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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.
I think riding different bikes sometimes makes you faster.
Riding a hardtail teaches you to take smoother line choices and generally do more of the work, which then means on a FS bike you can go even faster as the bike is only having to deal with the stuff you really can't deal with (rather than riding a FS and learning what the minimum work you have to put in to achieve the same speed as the bike in front of you) .
Riding a FS bike teaches you to ride a lot quicker generally (reactions, straighter line choices) , and maybe teaches some more extreme line choices (by making them easier) that you can then try on a HT, and then you can do again on the FS even faster, it's a virtuous circle.
Heck I even took a BMX round Swinley, it was utterly rubbish but by being rubbish did improve my cornering (because just passively leaning it into a corner just didn't work on small wheels and almost slick tyres, you pretty much had to be ready for both wheels to slip).
Even a road bike has it's advantages.
I've only owned hardtails, initially on the basis that i'll eventually buy an FS when I can afford/justify one worth having. I've ridden decent, sorted full-sussers on decent trails and spend the first 30 mins luxuriating in the ride and how different it feels and then spending most of the ride sat down in places i'd usually be stood up, thinking that I should get one sooner rather than later, because it's so bloody comfortable.
But I really love my hardtail, and it doesn't limit the type of riding I do, so it's not the end of the world if I never get a FS, but I know there is a world of sitting down luxury out there waiting....
then spending most of the ride sat down in places i’d usually be stood up
This is definitely true; I like hardtails and I'd happily get another but FS is quicker pretty much everywhere offroad.
I like the squishy comfort in my ageing years!
I mostly have hardtails and I low-key prefer them for most things. BUT if you tend to feel beaten up on bike rides or you've got back problems, weak core stability, quite like to sit down...Any of that sort of thing then they're potentially a bit of an issue. I've seen several mates in their 40s spend good money on a nice hardtail for all the reasons bandied about in this thread, then ride it twice and basically realise it hasn't got any rear suspension and sell at a huge loss.
🙂
I have one, every now and then i swing a leg over it and take it out, have amazing fun and use it again for the next handful of rides, then i get back on the luxurious full suss i wonder wtf i was playing at!!
always handy to have...
I’ve just built up a rigid fatbike, which is a laugh, but also got some 29x2.4 wheels for it which is ace as it’s a refreshing change from my fs bikes which range from 100-160mm. Plus I’ll realise I can get through stuff at the same speed as the fs, which then encourages me to go faster on them, then the cycle repeats...
I've only ever had one bike at a time. I've see-sawed between HT and FS.
Clockwork - Sub5 - Niner EMD - Orange ST4 - Sanderson Breath - Marin Nail Trail.
Sons all have FS.
You make a choice and pay your money. I miss the ST4's ability to just hover bike over rocky tracks, at the end of a long day. I miss the Sub5's ability to just swallow bigger hits.
I love the Sanderson's sprightly and immediate reactions, I love the new Marin's stability at speed, light weight and speed on most trails.
It's cheaper to maintain (apart from Sub5 all our FS need new bearings about annually, so that is Superlight, Zesty, Stumpjumper, ST4 and Fuel)
Yes a FS is faster on gnarly trails, but 80% of the time I can keep up. Deeply satisfying overtaking big travel bikes on the Sanderson in the Alps last year... 😎
I'm happy with my HT, the boys wouldn't be without the FS....
Interesting comment about the fat bike. I've got one with a bluto on it (Cube Nutrail) and it's quicker than my full suspension trail bike. I've got a Cannondale F29 too which tends to get used for winter slop but whilst I've been thinking about getting a bike like the Whyte 909, the fat bike still puts a huge grin on my face every time I ride it.
Been thinking about converting it to 29plus for next winter so might give that a go.
Give it a try painey, It’s (not at all) amazing the difference that 6lbs off and half the rolling resistance makes...
I've generally had both Fs and HT over the past 2 years - now down to 1 bike, and have settled on a short(ish) travel FS. Cotic Flare - I've had Soul's and really like the geometry, general feel and type of riding they're good at (a bit of everything). But, inevitably I feel a bit beaten up on a hardtail on rocky, rooty, or just bumpy hilly stuff. And at my level of fitness FS is faster on bumpy uphills.
