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Are you looking new or secondhand?
You could pick up a good used FS frame for the price of a new premium steel hardtail.
These days the distinction between a HT and a FS is more about the intended target use of the bike that if it has rear suspension tbh! Now that you can get super slack, long forked HT's these compare quite well to FS bikes in a lot of areas (except confort) and you could move between those bikes easily (i swap c456 to Spicy without too much issue depending on my riding mood and the state of the trails etc) but i also have a race HT. Steep, high BB, short travel, short wheelbase, narrow bars. Jumping back on that after the Spicy is a bit of a shock, and i usually end up in the bushes on the first corner after getting the bike out! 😉
I think I can add something useful..
I ride hardtail on east Dartmoor, which is as steep, rocky and technical as you like.. A tough steel hardtail is perfect for me in those circumstances, plus it's plenty agile enough to cover plenty of smooth moorland singletrack in between
Some friends come down from the peak to ride Dartmoor once per year, and the local trails that they draw comparisons with, fast long trails with an abundance of loose, babyhead rocks and pebbles are the trails that cause me most problems on the hardtail..
They're not hard to ride but it's certainly no fun at all getting shaken and rattled about, especially for any extended periods of riding
HT only for me and it's only got 100mm travel. I don't live or ride the Alps so i don't need to waste my money. Nothing in the UK really warrents a FS, I see FS all day long on the red and black at Haldon, really over biked , SS rigid would cope with out any problems. I just bend the knees and arms to soak up any rough bits. 😀
I only ride a hardtail, cos I is poor.
Due to complex circumstances I now own two, my pride and joy Rockhopper and a Decathalon BSO special which is eventually going to wind up as a road-going bike, so I can de-clutter the Spesh. Much as I'd like a bouncybike, it's just out of my budget.
There's nothing really that I wouldn't ride on a hardtail (that I would on a full sus) but full sus is more fun IMO, especially on rocky stuff. For trail centres I reckon a hardtail is probably more suitable most I the time.
Not ridden a skill compensator for about 15 years. Nothing in the uk really warrants it.
I love hardtails! You'll develop the leg muscle required to soak up the bumps in time.
Do people like you really exist? Trolling?
Never owned or ridden a FS and only got some RockShox 2 years ago. Currently on a Solaris, rigid and singlespeed.
Only HT for me and I get roundly abused for it 😆 can't be arsed with the maintenance and cost of full suss.
Yes to OP, for a couple of years, until this week when the FS bike was finished, just need to bleed brakes and ready for first ride on Wednesday 8)
HT only for the last 10 years out of choice
A HT is something I don't own but would certainly like to. I haven't ridden a HT since I was 17 (about 12 years ago) and although I'd like one in my shed I don't feel I'm missing out particularly. I almost exclusively ride DH and most of that is in competition, the rest of the time I try and find as rough, rocky trails as I can find for which I use my Spesh Camber (120mm FS).
I just like FS, I enjoy the technology in them and the advances they are making plus when a rear shock is really set-up well, the grip you can get the rear end to produce is unbelievable, which then only leaves my skill as a rider to see just how much I can push it. I enjoy that, but then I am always in awe of the very quick downhill HT guys.
Hardtail only for me, BFe with old pikes and a sturdy AM sort of build. Used for everything, long days in the Peak or uplift days or razzing about bmx tracks. Did an uplift at Hamsterly yesterday, was fine. The main thing I miss from full sus is the extra grip, hardtails can be a bit skittish.
I live in East Anglia, having suspension forks is probably OTT. 🙂
I used to only ride a hardtail for anything and was quite happy/blissfully ignorant riding it. However with a season in Whistler looming I decided to go for a full sus and loved it. Since getting back a couple of years ago I've been flitting between fs and hardtail trying to decide which I'd rather have as my "one bike". And I still can't decide. I often feel hardtails are a bit unbalanced/divey unless you set up the forks quite hard whereas the fs feels more balanced. I hate added complications/maintenance though and the added weight is crap. I do prefer the more responsive feel of a ht but like the comfort and confidence a full sus can bring.
I dont do jumps or big drops though.
Hardtails are better for jumps anyway.
There are a couple of vids floating around featuring guys riding HT's at Whistler, some good riding and skill in those vids.
^I followed one of them down Dirt Merchant and couldn't keep up on my bike with 180mm each end 😆
Well I enjoyed my ride, my Niner is performing faultlessly and is now speckled with mud.
I have a cross bike in build at the mo and I'm soooo eager to take that around the same trails as I ride my Niner. I'm looking to do some hard training before I give Cross Racing a go...
8)
The only FS I own is for DH.
Everything else is done on the HT. I've had a "trail FS" type bike in the past but didn't quite get on with it. You're always better off with a decent HT for general riding IMO. Bells and whistles always need fixing more often and cost more when they fail.
The only FS I own is for DH.
+1
I own three hardtails with varying amounts of fork travel, and for the type of riding I do, one or other of them is all I need. I've had full-sus before (Kona Dawg and Giant Reign) and have never really got the hang of how to ride them to maximise enjoyment; unlike my hardtails. So I'll stick with what I enjoy.
Yeah, I think I will make the decision between Alpine and Slackline 631 then.
I'm excited to get back on a hardtail but I will miss the 5.
I own both, but the HT single speed is used by far the most in the UK eg Welsh trail centres. I tend to use FS for places like the Lake District where the trails are a lot more rocky.
Hardtail-only again. And it's 26"! Can't see myself going back to full suss.
I've turned to a hardtail an identit aka
First ride out today and absolutely loved it
Glad I made the move
Had some nice FS bikes; a Nicolai and a Foes, but never really felt they were for me. Just swapped a Chameleon for a Privee Shan, it's an amazing bike, there's nothing really I need it to do any better.
