Hardtail or Full Sus Please explain

petemadoc

I know this has probably been asked a million times but here goes

I've been road and cyclocross biking for a while but I was thinking of "investing" in a proper mountain bike but I can't work out if a full sus or a hardtail would be better for me?

What I want to know is what are the main uses of the two different bikes, advantages and disadvantages? I live very near Coed Y Brenin and there's loads of other mountain bike trails around (North Wales).

Thanks

.blitz

PeteMadoc wrote:

I know this has probably been asked a million times

Yes it has

Biggest advantage of FS (for me) is not comfort or a false sense of security it's finding traction on technical climbs. This is the only real stand-out difference for me between a 130 mm FS, a 50 mm FS and a 100 mm HT.

FunBus

Definately full suspension, but only if you're spending a half decent amount of money £1000+ (if brand new).

Anything less than that and you'll probably get a better performing hardtail.

I've always preferred FS because, like blitz says, you get more traction climbing up hill, also, a lot more traction and fun on your way back down - everything is smoother and easier to carry speed. The only reason you wouldnt want FS and you'd opt for HT instead is if you want to be a hardcore, head down and pedal XC racer.

Also, FS is such a vast area now - it all depends on the bike you go for, the style of riding its made for etc etc. I'd recommend trying a hardtail, then trying a half decent full susser, even if its just a mates, to get a feel for it.....

petemadoc

I'm not really looking for a recommendation on which to buy but more of an explanation of what the two styles of bikes should be used for. I will be buying one soon and it will probably be a full sus if I can afford.

I think what I understand so far is that you would go for a hardtail if you were doing xc racing and speed is a priority. Otherwise full sus is more comfy, more traction, more downhill speed, more downhill confidence.

So apart from price are there any other reasons to buy a hardtail? For some reason I thought that were actually better going up hill.

racin_snail

you can by both hardtails and full-susser's to do the same job (downhill less so), fs tend to allow you to ride harder for longer or gain more comfort depends how you look at it.

i would say the quality of current fs is that great if your spending over £1200 for allround mtb there the way to go

Endura

Hardtails are more fun on the twisty singletrack. 8)

Anonymous

full sus is more fun on the twisty singletrack 8)

popstar

Before Sheepsteeth came here, here is his saying:
- Hardtails = for poor people..
- FS is best, fact.

Hardtails can be handy during mucky winter times, as they are not so bad maintenance wise.

p.s. oh that speedy Sheepsteeth*

Anonymous

PeteMadoc wrote:

I'm not really looking for a recommendation on which to buy but more of an explanation of what the two styles of bikes should be used for. I will be buying one soon and it will probably be a full sus if I can afford.

I think what I understand so far is that you would go for a hardtail if you were doing xc racing and speed is a priority. Otherwise full sus is more comfy, more traction, more downhill speed, more downhill confidence.

So apart from price are there any other reasons to buy a hardtail? For some reason I thought that were actually better going up hill.

its the hardest thing in cycling to put a figure on why one is better than the other.

its all about choice and what you like. all types of bike are available as full sus or hardtails. you can buy fs downhill bikes, trail bikes, all mountain bikes, xc bikes slopestyle bikes and you cn by ht versions of each style o bike too.

i prefer a trail bike to be a fs bike, i find i enjoy riding them the most, they leave me less exhausted even though they can be heavier and i find i can ride them faster and for longer.

however, loads of people prefer their trail bike to be a hardtail for all sorts of reason from 'price compared to spec' to ease of maintenace.

when choosing the best thing to do is to pick a short list of bikes,both full and front sus try them out and see what you prefer, you dont even need to know why you prefer one over the other, it could be as simple as " i like it cause i like it"

Anonymous

popstar wrote:

Before Sheepsteeth came here, here is his saying:
- Hardtails = for poor people..
- FS is best, fact.

Hardtails can be handy during mucky winter times, as they are not so bad maintenance wise.

p.s. oh that speedy Sheepsteeth*

poor people do tend to buy ht bikes though.

c'mon im only joking.

