What makes hardtails so much fun?!
Comments
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A FS with a fat arse sat in the saddle will never beat a determined HT rider - too many fatties with no desire to test themselves - I like to have fun which ever bike I am on and ride accordingly!
I dont feel like my FS is faster than my HT particularly - but it treats things differently - more acceleration on the HT but lower corner speed probably. I love them both and cant decide.Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.0 -
I like the flickability of my hardtail. A much lower BB height makes it change direction like a housefly.0
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yeehaamcgee wrote:I don't think a lot of people realise just how much faster a full suss can be, or how to get the most out of it.
Especially the 2nd one, tbh only a tiny minority of riders will get the most out of any bike. I'm not much faster on my full suss than my HT because it's not the bike setting the speed with either, it's the pilot
Don't have a preference though. Just different.Uncompromising extremist0 -
Northwind wrote:yeehaamcgee wrote:I don't think a lot of people realise just how much faster a full suss can be, or how to get the most out of it.
Especially the 2nd one, tbh only a tiny minority of riders will get the most out of any bike. I'm not much faster on my full suss than my HT because it's not the bike setting the speed with either, it's the pilot
Don't have a preference though. Just different.
Yeah - pilot still has to have the balls I guess - I dont so I still dont do the drops and jumps on my FS - I think I rely on the suspension for rougher riding and accept its going to do more but doesnt mean I am going to huck what I wont on my HT!Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.0 -
Likewise, a hardtail with a fatarse on it will never beat a determined FS rider.paul.skibum wrote:A FS with a fat ars* sat in the saddle will never beat a determined HT rider - too many fatties with no desire to test themselves - I like to have fun which ever bike I am on and ride accordingly!
I dont feel like my FS is faster than my HT particularly - but it treats things differently - more acceleration on the HT but lower corner speed probably. I love them both and cant decide.0 -
Fo Sho baby. I love both my bikes and cant chose between them. I'm going HT tomorrow because I rode the FS yesterday. It's that simple.Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.0
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Hmm \i tend to explore on n FS comort and covering up f' ups without having to bail, then session on a HT to get the right lines and learn the bumps and then it's back on the FS to really hammer along especially if gravity is helping out.-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Mongoose Teocali
Giant STP0
Why are MTB economics; spend twice as much as you intended, but only half as much as you wish you could afford? :roll:0 -
ExTrEmE BiKeR wrote:ive never tried an FS bike but to me it just seems like if your not doing something extreme where FS is without a doubt necessary and a HT is just dangerous ie extreme downhill and freeride than you are just a pansy. if its the type of riding can that can be successfully done on both a HT and a FS than you just look bad being beaten by a guy on a hardtail beating you on the trails. this is my first year of riding and i can honestly say that on tech sections, i have passed and kept up with guys with all carbon FS bikes on my 1000CDN HT!!! its the bike not the rider. if you can ride a trail on both your ht and a your fs and you choose the fs than you are just plain lazy. biking is not supposed to easy. you are not supposed to feel in control 100% of the time. its the adrenaline rush of being bounced around on a rocky downhill on your ht that keeps you wanting to bike not the controlled and monotonous descent of an fs bikepaul.skibum wrote:A FS with a fat ars* sat in the saddle will never beat a determined HT rider - too many fatties with no desire to test themselves - I like to have fun which ever bike I am on and ride accordingly!
I dont feel like my FS is faster than my HT particularly - but it treats things differently - more acceleration on the HT but lower corner speed probably. I love them both and cant decide.
A word used in both the above posts "beat".
On the trails are you guys actually trying to "beat" other riders down hills etc?
Seriously what the hell! I go out on a ride to enjoy the trails not "beat" other riders on descents, climbs etc.
Get a grip guys.
If i were enjoying a tech descent picking some fun lines enjoying my FS, then some guy comes rattling past on his hardtail with a smug look on his face, and said something like "i'm beating you on my hardtail" i'd think "sad b*stard*
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capoz77 wrote:Seriously what the hell! I go out on a ride to enjoy the trails not "beat" other riders on descents, climbs etc.
This to the power of 'n'
Personally I ride hard tail because I'm too cheap/poor to buy a FS bike 0 -
They are great fun to throw in the canal :twisted:friendlyfire wrote:What makes hardtails so much fun?!0 -
capoz77 wrote:On the trails are you guys actually trying to "beat" other riders down hills etc?
Seriously what the hell! I go out on a ride to enjoy the trails not "beat" other riders on descents, climbs etc.
Get a grip guys.
If i were enjoying a tech descent picking some fun lines enjoying my FS, then some guy comes rattling past on his hardtail with a smug look on his face, and said something like "i'm beating you on my hardtail" i'd think "sad b*stard*
Post of the day.0 -
monkeylizard wrote:capoz77 wrote:On the trails are you guys actually trying to "beat" other riders down hills etc?
