prefer ht’s generally. Ride mine all the time. Only really proper DH that needs FS really.

I have just changed to a hard tail only and although I am really enjoying it I am finding it hard work for long days in the peak. It’s made me decide I need both, does depend where you ride.

Mine is a lot of peak riding too. That’s what worries me.

I’m think strong steel frame (Alpine) 140 upfront and the biggest rear tyre I can fit.

Never ridden the peaks but to be honest I think the Dialled Alpine is an amazing frame and you’d love it. Being steel it would probably have some give too as I think they are based around fulfilling the needs of ( Alpine ) real mountain rides as well as UK stuff.

Rear tyre choice makes a huge difference as does experimenting with tyre pressures. (maybe run a rear DH tube in a large tyre at slightly lower pressures?)

Happy with what I have got, ht and rigid ss, both 29er. Cannock Chase is my local, I would be over biked on fs 😉

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.

[/url] Shan by nickcummins1, on Flickr[/img]

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.

Solaris photo thread

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’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.

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