I am really not sure !

I seem to be looking at a lot of classifieds for some nice hardtail frames at the moment esp Ti.
The thing is I went to full suspension a couple of years ago because I was getting a bad back after some longer rides, but the bike I had at the time was an alu hardtail which was a very harsh ride (bloody quick though).

Anybody gone back and regreted it or was it the best decision you made

Got both. Problem solved.

Got ride of a Hummer (not FS I know, but bear with me) and an Helius, and just have one bike, a Chameleon. Not a lot slower than the Helius, if I'm honest. Should've done it years ago

Yes, me. Got a F.S for a couple of trips to the Alps even though the first time we went we were all on H.T's. Won't be going back to a F.S. (the grin factor's no different IMO)

I rode FS for ten years. Got fed up of the maintenance, so hard tail for the last 7 years. Test rode a high speced Giant Trance the other day, but didn't feel it. I'm very happy with a Ti 456 🙂

Yes, didn't get on with a full sus and found I prefer HT's each to their own.

coogan – Member

Got both. Problem solved.

Softail! Lightspeed Unicoi – best of both.

Lotsa folk do own both, the variety keeps it intersting.

Some folk think it's all about one type of bike being "best"…threads like "just gone back to HT/FS after 6 months on FS/HT – it's AMAZING" crop up most weeks.

Got both, but prefer the HT, even with a dodgy back. You can't have enough bikes, stop dithering and get buying, you know it makes sense!

Yez. I much preffer the way a hardtail feels. They just feel faster and more aggressive.

I cant really justify having both
I do enjoy the FS but it feels kind of remote and not connected to the trails in the same way a hardtail is if you get what I mean

I could spout lots of guff about keeping it real, pure connections with the trail etc.

Or I could just fess up and say I can't afford a decent FS, but would love one.

:-/

I had both for about 2 years but was consistently choosing the HT. Mind you it's proper custom HT so that might have some bearing on it. I think it just fits me poifectly, so still no intention if having another FS

Singlecrack, you got it in one.

Went back to an HT this summer after 5 years of FS. Mainly admittedly because I could get a decent HT on the Bike To Work scheme. Plan ultimately is to have both, but meantime I'm really enjoying my HT again.

I like both, but my back prefers the FS.

If you're not faster on your FS that means you can't ride it properly.

or the trail really doesn't benefit from rear suspension.

watched any 4X al? 😉

I bought an M4 frame and some forks on here recently as a cheap box of bits winter bike. I hadnt ridden a HT for years as I have a dicky back. I'm loving it, It's so quick. Takes a bit of getting used to on super gnarly downhills after my Flux and 5 Spot. Looking forward to some dry/frozen trails.

"cynic-al – Member

If you're not faster on your FS that means you can't ride it properly."

Its not always about the speed for me though

FS= float and flow
HT = place and ping
edit.. I can never decide about which one to bring

I had a few but in the end I wasn't using them enough to justify keeping them. They are/were very very good though. Plus my favourite is still my very old Fat Chance HT.

Jeez GW you think I've conducted any research?

i have literally not used my FS since my trip to Wales halfway through the summer, hardtail is always my first choice. Due to it not being ridden i have now sold my FS and gone to HT only. Longterm plan is to get a Ti HT.

I keep thinking of various options as I don't get to ride as much as before since moving to London.

I reckon I'd keep the FS as it's "only" 130mm travel but adjustable in the rear and weighs in pretty light

Yup – I prefer HT, just suits me. now on Ti and love it.

To be fair, my full suss wasn't quite as good as my hardtail, but I've ridden it about 4 times and I doubt I'll ride it again. My Soul hits the sweet spot of being good enough without being too good, the Zesty and Five I testrode are both better than my Soul but then a motorbike is better than a pushbike at going up hills

They're both great. Get what you like. Or both. Or 2 of both.

From a Prophet to a P7 and enjoying it.

Had a HL Flux for 2 years, since getting a custom SS a year ago sold the Flux and now have a Ti456 with Pikes for big trips

Local trails here around Watford on the OnOne Ti29er HT.
At the trail centers it's the FS 4inch travel Turner Flux.

I am always surprised how quick the Turner is when I do ride her as most of my time is spent on the Ti29er which I adore.

Win-win!

used to have an xc I-drive and a 6" ruckus I-drive , bought a P7 cheap to do up and sell but after a quick go on it pulled all the best parts from the xc fs bike and built up the P7 nice.

I only ever use the 6" bike now for gravity assisted riding unless it's an easy flat route that I need to make feel harder(for the workout)

i have both i use the them equally, but i race on the flux fs as it allows me to take rough but direct lines to pass people on the downhills, if i do rides lasting more than 3 hrs again its the fs otherwise i am just too tired to pick smooth lines, then again i use the ht for fast training blasts, i am running a 1×9 so i have to work harder

I've swapped between Enduro, Pace 303, Enduro, Soul, Enduro, Ventana El-Ciclon.
Now building a cheap Trek SS for Winter.
Of them all the Soul was ace & could honestly do anything the FS could do with me riding it.
Keep thinking of wiping the slate clean & getting back to basic P7 with nice bits.
Would love a Ti456, & reckon I'd be out of my FS days if I did.

Yes. Sold my Heckler and replaced with a Rohloff'd hardtail to reduce maintenance time and increase riding time.
Only missed the Heckler once, on one of the descents at the Dyfi Enduro when I landed hard and got a pinch flat. Otherwise, I've no regrets whatsoever.
Glad I kept the 130mm forks though 🙂

Yes and no.

I have both (a Chumba vf2 and a Cotic Soul).

I love them both. The Chumba gives me the confidence but the Soul is more 'fun'. But I guess thats really because I'm happier with the limits of HT than of 5-6" FS and if I had to choose just one it would be a hardtail (and preferably a Lynskey built ti, but thats another thread now isnt it).

I've a Kona Dwag and love it for the lakes and more knarly stuff but I reach for my Orange evo2 which I've customed to the max more often than not.

I ride an ancient Rocky mountain Elevation, ali hardtail and am currently looking to replace it. The HT/FS conflict has really got to me. I love to ride so I feel like I'm on the edge, with a HT thats pretty easy to achieve so the adrenaline rush is at less insane speeds and smaller jumps. If I went to FS would I just get soft or risk injury by looking for that buzz by going faster and bigger, I'm still trying to solve that one.

Get a softail – problem sorted 😉

To be honest though, unless you have room for only one bike, why not have both……or in my case all three – a HT, a FS, and a softail. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages, depending on the terrain and the time of year.

I had a trance but tbh I felt like it was always holding me back as did my old sub5

Sold the trance and now I am a happy bunny with a poverty 456

No i do not miss the soft back end because when it is rough I stood up anyway

Problem is the 456 makes me decend too quickly hence my big stack on the Q's saturday

Buy both.

Although if you were getting back problems I'd suggest that even the "zing" of Ti will make around about no difference whatsoever, so keep it for shorter rides.

To be honest, I don't really buy into the whole "woo really nice ride from a ti hardtail", having owned one. Then again mine lasted 3 months and snapped halfway down a hill with a very very long walk home (if the guides hadn't been able to sort us out a lift)…