[img][url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3685/9477350977_70165bee6a.jp g" target="_blank">
Me! OP, I've owned several 5's over the years, along with various HT rigs: Orange P7 (commute), Genesis IO, Cotic Simple 26", Cotic Roadrat
At the tail end of last year I eventually sold EVERYTHING to fund 1 bike. I had the choice of going for a Ti frame with OK bits or a niche steel frame with my choice of top notch bits. I opted for the latter and bought a Cotic Solaris and fitted it with a Rohloff with other nice bits and bobs.
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-me-you-solariss-please- ]Solaris photo thread[/url]
Have to say, I've loved it and haven't regretted for one minute selling everything I used to own.
Now I'm saving for a custom 953 HT frame.
I'd love a PP Shan, it's a shame they have an odd bottom bracket, a silly price tag, and are made from gas pipe. Other than that they seem perfect.....and look beautiful! Gulf racing colors all the way!
In the Spring I sold my 5 and Rock Lobster 853, as I wasn't using the 5 enough. Now just 1 MTB, a new Soul, with 120 forks and a reverb. Copes well with everything I ride.
sold my 29er FS, nowt wrong with it but I didn't love it so it had to go. Now down to two 29er HTs.
No rocks around here & I don't jump for toffee (or, in the words of another thread, I'm not participating in "the progression of the sport"), so HT's do just fine.
Keep thinking I need a FS for CYB etc, which is daft because I did it all happily on an 80mm Kona Kula 10 years ago. (& Verbier & Slickrock too).
Fancy a nice 650b trail bike FS (Turner Burner looks favourite) but balking at the price tag.
So it's HT-tastic for me!
Well, I have one of each and I ride both, if not equally, a fair amount. I tend to take the FS for trail centres or rides in areas I know to be v. lumpy and the HT for everything else. However its not hard and fast, 'oh its downhill, I must go home and change my bike', I just enjoy riding and having 2 means its likely at least one will be working!
People who ride both HT and FS can you swap between them easily without time to adjust?
Moved from a Heckler to a Soul a few months ago and have no regrets.
I was a tad concerned that I would suffer a beating - especially on my lower back - but that hasnt been the case at all. In fact the back end feels a bit springy and Im still fiddling with tyre pressures. But I havent suffered any aches and pains and I think Im riding better and faster than ever. (which isnt too difficult)
[i]I'd love a PP Shan, it's a shame they have an odd bottom bracket, a silly price tag, and are made from gas pipe.[/i]
Odd BB is not really harder to live with than any other, it's cheaper than the new shape Chameleon, seen worse tubes, seen better.
It's really planted, v flick-able, unbelievably sure footed on the DH, and the flattened chain and seat stays make for a comfy ride (certainly compared to the Chameleon it's replaced )
Paint is lush though...
Yes. Didn't really gel with a full sus.
never owned a full sus - thinking about going 29 rigid for the next bike.
just seemed like a lot of complexity and cost for just bombing about in the woods which is what most of us tend to do, and when you consider the corrosive properties of UK mud a load bearing, er, bearing is the worst thing to put right next to the back wheel
fähigkeiten statt federweg....
that's german, BTW... google it if you want.
Pulled my Five apart and sold all the bits this year. A well-used and well-loved bike but slow uphill and more bike than I need for Surrey Hills - my Soul often felt more fun and faster in the twisty stuff.
The Five was great for the Lakes but I barely go up there now. Down South it just anaesthesises the trail.
Yep, went from Sub5 and ST4 to HT's - I have only ever had one bike at a time. Sanderson is the only thing I have. I don't miss the extra cleaning, changing bearings or cost of shock servicing.
And at Glentress today, I seemed as fast as many others...
It nips uphill as well.
Hardtail only here too.
FS got stolen and I haven't restarted racing so didn't see the point in spending mega bucks on an enduro type bike for a while.
Got a cheap 456-evo and if anything I'm more adventurous on this bike as I'm less precious about it getting bashed up.
I'm even tempted to enter some gravity enduro on it such is the laugh I'm having riding hardtails again.
Me too, never had a FS. I love my HT and it's fine for the rides I do.
Now all I need to do is decide on a Slackline 631 or wait for the Alpine MK3.
Decisions decisions.
I'm currently looking at doing the exact same... i love my Five but its never ridden to its full potential and i need the money. I tend to either ride my cross bike local or my Krampus on the moors. I really don't need an FS bike sat in the garage. But i must admit i'm finding it hard to bite the bullet and write the classified's ad.
I had bike acquisition syndrome about 6 years back, rigorously adhering to the maximumBikes = n+1 rule.
carbon HTs, full sussers all of a racy XC flavour.
Then I hurt my knee and it kept me off the bike since then. In the interim I sold all my super-expensive gear and put together a old RockLobster HT. After I got over the shock.... and got rid of my bike snobbery I've really grown to love it. Sure it's old an unfashionable but it goes like a rocket.
Now I'm beginning to ride again and I don't want to replace it! I overtook a couple of riders on snazzy 29ers yesterday and just as I cleared the front wheel of the frontmost guy I heard him say to his friend "Shouldn't have sold my 26er!".... enter smug mode.
[b]So! Benny's important sunday moral. "Try it, you might surprise yourself and like it!"[/b]
..
.....if not, you can buy another one when cash is a little more numerous!
I'm a HT only person.
It's not usually the HT that slows me down.
Now all I need to do is decide on a Slackline 631 or wait for the Alpine MK3.
Tricky decision that. I've got a MK3 Alpine on order. The wait is killing me! Shouldn't be too long now though 😀