Seriously what the hell! I go out on a ride to enjoy the trails not "beat" other riders on descents, climbs etc.
Get a grip guys.
If i were enjoying a tech descent picking some fun lines enjoying my FS, then some guy comes rattling past on his hardtail with a smug look on his face, and said something like "i'm beating you on my hardtail" i'd think "sad b*stard*
Post of the day.
Agree with the post too.
When I'm riding either my HT or FS, I'm actually in my own little world, I can see other people around but they don't actually exist. It's just me, my bike and some riding on a dirt path.
Trail centres are the most obvious place you may encounter any posturing, happily I find most people I meet to be chatty and down to earth like me, but you do get the 'big swinging d**k' brigade too.
Nothing wrong with people being competitive mind, but if you ain't got a 1st place podium place with two large breasted hotties kissing your cheeks while you stand their with a large cheque, then it all comes to nothing I'm afraid. 0 -
monkeylizard wrote:capoz77 wrote:On the trails are you guys actually trying to "beat" other riders down hills etc?
Seriously what the hell! I go out on a ride to enjoy the trails not "beat" other riders on descents, climbs etc.
Get a grip guys.
If i were enjoying a tech descent picking some fun lines enjoying my FS, then some guy comes rattling past on his hardtail with a smug look on his face, and said something like "i'm beating you on my hardtail" i'd think "sad b*stard*
Post of the day.
why thankyou
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capoz77 wrote:A word used in both the above posts "beat".
On the trails are you guys actually trying to "beat" other riders down hills etc?
Seriously what the hell! I go out on a ride to enjoy the trails not "beat" other riders on descents, climbs etc.
Get a grip guys.
If i were enjoying a tech descent picking some fun lines enjoying my FS, then some guy comes rattling past on his hardtail with a smug look on his face, and said something like "i'm beating you on my hardtail" i'd think "sad b*stard*
What? you don't try to be faster than your mates? you don't enter sections 3 wide trying to be first into the singletrack? You then don't get all albows and kness trying to get passed them on a non-line?
Doesn't sound very enjoyable to me :shock:
every time some mates and I go riding...there is always a couple of sections where everyone gets rowdy and trys to be faster than the others....its great fun.
It isn't about being faster than some stranger riding.....wheres the fun in that...its about beating your mates.
My mates are all in the ball park skill level....if I come hammering past some stranger on a descent...it doesn't matter if i am on a unicycle and he is on a dh bike....there is no smugness in 'beating' someone with a clearly lower level of experience. Hammering past your mate who is onpar skill wise, sideways in the air at mach chicken with your erse on fire is the most fun thing ever!
I like my hardtail cos it thinks its a full susser....until it reminds me that its not.
I like my full susser too.Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
capoz77 wrote:[
A word used in both the above posts "beat".
On the trails are you guys actually trying to "beat" other riders down hills etc?
Seriously what the hell! I go out on a ride to enjoy the trails not "beat" other riders on descents, climbs etc.
Get a grip guys.
If i were enjoying a tech descent picking some fun lines enjoying my FS, then some guy comes rattling past on his hardtail with a smug look on his face, and said something like "i'm beating you on my hardtail" i'd think "sad b*stard*
I guess I used beat as the thread was running the whole which is better arguement but yeah I try to beat my mates when I ride, I sometimes try to catch other people as well since its a challenge but generally as I ride by myself I am trying to beat myself (ooh err).
.Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.0 -
Bouncy castle v a proper bike.
HTs are what MTBing are all about. Hell they'll be putting saddles on them next!! Life's good
Boardman MTB Team0 -
It's human nature to be competitive of course. If I was on a FS and regularly overtaken by a HT downhill, I would look at improving my technique or switch back to a HT.0
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I'm not particularly competitive with my mates, but I'll bet that sort of competition pushes everyone a bit harder and makes them all better riders.
If you're not having fun, there's not much point. Everyone gets their kicks in different ways so just leave them to it.0 -
I'm not competitive, don't race, don't go to trail centres and mostly ride alone due to shift work
. I'm lucky enough to live reasonably close to several areas of varied terrain criss-crossed by hundreds of miles of trails. So it doesn't matter to me whether I use a FS or a HT.
I've never ridden a FS but I'm quite prepared to believe that they have as much to offer me as a HT. FWIW my reasons for having a hardtail are simple. It's lighter, simpler, cheaper, better looking and just does what I ask it.
OK - I haven't asked it to do the housework yet. But I'm sure it would if I did ask ...Canyon XC 8.0 '11
Whyte 19 steel '100 -
Nothing that can't be experienced on a full suss too!What makes hardtails so much fun?
I thought it was a well known fact that all HT riders are just too poor to buy a FS and all FS riders are too fat and lazy to ride a HT! which is why I ride rigid SS! 0 -
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Happy Harry wrote:I'm not competitive, don't race, don't go to trail centres and mostly ride alone due to shift work . I'm lucky enough to live reasonably close to several areas of varied terrain criss-crossed by hundreds of miles of trails. So it doesn't matter to me whether I use a FS or a HT.