I think a short(ish) travel, fun, p'oppy', taught FS is where it's at for me for general 'mountain biking'. Bridleways, hills, natural singletrack, some endyooroish type trails, odd trail centre.
I fully expect another HT to appear when finances permit it..........
If you can afford both then do it. I have a fs and ht I rode both in Scotland last winter and both where equally fun just depends on how you want to ride .
I bought an orange Crush a couple of years back and have done just under 2000 miles on it . I really cant see past it for comfort . Really wanted a whyte 905 but got the crush instead. Almost swapped for my sons pals Trek Fuel on a whin a few months back but so glad I didnt. Im not the bravest rider but the hardtail does everything I need and more. Im going to stick either some Yaris or Rev's on it next.
I love FS but hate hardtails. I really love my rigid bikes though. Fatty and Cannondale Trail 29 for the wins.
Taking the Bird Zero demo bike out for a ride this evening... The marketing blurb seems to have really worked on me, and I'm looking to see what I'll have more fun on rather than which is fastest.
But what BigDummy says resonates and worries me a little; I'm just hoping my body isn't too broken in it's old age to enjoy a hard tail again
*double post
****ing shitty forum
Ah Bollocks i'm 41, I've only ever owned and ridden hardtails.
I've constantly switched between the two, and there is no 1 true bike for me i feel.
however i settled with the new BFe; and two sets of wheels.
35mm rim + big tyres for the "Enduro" days - and 27mm rim + normal(ish) tyres for "trail" riding
150mm travel Pike.
This seems to be a pretty good combo for me for now, I've ridden trail centres, singletrack, steep enduro tracks and the lakes, and the BFe was more than capable!
OP go for it, 47 yo here, and have only ever had HTs. I went from a pretty ancient Cove Handjob to a Slackline last year and suddenly experiencing all the design changes from the last decade (1x11, lower BB, slacker, wider bars and short stem) was a revelation although I seem to be destroying back wheels a lot more now than I ever did (and lets face it HTs just look better).
I can't seem to get on with hardtails. I put my fatbike back to rigid over the winter and am tempted to leave it that way. Love full suss too, but something about the way hardtails only ever get steeper when you descend combined with the hammering of my rear just doesn't work for me. Some people clearly love them though.
Funnily enough I was just watching the following video on a channel I subscribe too and my jaw was on the floor with how the one lad is riding his Orange Crush. Shame the colours are a bit washed out but it is impressive stuff never the less. If you are in any doubt then watch some of their other videos to know how well the guy on the FS doing the filming can ride.....
And another in better colour. I am glad we don't have trails like that over here. 🙁
It's not open to debate though in that context, some people are just brilliant. That doesn't mean ALL people can ride harder and trickier terrain on a HT, it doesn't mean they'll be quicker on a HT, it doesn't mean they'll improve as a rider because they're on a HT..
It just means some bloke somewhere is brilliant.
It just means some bloke somewhere is brilliant.
Naww, thanks, I do try, nice of you to notice 😘
The whole ruined back must get a full suss isn’t necessarily true, I thought the same and have 3 full suss bikes but spend most of my riding on a singlespeed hardtail and I’m about to transfer all the parts on one full suss to my old Kona Steely.
I’m definitely slower on either type of bike if I ride one or other too much, lines change, bottle changes and on the hardtail it can be easy to think ‘I won’t do that jump/drop/black line as I’m on the hardtail’. Back wheels take a bit of a hammering too.
After riding the hardtail too much, the full suss’s feel unwieldy and generally hard work initially. Also pedal strikes start being a thing again.
‘I won’t do that jump/drop/black line as I’m on the hardtail’
That's where the rigid with regular 2.1" tyres and no dropper comes in.
@gaz.dick do you find a big difference between the two setups?
I'm just building my new BFe with a 150mm Fox 34 and a set of regular-ish width rims (Hope Enduro's) but i was toying with getting some wider wheels and 2.5/2.6 tyres too.
Initially running a Minion DHF 2.3 on the front and Crossmark II 2.25 on the rear so a middle-ground setup really.
My 2 off road bikes are a HT and a rigid SS. If I HAD to sell drop one I'd keep the HT, but for the local gloop and tame stuff I find the rigid SS to work well.
I have no need for a FS bike for the sort of riding I do