[Closed] It's ok to ride a hardtail…

Choice is a wonderful thing. I ride with folks who are quicker than me on hardtails, XC FS bikes and worst of all completly inappropriate 9 inch travel bikes with 2.7 " tyres - and the same people pass me whether I'm on a harsdtail or a FS bike.

I got outclassed going down Walna Scar last week by a younger quicker friend on a hardtail, and its not a lack of travel that is holding me back - its balls and skill. Strangely I was (slightly) quicker up the mountain on my Pitch than he was on his Ti On One - so go figure.

Which is better is an argument that will never be solved or resolved.

IMO I get more pleasure from a FS bike and that is why I do it. Just sold my Ragley mmmBop as for the riding I do the FS bike is quicker and more fun. Perhaps if a lived down in Sussex on the downs and not near the Lakes a hardtail would make more sense. But loose rocky climbs and vicious rocky descents mean that an FS bike is better for me.

In the real world all that counts is you the rider and what you want, as its your ride.

What full suss would be faster than an XC hardtail up hills?

molgrips - An XC full sus like this maybe:

Really? Why would that be? All that extra weight and bounce, what is that doing for climbing ability?

7hz - Member
Really? Why would that be? All that extra weight and bounce, what is that doing for climbing ability?

Better traction, ability to stay seated without constantly getting bucked out of the saddle etc.

Measure the grin factor not the width of the bars 😀

All that extra weight and bounce

Well that frame (at least my version of it) is 4.5lbs, so an extra 1.5lbs if we're being reasonable (yes I know there are lighter HT frames than 3lbs). Not outrageous. It doesn't bounce at all because it's only 2.5" travel and very well damped if you want it to be.

And as retro83 says it lets you keep the wheel on the ground more over rocks and roots etc, and reduces fatigue on longer races.

Don't knock it til you've tried it. Oh wait, what am I saying?!

😉

I tried a full suss once.

Felt like I was winching myself up the north face of the Eiger on a trampoline on the way up a normally easy (on a HT) hill, and may as well have been on a hovercraft on the way down.

Bum over the seat on a HT seems to do everything a FS does on the way up, I don't believe all that 'traction' talk, that's just fat lads with no skill trying to bump over everything!

Don't see the point in FS at all really 🙂 Not unless you are a DH racer.

I tried a full suss once.

Lol - once? So now you know what ALL FS are like? 🙂

Not only are there hundreds of FS out there all completely different, but it takes a loong time to understand what you've got and learn to get the most out of it.

Bike evaluating FAIL.

Don't see the point in FS at all really Not unless you are a DH racer.

Come on7hz your trolling now surely 😆

I have been riding my trusty P7 for the last 10 years and just before Christmas I bought myself a Zesty, my first FS bike. It is fantastic, it takes a lot of the sting out of the trail, the wheels are much more planted on the ground, I still pick my lines in the same way as I used to on the hardtail but now I can push faster through them.

I hear people talking about skill compensators but I haven't lost any of the skills I had on my HT, it just allows you to do more for longer. The bike feels more dynamic underneath me, I can feel it absorbing the little stuff and when I do happen to hit a larger bump it flows over it rather than bucking me out of the saddle. As I am getting back up to fitness I am noticing it more and more.

Hardtails are great bikes, so are full sussers. In fact, I might go so far as to say, I bloody loves 'em all. Why would MBR change my mind?

Come on7hz your trolling now surely

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Just not everyone's respect for holding it.....

Obviously on7hz was riding the wrong full-sus, wrongly set-up and didn't know how to ride it!

Now, I am now a man of huge experience, cos I went to my first trail centre on Saturday. I now see where MBR are coming from with their: 'full-sus is more fun, bars are narrow if less than 700mm, stems longer than 80mm are bargepoles' stance. Cos riding White's Level that stuff made complete sense.
However, other types of riding are available.

trail centres are not the most demanding of a full suspension bike.
rider. yes.
bike. no.

I still remember the 'conclusive experiment that they did at a 24 hour race where they showed that the FS was whatever, 30s a lap quicker or something. Fair enough, not a bad experiment, but since WHEN do we choose our bikes based on 30s a lap saving here and there? What are we, roadies?

[i]trail centres are not the most demanding of a full suspension bike.[/i]

As I said, I've only been to one. And though I would be fully prepared to enjoy riding my Handjob on White's Level I can assure you my 575 would be a lot more fun and most definitely faster.

I don't mind the mag, they're quite open and unsubtle about their madness and bias so it's easily dealt with (remember "The Orange 5's rims are too narrow and weak and not appropriate for this sort of bike or at this price. The brakes don't really work at all. And it's too expensive. 10/10, BIKE OF THE YEAR ZOMG!" or "We set the fork in the Inbred to 140mm, 10mm longer than it's warrantied for and 40mm longer than it's best at, and it didn't handle too well, the BB was high and the steering was slow. Therefore, we're marking it down and the P7 wins"

So yeah, a while back they decided hardtails sucked and reduced their coverage. The world kept buying hardtails. Now they've decided that THE HARDTAIL IS BACK!!1oNE! and the world will keep buying hardtails.

molgrips - Lol - once? So now you know what ALL FS are like?

Not only are there hundreds of FS out there all completely different, but it takes a loong time to understand what you've got and learn to get the most out of it.

Bike evaluating FAIL.

Yes I know 🙂 Still, at least I tried!

taxi25 - Come on7hz your trolling now surely

Just trying to balance out the thread. The sun does not shine out of FS pivot points 😉

DezB - Obviously on7hz was riding the wrong full-sus, wrongly set-up and didn't know how to ride it!

Probably. Just didn't get on with it, and didn't like how it felt. I'll take my hardtail 'fitness compensator' any day 🙂

I thought I wanted a FS several years ago having only owned and ridden HTs. I tried a Spesh FSR 120 (first of the newer generation of FSRs, this was what 2004-5) thinking it was the bike for me and I hated it - similar to 7hz. However I tried a Fisher Cake with the same amount of travel and absolutely loved it. Climbed like a scared squirrel!

When I had both, my Pace RC300 and that Cake, there were always climbs I could do on the 27lb Cake that I couldn't on the 20lb Pace. Usually the really rocky loose ones.

The Cake was not without its flaws though, but I loved it for its strengths.

I do however have a tendency to love things and people for their strengths rather than hate them for their weaknesses, mind 🙂

There’s a long list of things I dislike about most Mag’s, however the existence of MTB Mag’s (good or bad) is something I’m glad of, even the crap ones can kill a long flight.

And to be fair they probably are in decline these days what with the interweb and recessions, so recycled “on the cheap” features and un-researched sweeping statements help keep the cost of producing their rags down…

MBRs general point, although very badly made, still sort of stands, with less people feeling as flush, the odds are that a higher percentage of people buying new bikes will opt for the cost savings of a HT over the bouncy joy but higher relative costs of an FS… fair enough I suppose…

"here at MBR …we believe that a full suspension bike will take you further, faster and simply be more fun to ride.
But with prices on the rise it's becoming harder to get a full-susser."

What they actually said in MBR was:

"But with prices on the rise it's becoming harder to get on the full-sus wagon in the first place, so unless you are already on it or bought into it a few years ago, you might struggle to justify 2011 prices.

There are still a few compelling full-sus choices starting at around £1000-and many more beyond that magic, psychological price barrier-but what would have been a £1k wonder this time last year may well be a £1300 bike today. So might we see the re-emergence of the hardtail this year? After all, why spend up to £1000 buying into the bottom of the full-sus market when the same amount could get you a first-rate hardtail instead?