I've never ridden a FS but I'm quite prepared to believe that they have as much to offer me as a HT. FWIW my reasons for having a hardtail are simple. It's lighter, simpler, cheaper, better looking and just does what I ask it.
OK - I haven't asked it to do the housework yet. But I'm sure it would if I did ask ...
Very agreeable.0 -
The other thing I think makes hardtails a load of fun....
there is a really direct feeling you get on a hardtail. It is most noticeable after riding a full susser too...a good hardtail just feels really lively, every little movement you make is instantly recognisable in what the bike does...
often a rear shock masks this to some degree.
still doesn't make one better than the other though.Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
this is totally subjective.
when many people ride nothing but trail centres, it's easy to understand why you wouldn't be able to see the benefit to be gained from using a full suss.
My hardtail handles better on about 75% of the riding that I do. Not necessarily the most fun to ride all the time, but definitely the right balance for the terrain and riding.
My full suss handles terrain and riding that my hardtail (or me!) just wouldn't be able to stand up to, and even if it could, it would be so uncomfortable that it would defeat the purpose of going out for a ride.
Yeah, sure, everyone keeps banging on about "correct line choice" and "being able to feel the trail". Well what if your trail isn't part of a lovely scuplted trail centre and is littered with rugby ball sizes rocks, roots that are bigger than your arm and the odd 6ft drop to yet more rocks and roots?
I'm pretty sure that people ride stuff like that on a hardtail, and good on them. But if you have a bike that is DESIGNED specifically for that type of terrain, why would you bother putting yourself through the pain of picking your way down slowly on a HT, when you could take out a bike that will let you go faster and pick more interesting line choices, without your body being smashed to a pulp at the same time?0 -
That's quite interesting, I ride a hardtail, and only rarely at centres, but I seem to want a FS more at trail centres than in wild country. Admittedly, I don't do a lot of stuff in places like the peaks, and I admit that tempts me too, but I think it's the extra speed you tend to carry around made trails that makes the FS more attractive.
I don't think I'd ever not have a hardtail- ideally both!Rock Lobster 853, Trek 1200 and a very old, tired and loved Apollo Javelin.0 -
yoohoo...i was with you right up until you finished the word subjective...
I would say that 5% of my non-dh riding is at trail centre...95% is natural, and at least 50% is up north in big hills.
did a 35 mile big country adventure on saturday....following a dotted line on a map....most vague trail i have ever witnessed...totally dispappeared at points.
big roots and loads of rocks, some big drops (although...none that were 6 foot i will admit.)...the bike was fine over all of it...
the only photos from the day which were of me riding were these....not very trail centrey at all i think you will agree...and the only pain I suffered was my gooch after a big day in the saddle!
Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
cee wrote:
did a 35 mile big country adventure on saturday....following a dotted line on a map....most vague trail i have ever witnessed...totally dispappeared at points.
big roots and loads of rocks, some big drops (although...none that were 6 foot i will admit.)...the bike was fine over all of it...
the only photos from the day which were of me riding were these....not very trail centrey at all i think you will agree...and the only pain I suffered was my gooch after a big day in the saddle!
Fair enough, that looks ace!
That's the epic "bit of everything" (e.g. singletrack, scree, climbing, descending etc) that I was talking about a hardtail being best at though. I wouldn't dream of taking the big bike out on a ride like that!
My full suss bikes (with the exeption of one) have always been "session" bikes, and HT for everything else. I sometimes ride areas on the HT just to see if there are any good DH/FR sections then come back with a bigger bike on another day.
If stuff is more fun to ride on my HT, then i ride the HT. If I can do it quicker (and sketchier!) on a bigger bike then I will use that instead! 0 -
Cee, out of interest where abouts is that? Looks reasonably Pentlands-ish?
I only own a HT and it has to be said, its the direct feeling of every hit, that makes picking that right line so much more rewarding - in the knowing that had you taken the line 10cm to the left, you'd have been thrown off.0 -
pfft, nonsense, here's me riding up a mountian, just to prove it's doable on a full suss, with a fox 36yoohoo999 wrote:That's the epic "bit of everything" (e.g. singletrack, scree, climbing, descending etc) that I was talking about a hardtail being best at though. I wouldn't dream of taking the big bike out on a ride like that!
why? because it's SOO much more fun on the way down, just disengage brain, and let rip.0 -
yeehaamcgee wrote:pfft, nonsense, here's me riding up a mountian, just to prove it's doable on a full suss, with a fox 36
Notice I said "big bike", not full suss. I've got 36's on my hardtail, i don't get the point you are making
Of course riding up a mountain is doable on a full suss, I don't remember anyone arguing that it wasn't?0
