never get this. If you do 1000 winter miles on a HT and the same on a FS, what actually wears out? I've swapped 1 set of bearings in 10 years on FS bikes, costing £20. That's hardly worth mentioning is it? So the FS bike gets dirty, does it take longer to clean a bike with a shock fitted?

Yeah. I used to run a ‘winter’ bike and a ‘summer’ bike, telling myself that it saves wear to the nice summer bike.

Thing is that you then have 2 bikes that wear & the cost of buying/building/maintaining the winter bike could easily cover a couple of years worth of maintenance on the other bike, including suspension/bearing services.

It's defo worth it if you get the right one. I now have both and use them equally but have had HT's in the past that I've hardly used.

IMO you need to have two bikes that are similar enough to switch between but different enough to make it worthwhile. When I had my old HT (26", QR forks, very different geometry to my FS) I never rode it because ultimately my FS was better in every situation. When out on the HT I wished I was on the FS.

Now I have a 650b HT and 29er FS. The geometry is similar on both, as is the fit. The HT is set up with flats and a bottle cage so I can jump on it for a ride with minimal fuss where as the FS needs a camelback and SPD's so I use that for longer rides on the whole. The FS is XL which is probably my size but I got a large HT as I wanted something to chuck about. Both have similar width bars and length stems. Works for me and as said I use them both the same amount although I have the HT set up with mud guards etc at the moment for muddy rides.

Of course you want one. The best are brilliantly versatile, great fun and very capable under the right rider. I don’t think there’s a better mountain bike “experience” than fast, flowing single track being ridden on a good hardtail.

No, winters over, time for the full suss.

I have a cannondale f29. So out and out race bike. Great bike but hard going when I took it to the lakes. Last year I got a specialized fuse. The one with 130 reba and 1x11. This is the first  non race mtb I have ever had. It's ace.3" tyres with 14psi and the reba feel almost perfect.

I did used to own a Turner flux fs but this was classic xc geo with just 120mm of travel.

I think the chubby tyres are a half way house between a little travel out back fs  bike.

Head angles not silly either so it's ok on the flats and climbing.

....I'm still thinking about a trek ex though.haha

East London!.... Mountain Biking!..... does not compute,,,, error error error......please reposition main residence and reboot.......

Get one you will not be disappointed! I have had several FS bikes over the years and always end up back on a HT. Modern trail HTs are so good that there is nothing that can't be ridden on them.I am currently lucky enough to have a HT (Chromag Rootdown) and a FS (cotic Rocketmax) and am seriously considering selling my Rocketmax Frame and building another HT with the rest of the components.

You really should want one, currently own a carbon Mondraker dune and an Orange crush. I find the Orange is just as fast and just as much fun to ride on 75% of the trails I ride, although you will feel it more afterwards, with the bonus of needing far less maintenance. Originally bought as a winter bike but it's so much fun I've ridden it far more than I planned to

I don 't see the point really in having two bikes really. Either have a hard tail or FS. If you go and buy a Hardtail now its only spending money that could go into upgrading parts on your FS...I'd rather have one bike spec'd upto the hilt than two average spec'd bikes. Different if you want two different types of bikes e.g. one general trail bike and one DH bike or a fat bike for example, but having a trail FS and trail HT seems a bit silly to me.

But then again it's bikes....since when did common sense come into it. If you fancy one, get one.

Another one for 'if you want one, get one' here, but I love nice HTs. My Switchback'll do anything I'm brave/stupid enough to ask it to.

Above, couple times mentioned: Whyte 909 with 130 mm fork, 2.8 tyres, 35 mm rims

Yes - this is one of these very, very neat fun-hardtails ... don't own one of those - but this is the recipe for fun.

(also I'am still a real fan of Deore 2x10 drivetrain. But this Whyte 909 - with 1 x 12 - looks like a great, great machine! I use old frames and put a long travel BOOST fork in and bike fat tyres on the front and more narrow ones on the back (frame limited...) But if 2 k burn in the pocket the Whyte is a veeeery good pick I guess.)

I've got 3 bikes right? An Orange 5, a road bike & an old HT. I've said it again & again, if I could only have one bike it would be the HT.

HTH. (Hard Tails Help) 😉

HTH

Hard Tails Help:

haha. I couldn't decide! I love all my bikes.

(and build a new one right now)

Similar boat to a few of the discussions above, I’ve a 2012 zaskar that has always felt a little small for me, and any time I head out I tend to ride the FS instead.

Thinking now that I’m going to buy one of the long slack HT’s to pay with at the likes of Swinley, or Leith Hill.

i think that everyone who has one seems to think they’re a lot of fun, and let’s face it, that’s certainly what I’m looking for... I’m too old and drink too much beer to be chasing strava KOM’s

let us know how you get on OP

I took my new 901 on its first outing around Swinley not having had a HT for some years.  It turns out that you do really want one!  Outstandingly good ride.  1x, some big chunky and marvellous geometry make it more fun that my FS.

Dogsby

Absolutely do not buy a hardtail. Strava proves it. End of debate.

Default choice should be hardtail unless it's rocky.  Speaking as a mostly FS rider.

Why? Why should it?

Because there is no better feeling than hanging on for life as you bomb past the group on fs and they look at you in awe of your superior riding skills.

Thanks for all replies, I've gone and bought a.........

A lot of love for the 909 as well , ive got a Torrent .same geo to be fair  , running 140mm yaris and a 1x11 with 45mm rims and 2.8 maxxis dhfs   , the bike has a slack ish 66.5o H/a   and 9-10 my full bounce gets left at home ,  I would ride this anywhere from the Peaks ,bike parks and the Higher stuff in the lakes . plus and 29 wheel sets make it a canal cruiser and a lake land monster

Because there is no better feeling than hanging on for life as you bomb past the group on fs and they look at you in awe of your superior riding skills

That's only because the guys on the FSs are too far ahead.

I'm all for a nice HT but the garbage spouted on here that they make you quicker or better or are still comfortable is just ridiculous.

If you want one buy one,

fwiw, i bought my surly to go with a pair of tyres that I already owned, if i can justify that, surely you can get a HT if you fancy one?

I’m all for a nice HT but the garbage spouted on here that they make you quicker or better or are still comfortable is just ridiculous.

Demo a 2018 sorted one like a 909 and then pass judgement. No one's suggested they're quicker or better all-round, but there are circumstances where they're more enjoyable to own and ride.

I've hit the "buy it now" button on a Whyte 901, and should be ready to pick up in the net few days.  We'll see, its got some chunky wide Maxxis Forekaster tyres in 2.6" which might defeat the objective in the 1st place and may need to swop out for something lighter / faster rolling.

Different strokes and all that. I’ve tried both over many years and currently own a Stif Morf. I just prefer the ride of a HT your mileage may vary.

Mainly ride natural trails in the Peak District and surrounding areas.