Briggo

PeteMadoc wrote:

What I want to know is what are the main uses of the two different bikes,

HT = You ride over stuff
FS = You ride over stuff

MountainMonster

sheepsteeth wrote:

PeteMadoc wrote:

I'm not really looking for a recommendation on which to buy but more of an explanation of what the two styles of bikes should be used for. I will be buying one soon and it will probably be a full sus if I can afford.

I think what I understand so far is that you would go for a hardtail if you were doing xc racing and speed is a priority. Otherwise full sus is more comfy, more traction, more downhill speed, more downhill confidence.

So apart from price are there any other reasons to buy a hardtail? For some reason I thought that were actually better going up hill.

its the hardest thing in cycling to put a figure on why one is better than the other.

its all about choice and what you like. all types of bike are available as full sus or hardtails. you can buy fs downhill bikes, trail bikes, all mountain bikes, xc bikes slopestyle bikes and you cn by ht versions of each style o bike too.

i prefer a trail bike to be a fs bike, i find i enjoy riding them the most, they leave me less exhausted even though they can be heavier and i find i can ride them faster and for longer.

however, loads of people prefer their trail bike to be a hardtail for all sorts of reason from 'price compared to spec' to ease of maintenace.

when choosing the best thing to do is to pick a short list of bikes,both full and front sus try them out and see what you prefer, you dont even need to know why you prefer one over the other, it could be as simple as " i like it cause i like it"

This is quite a good way of explaining it.

Most of it comes down to personal preference, except for downhill riding or sometimes a bit tricky trail riding.

There are XC FS and HT bikes, both do equally well in my opinion for the same trails, but some will say FS is the way to go, and some say HT.

For every type of riding there is a FS and HT equivalent, minus proper downhill racing. Beyond that restriction, everything is in the eyes of the beholder.

starseven

Most start of with a FS
Then its the HT challenge
Then go back to FS
Then its SS Nirvana

Then they stop wasting time on forums.

petemadoc

I think I read the thread about poor people buying hardtails! I'm not exactly poor but if I came home with a 1K+ bike under my arm the wife would blow a few fuses so need to make sure I get the right bike.

Sounds like full sus is better but I'm gonna try a few out over the next few weeks.

What's the extra maintenance involved with a full sus?

Anonymous

MountainMonster wrote:

For every type of riding there is a FS and HT equivalent, minus proper downhill racing. Beyond that restriction, everything is in the eyes of the beholder.

im sure there is a ht dh racing circuit.

MountainMonster

sheepsteeth wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

For every type of riding there is a FS and HT equivalent, minus proper downhill racing. Beyond that restriction, everything is in the eyes of the beholder.

im sure there is a ht dh racing circuit.

If there is I want to watch it. I wanna see the faces they make when the back end gets proper sketchy.

unixnerd

I'm not exactly poor but if I came home with a 1K+ bike under my arm the wife would blow a few fuses so need to make sure I get the right bike.

I wanted a low cost bike that was a lot lighter than my existing FS bike. I got a fairly old Marin which cost a small fortune when new and refurbished a few bits on it. I now have a great FS XC bike that's actually lighter than the current model (which costs 2600). For me it's perfect and it owes me under 400 :-)

I mainly went FS for comfort, I try and do 20 miles 3-4 times a week.

fyldesmurf

sheepsteeth wrote:

popstar wrote:

Before Sheepsteeth came here, here is his saying:
- Hardtails = for poor people..
- FS is best, fact.

Hardtails can be handy during mucky winter times, as they are not so bad maintenance wise.

p.s. oh that speedy Sheepsteeth*

poor people do tend to buy ht bikes though.

c'mon im only joking.

meh that's why i bought mine

(I don't have to compensate for lack of skill with rear suspension though)

bunyip

ride hardtail first to learn to ride off road properly and then upgrade to FS to go faster, there is a school of thought that says if you only ever ride FS then you will always just rely on it to compensate for lack of technique. Of course you may just love your HT so much you stick with it

mobilekat

Bunyip says

ride hardtail first to learn to ride off road properly and then upgrade to FS to go faster, there is a school of thought that says if you only ever ride FS then you will always just rely on it to compensate for lack of technique. Of course you may just love your HT so much you stick with it

+1

Full Suss are great, but if you rely on the bike helping you out all the time things can get nasty when you hit the limit of your skills.

