Hardtail VS Full Suspension

Anonymous

Personally I can't decide, you decide for me and give me reasons

nicklouse

both.

supersonic

For unicycling I p[refer full suspension.

hoochylala

You can't decide, although in your sig you state;

Hardtail = Win
Full Suspension = Fail



They both have their uses and merits....

GHill

Your signature says otherwise

RichardJiles wrote:

Hardtail = Win
Full Suspension = Fail

EDIT: Beaten to it by a fraction!

PamPen25

hoochylala wrote:

You can't decide, although in your sig you state;

Hardtail = Win
Full Suspension = Fail



They both have their uses and merits....

GHill wrote:

Your signature says otherwise

RichardJiles wrote:

Hardtail = Win
Full Suspension = Fail

EDIT: Beaten to it by a fraction!

? +1 = :?

I like hardtail. More fun and IMO better looking! 8)

richg1979

i have both and would deffo miss the full sus more, dont get me wrong the ht is just as fast but you need to be on the ball more, but stick the propedal on on the fs and theres not much in it efficency wise. fs is 150mm travel and 27lb though with fastish tyres ect, be a diffrent story on a 32+lb am rig.

fulls sus has more grip, lot smoother ride but slightly heavyer than the ht and slightly less pedal efficency.


hardtail shakes your teeth out on anything rough very skittish back end on the rough stuff, have to choose lines more carefully, bit hard on the back side, but makes up with weight, speed and efficency

id say the fs but only as its quite light and pedals well..

cee

depends where i am riding that day

Anonymous

ok, hardtail win

richg1979

erm nope not really.

if your spending around 1kish then yes but if you have around 3-4k then you can get a pretty light fast full sus bike, like a yeti asr5/ibis mojo,

Northwind

Both great. Rigids great also. Right now i'm loving my Hemlock because it's new, but I still reckon if I had to have only one bike, it'd be a hardtail. Glad I don't have to!

dogboy73

Full suspension for me although I'm not a big fan of complex rear suspension set-ups. I prefer the simplicity of a single pivot swingarm like on my Isis or the Orange Five Pro. I think there is a lot to be said for this kind of set-up especially in UK conditions. I guess it's less responsive this way, maybe, but more laterally stiff ....... kind of like a hardtail!

Raymondavalon

Got all.. HT, FS and a rigid "commuter" MTB
You cannot be "elitist" or single minded about any design

Before you could possibly come to any conclusion you need to spend a few hours on a few bikes as not all HTs and FSs are created equal. For example I prefer a heavier All Mountain FS bike over a nimble trial bike due to my riding style. I've tried a few hardtails too and they're all quite different to each other.

Each design has it's merits and it's failings, there is no such thing as the perfect bike.

nickfrog

richg1979 wrote:

have to choose lines more carefully

For me this is the essence of mountain biking (apart from overtaking big FS bikes down a technical hill on a humble HT, resulting in funny looks at the bottom from the man with all the gear but no idea).

Anonymous

nickfrog wrote:

richg1979 wrote:

have to choose lines more carefully

For me this is the essence of mountain biking (apart from overtaking big FS bikes down a technical hill on a humble HT, resulting in funny looks at the bottom from the man with all the gear but no idea).

I'm 14 and I over took some guy and I really nice 2000 + Full suspension bike once, I felt pro

bails87

RichardJiles wrote:

nickfrog wrote:

richg1979 wrote:

have to choose lines more carefully

For me this is the essence of mountain biking (apart from overtaking big FS bikes down a technical hill on a humble HT, resulting in funny looks at the bottom from the man with all the gear but no idea).

I'm 14 and I over took some guy and I really nice 2000 + Full suspension bike once, I felt pro

He might not have been trying

Although I did have good fun chasing down a guy on a Fuel Ex9pointsomething at Cannock once.

RealMan

supersonic wrote:

For unicycling I p[refer full suspension.

Rubbish, my unicycle is rigid, and I wouldn't have it any other way..

Northwind

It's a bit of a false comparison too, since even within a category there's so much difference. Like, some people would have you believe that FS is easier to ride than HT, full stop. What would you rather ride down a DH course though, an Anthem or a BFe?

Uncle Peter

HT, I used to have a superlight which sold to buy a hardtail, I'm not sure a full susser can be used to its full where I ride, i certainly don't feel like i'm missing out by riding a HT.

I'm still waiting for the comment about HTs about having sex with yourself and FS being like having sex with some one else.

x-isle

Oh god not again.......

While we are at it, which is best Shimano or SRAM?

neninja

Just sold my carbon hardtail after buying an Anthem X

Preferred riding the Anthem in most circumstances - I'm not competing, just riding for fun. The weight penalty is negligible, it grips on the way up and gives more confidence on the way down. This is on a mixture of bridleways, tracks and trails plus the odd trail centre visit.

Plus I'm getting older and decided to give my backside a break

Hercule Q

learnt to go fast on a HT, Now go alot faster on a FS so i say FS

al2098

FS cured my lower back problem.
Faster uphill and downhill.
Costs more but you tend to get what you pay for in life.
No contest really

cgarossi

Full sus for the rocks and bumps, but even the best full sus suffers at climbing.

HT for the whippet style hill climbs and races.

Both have their benefits and pitfalls.

joshtp

personaly HT.


now, Sram is CRAP, shimano is WAY better for evrything, it feels WAY CRISPER and more "posotive"

and Flats are for woosies! SPD's are better in everyway for everything all the time!

cgarossi

If that was true, everyone would be on SPDs and no one would be using flats.

I can see the benefit of flats for freeride and just messing about and SPD for cross country. I use SPDs mostly though.

joshtp

wow! i didnt think anyone would be gullable enough to fall for that! :shock:


i was only joking! its the classic 3 never ending "can of worms" arguments

HT Vs FS
Sram Vs Shimano
SPD Vs Flats

cgarossi

Oooookay.

Back on topic...

RealMan

cgarossi wrote:

Full sus for the rocks and bumps, but even the best full sus suffers at climbing.

HT for the whippet style hill climbs and races.

Both have their benefits and pitfalls.

cgarossi

Thats a little extreme.

nickfrog

al2098 wrote:

Costs more but you tend to get what you pay for in life.

Very true. A £2K mainstream FS bike or a £4K Ti HT ?

I know which one I'd rather have... and its rear does not bounce (much).