I know there are a lot of these debates on here, mostly full of rhetoric. Anyhoo – undeterred…

I did my favourite loop at Glentress yesterday (Hub start, black to mast and then Spooky – finishing on Pie Run) on my hardtail – Cotic Soul with 120mm forks. It was the first time I’ve taken a hardtail there – no specific reason why (although my HT has been SS for a while), but it’s always the FS.

I took just over 5 minutes off my normal time on the climb up to the mast (1 hour 5mins yesterday), but really didn’t enjoy the first part of the black as much without rear suspesion – I found it just too uncomfortable!

I reckon the hardtail was also quicker from the mast to the bottom of Spooky Wood (it felt quicker anyway), but by the end of Hit Squad Hill I was fookin knackered. Calves were on fire and my back was aching.

I got back to the car in 1h38 which is about 3 mins quicker than the last time there on the Meta for the same black/red combo. But I wasn’t smiling anywhere near as much.

So there you have it, my HT vs FS at Glentress experience: HT faster, FS more comfortable. I think in future I’d take the HT if I was just doing a quick lap of the red, but some of the black is just too uncomfortable for me to really enjoy it properly.

Maybe I’m getting soft.

Makes sense.

Do folk really choose which bike to take on the basis that they will finish the ride a few minutes more quickly?

Agree with the grin factor thing. I’ve pitted my singlespeed Inbred against various full-sus builds around the Cwmcarn loop on various occasions. The Inbred always wins on overall speed but at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter how fast/easy/hard/niche 😉 the ride was, it’s the smile at the end that counts . . . I only ride full-sus now 😛 . . . still doesn’t stop me wondering if ‘x’ amount more travel would make me faster though but hey, that’s all part of it, for me anyway . . . and I still want that 7″ travel Stinky – it’d make a woman out of me on the climbs 😉

Not really Al, I just thought the times help qualify the argument. I thought if I didn’t look at the times before posting it would have opened a ‘yeah but the HT is much faster/slower’ debate. The times are so similar it clearly doesn’t make that much difference. At my level anyway…

I’d always thought my Meta at 140mm was a dog on the climbs compared to a light full suss – clearly it’s slower, but not by much. And I’m MUCH happier on the FS – which is what counts.

i haven’t owned a full sus for about 10 years (last one was a GT DH LTS with 5.5″ at the rear). i ride fairly hard (like i’m still racing downhill on bouncy bike!) but on my hardtail. i remember having a ride on my mates iron horse 6.4 on some of the downs at glentress recently. it was so much fun! but rather than assume it was better, i’ve just decided to ride the rough lines on my hardtail, just to see if i can! i also rode morzine on my hardtail last summer; i borrowed a reign x1 for a day and could only go a little faster, and enjoyment was pretty much level… (imho)

Didn’t MBR do this in South Wales somewhere with a Whyte 19 and E5? (allegedly very similar bikes with the obvious exception of rear suspension). I think the E5 won by about 2 minutes

For my tuppence worth, I think it is an person thing not a bike thing, I sold my SC superlight several years ago as it just wasn’t getting a look in against my hardtail, I just prefer it. I may climb a bit quicker, and most likely descend a bit slower on some types of terrain, I have never timed it as I don’t care. It takes me 4 hours to get to GT, so a few minutes here or there on the trail don’t matter to me, it is the smiles that count. I may well decide FS is for me again at some point of the future, but for now….

I remember that MBR article. They basically got two riders who were used to full suss, and rode it all the time, to try riding a hardtail, then a full suss. Not the best test. Sounds like you’ve done the same thing here but at least you haven’t wasted any paper in the process. 🙂

Ive ridden Helly V on a Chameleon and a Sanderson Life frame. TBH I’d prefer to do it on a short travel full susser

I’ve done that GT combination probably ten times now (I work in Scotland and come through Peebles home), so I’d say I know it pretty well. I’m not the best or fittest rider but I’m okay on my day.

I felt pretty knackered before I started after a big weekend, so thought I’d be slower. But to be faster while feeling ropey was a surprise.

The sheer displeasure from hitting the lower sections of the climb up to the mast and the bottom half after the Spooky descent were a surprise too. If the ride had been much longer I’d have been dying to get off. Spooky itself, Britney Spears and the other fast flowing sections felt much faster on the HT.

My knackers took a bit of a battering, my lower back was sore as were my calves – strangley. Maybe riding full suss has softened me too much… 😉

My knackers took a bit of a battering

You’re either very well-endowed or you’re doing something wrong. 🙂