When looking for a new bike this year I went HT because I could afford a better HT than I could FS, and would rather have a great HT than a less good FS, I have promised myself if I am still riding lots next year I may treat myself to a FS as a play toy!

Then I can have the best of both worlds!

Anonymous

lerning on a ht is balls.

if you are going to end up on a fs bike, start off on one, riding a fs is a different thing to ridign a ht. riding ht bikes makes you good at riding ht bikes.

as far as i am concerned the reason people seem to improve after having ridden a ht is because they have experience on a bike and time in the saddle, full stop.

if you start on a fs bike you wil get experience at riding a fs bike and end up doing plenty well.

people assume that when you rid a fs bike you dont use any skill, again, this is bolloxs, ridng a fs bike takes loads of skill and it is a different skill set, somethign you can only learn on a fs bike.

supersonic

I disagree to some extent. Some people do gain from riding HTs. Many top riders do some training on HTs to sharpen skills and line choice, Peaty for one.

Another reason is if you use your legs more on the full suss, and keep fluid rather than bulldozing through, you might eventually be able to take on even bigger stuff.

So depends on the rider, bikes and technique. Works for some, not for others.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

I disagree to some extent. Some people do gain from riding HTs. Many top riders do some training on HTs to sharpen skills and line choice, Peaty for one.

Another reason is if you use your legs more on the full suss, and keep fluid rather than bulldozing through, you might eventually be able to take on even bigger stuff.

So depends on the rider, bikes and technique. Works for some, not for others.

tht is a much fairer assessment than the blanket "ht bikes make you a better fs rider" that gets regurgitated without thought.

all i know is i dont feel like i misse dout by pretty much only riding fs bikes, i dont learn anything new when i go out on my ht bike. but i do get a little bit swifter anf fitter each time i go out on my fs bikes.

Anonymous

Although I agree with Sheepsteeth's disagreement with the blanket "HT makes you a better rider" thing, I have to say that my years growing up riding rigid and hardtail bikes were where I developed most of my technical skill. It laid a necessary solid foundation on which I could build when I went full suss.

The speed though, really picked up with full suspension, since the rigid and hardtail bikes became a limiting factor.

I reckon the skill thing is down to the rider, mainly.
A shite rider who's only ever ridden on a HT, will never be as good as a great rider who's only ever ridden on a full suss, and vice versa of course.

petemadoc

Err OK . . . I don't think I'm ever going to take it that seriously, just go out on the loca trails, have a laugh and maybe enter a race or two if I ever think I'm good enough to compete.

I used to ride a mountain bike as a kids (no sus rear or front back then) with no fear around the old quarries. Now I ride a cyclocross so I'm well used to riding with no sus at all.

Probably a better question would be which one is more fun? I'm guessing full sus and I've been drooling over this

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=44316

*drools homer simpson style*

Anonymous

Full suss is DEFINITELY more fun.

Anonymous

definately full sus.

supersonic

Fun is subjective - it varies for different people.

Anonymous

Yeah, some people enjoy being raped by tigers, whereas the sensible choice is by a lion, surely.

calummcgoff

MountainMonster wrote:

sheepsteeth wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

For every type of riding there is a FS and HT equivalent, minus proper downhill racing. Beyond that restriction, everything is in the eyes of the beholder.

im sure there is a ht dh racing circuit.

If there is I want to watch it. I wanna see the faces they make when the back end gets proper sketchy.

indeed there is. and there are dh race specific hts e.g. http://www.balfa.co.uk/catalog/product_ ... ucts_id=40

popstar

OP lives in North Wales close to CYB. It's a FS bike choice without even thinking. Jealaus of those rocky trails around you. Not saying anything but you have some wonderfull smooth trails too.

But due to special weather in NWales, after every ride you will spend a little more extra time cleaning-caressing your new passion. HT's need some attention but not as much, maybe 5 minutes less.