Make my hardtail less harsh?

I’ve been doing a fair bit more riding recently and finding my Genesis Core a little harsh on the longer rides. I’ve got the stock mountain king tires at 30 psi and the fork (recon silver) setup pretty good, but still finding the riding a bit harsh, particularly on the rocky descents here in the Peaks.

Anything else I can do to soften things up?

Fit the highest volume tyres you can squeeze in there.

relax

Ti seat post.

Suspension seatpost? You can pretend its a dropper if people ask.

Yep, the above and then set them up tubeless.

U.S.E Sumo post.

Relax and don’t sit on the saddle.

Relax and ride your bike rather than being a passenger.

Changing the seat post won’t change the feel of the bike downhill (you are out of the saddle I assume), larger volume tyres (check what fits) are the first point of call. For full “dreamer” mode look at some other steel frames (used ?) to switch the parts onto ..

Consider a steel frame. My Blue Pig X (daft name, great frame) currently has a little 2.0 Mud XR @ 28psi on the back at the moment and is very comfy. There’s some clever business done to the stays to make them compliant while the front triangle is stiff to give the best of both.

It’s slack and I’ve got 150mm of fork which invites me to keep my weight forward. This lightens the back end which tends to just carry through after the front wheel.

I also think my Vaults have made a big difference as I feel like I’m in, rather than on the bike and feel more relaxed through chatter as they lock your feet securely.

Although perhaps technique is an issue….

Don’t hang off the bike of the bike if it’s a descent, it’s not necessary. Stay balanced with a good lean into the front tyre to keep traction. That butt way back posture is from the days of short travel and long stems. This alone may fix your issue if it’s something you do!

As we’re at it, have you got your brakes set up for 1 finger? There’s a lot less to do for the same amount of control and a better grip of the bars. Oh, and drop your heals a bit too.

Excuse me if this is familiar to you, if not it helps a lot

plus 1 for larger volume and tubeless tyres…..in prep for some upcoming Peaks riding have just switched from a 2.35 minion dhf to the exo walled 2.5 sp 60a dhf and swapped the back 2.1 advantage LUST for an Ardent 2.35 LUST (on existing flow rims). Run at 30 front 35 rear (ish) as per prev tyres. Result is big time volume change.

Wow. MAJOR “suspension” upgrade feel….regular rolling buzz/bumps really smoothed out and rocky sections significantly less jarring and allowing more speed carry. Not so surprising, but thought the cost would be more drag ……however, average speed on regular trail loops has actually increased by over 1km/hr. No hit on climbing and actually can stay in lower rear cogs, and the traction upgrade upfront with the deeper tread has definitely sped up the downs in combo with the smoother ride. Think I’ll be leaving this combo on post Peaks!

p.s if anyone’s been wondering like i had for ages whether or not a reba 120 (in 2011 RLT Ti form at least) will fit the 2.5 (but actually slightly narrower than the Ardent 2.35) minion dhf sp, can confirm it fits fine for dry conditions at least. Not much clearance but no rubbing generally or catching on hard cornering/jump landings compression.

Get a carbon seatpost and carbon bars, both will take off the trail ‘vibes’.

Then go tubeless (and low pressure) with as large a volume tyre you can get in.

Plus not sure what padded undershorts you wear, but you can’t beat good quality ones.

shoulders, elbows, knees.

These are your best suspension, or so i’ve found.

As above, relax.

Thanks all, lots of good suggestions. I’ll explore the the larger volume tires first and have a think about my technique as well. I am guilty of hanging off the back of the bike on the descents to be fair 😳

Surprised nobody has mentioned a thudbuster. I have run one on a hardtail for a while and they really transform the ride.

We all are guilty of it, it’s partly defensive as you can hide behind the fork and wheel… but it makes your front wheel light so you can’t steer/brake/grip too well. It’s what we’re told to do at some point or another to prevent an OTB, but will probably result in one!

I saw Jedi last year, this was one of the best points he taught us; relax and stay centred. Sure you use your full range of motion at different points, it’s a useful posture at times but is overkill unless you’re riding down a cliff face.

Another handy thing that links in is applying gradual pressure to the bars (pushing away) in line with braking force. A harsh shove breaks traction, too relaxed and your weight throws forward. I try and remain in a similar fore/aft position but get lower with dropped heels/bent legs for hard braking rather than way back over the rear wheel.

Lastly, we tend to look to near the front tyre when feeling tense on the bike. This tiny point has a massive impact on feeling relaxed and in control as it gives you more time to process things ahead.

I’m looking forward to having rocky descents, I’m in the chalky/muddy South but moving to Sheffield in summer. Can’t wait!

Big tubless tyres. Dropper post, get your weight down, rather than back, make sure you use your arms and legs as suspension. This has made a world of difference to my hardtail.

drop your heels on the descents – then you won’t need to get so far back on the bike on the downhills.

A better frame will not buck you about so much on the downs – the stays will be more compliant.

If seated and riding across rough stuff put the hammer down and your thighs will help unweight you from the saddle and impacts wont be as severe.

A ti seatpost is better than a carbon one and some saddles, like the selle ones, have elastomer inserts at the ends of the rails so are compliant as well.

And a suspension seatpost could work – I used a USE XCR for ages but you need you saddle to be fairly centrally mounted on it, and not too slack a seattube angle.

What Herman said. Of course a lot of that is tricky when you’re knackered, very tempting to just stayed seated and then you get bounced around, a lot of exposed roots don’t help.

I’m in the chalky/muddy South

Pop over to Friston and Jevington end of SDW, riding really well at the weekend.

BTW – I had to ride a £300 HT at the weekend due to my AM FS being hospitalised, it was a very valuable lesson, re-learnt a lot, by day two the novelty of a HT with shite forks had worn off a bit, mainly due to an old scaphoid injury.

Carbon bars do make a difference for trail buzz. Found shedding some weight also made a difference as the bike felt sprightlier. Easier to skip over rather than ploughing through stuff.

+1 for legs and arms though. Get out the saddle and unweight the bike on the harsher stuff. Can be difficult towards the end of longer rides if fitness is an issue though so ride more and do some squats 🙂

Good advice about staying centred too, particularly on descents. Low and forward is the way to go. Feels like I’m way over the front sometimes, much more so than on the fs, but I’m probably just properly centred. You get more grip and properly work the fork, and a less weighted back end generally skips over stuff and takes care of itself.

Finally… embrace the harshness and enjoy the speed 🙂