is the hardtail a dying breed?

stubs

I drive not bad bikes not the lightest but good for a 1st susser. Check the swinging arm bearings are okay they are in the firing line for mud and need to be in good condition.

Northwind

Which I-drive? There's lots... I had an Idrive 5 which was great in some ways and pure shit in others- pedalled brilliantly, really good suspension in a sort of gigantic xc bike manner rather than a big hitting trail bike. But also heavy as a heavy thing- heaviest frame I've owned including downhill bikes. And, oh, let's say 5 degrees too steep in the head angle.

But it cost me £140 which I cannot fault at all, had a lot of fun on it.

flashbax

I-drive 5, been looking at it and TBH i'm not sure its worth the time. I might just wait until i've got some spare cash and look at picking up a second hand Mondraker dune 27.5, the I-drive just didnt feel quite right or look quite right.

jon1993

Super light fs with lockout no real need for my HT anymore although that said they do require alot less maintenance and for that reason along with the cheaper cost i dont think there going anytime soon. Some people may even argue the opposite with the 29er HT which is suppose to iron out the bumps a little more can't say I know though i dont have one.

swod1

No, still see plenty of hardtail bikes for sale in local bike shops.

Never ridden a full suspension so couldn't say if they are any better.

hard tails are great but when riding over rough terrain you can certainly feel it more through the rear of the bike.

I'm looking at buying a full suspension alongside a my hard tail bike and have both.

PBNinja

I can go faster on a full sus according to strava but I was riding a £3200 lapierre carbon zesty on a CRC demo day. For the matter of the few seconds I saved, my £500 Boardman team hardtail doesn't seem so bad Definitely a few more squeaky bum moments on the HT over the rough stuff but that all adds to the fun

JBA

You resurrected a 2 year old thread for that?

cooldad

I blame Strava.

And Wiggle, obviously.

swod1

cooldad wrote:

I blame Strava.

And Wiggle, obviously.

I don't bother with it and just enjoy the ride even if your 5 minutes slower than last week who cares.

Still plenty of hard tail bikes around so they haven't died off yet.

cooldad

OK, let's just blame Wiggle.

NinjaCyclist

I have a 1998 Klein Attitude comp (Sea&Sky) and replaced the suspension with a Pace RC31 carbon fork for the full technicolour dream rigid ride. Chunky tyres soften out the lumps and bumps, and it's just lovely to ride. Climbing is joy on it, descending is not for the faint hearted! :shock:

Bought it on eBay in 2012 for what I thought was a bargain price of £275.

Jonesinamilion

Bloody hell this has been an in depth read

For what it's worth, I can't see me ever going to FS...

I like the feel of a hard tail, I like the way they look, I don't want additional weight, where I ride doesn't warrant FS, I don't want increased maintenance, it's a pain cleaning a HT nevermind FS!

Besides, I would never spend more than £1k on a bike, for that i'd get either a very high spec HT or an average FS. I'd rather the high end HT.

cooldad

Nonsense. i could find you a well specced Santa Cruz blur for £500 in a second. Great bike, cheap as a mediocre hardtail.
Apart from a couple of bearings, no more work than a HT.

rockmonkeysc

I don't get the low maintenance argument for hardtails. Rear suspension needs bugger all maintenance. Just replace a couple bearings every year or two.
I would quite like a hardtail though, something like a Transition Transam 29 for all day epic rides.

mattyfez

It's purely economics for me.. If your not a knarr fiend then a good hard tail is a lot cheaper and better.

rockmonkeysc

There's some pretty decent full suspension bikes available under a grand.
It's not just for people who like gnarly trails. It's great for reducing fatigue on really long rides.

cooldad

At least one of each. The correct number is always n+1.

loudog

I ride my hard tail, I think maaan I lay this!
I ride my FS - I think the same

I don't prefer one over the other. I love them both for different reasons. The question "Is the hard tail a dying breed" can be answered with "do we even need full sussers"?

Of course we do. We need them both. We love them both!

Jonesinamilion

Should have added that my new HT is 26" ...

Prehistoric in many eyes but I love it!

welshkev

I've just bought a hardtail so I hope they're not dying othwerwise I wasted my money!!! :shock:

welshkev

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Besides, I would never spend more than £1k on a bike, for that i'd get either a very high spec HT or an average FS. I'd rather the high end HT.

it depends what you get. I paid £900 for my santa cruz nomad. second hand of course, but it was in near mint condition.

Thewaylander

welshkev wrote:

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Besides, I would never spend more than £1k on a bike, for that i'd get either a very high spec HT or an average FS. I'd rather the high end HT.

it depends what you get. I paid £900 for my santa cruz nomad. second hand of course, but it was in near mint condition.

yeah exactly :P average FS hehe

rockmonkeysc

Thewaylander wrote:

welshkev wrote:

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Besides, I would never spend more than £1k on a bike, for that i'd get either a very high spec HT or an average FS. I'd rather the high end HT.

it depends what you get. I paid £900 for my santa cruz nomad. second hand of course, but it was in near mint condition.

yeah exactly :P average FS hehe

That's a lot of metal for the money for though.

Thewaylander

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

welshkev wrote:

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Besides, I would never spend more than £1k on a bike, for that i'd get either a very high spec HT or an average FS. I'd rather the high end HT.

it depends what you get. I paid £900 for my santa cruz nomad. second hand of course, but it was in near mint condition.

yeah exactly :P average FS hehe

That's a lot of metal for the money for though.

True got some scrap value there I reckon

YellaBelly

A bit late to this thread and not read through it, but my lbs struggles to move higher end hardtails and this is in the middle of a flat countryside which is very much hardtails riding. The enduro style bikes seem to be the "on-trend" machine of the moment.

Even the selection of full-blown xc racing hardtails is dropping. Specialized only do two levels of stumpjumper HT this year (one being an £8.5k S-works), Giants XTC seems to come with a trail emphasis on its finishing kit and predominantly 650b wheels. (Yes I know other brands are out there but they are arguably the two biggest hitters)

Surely hardtails will always be the obvious choice in an entry level market though?

supersonic

Yes, for entry level they are the way forward for now. Though it has to be said the price gap is closing, it doesn't seem to costing be some manufacturers that much more for FS frames, though of course you have to add a shock in to the equation. At entry level this will bump up the percentage price increase more than it would at mid range.

Decathlon are knocking out some great entry level FS machines though, GTs new verb starts at £800, and then Giant has the Stance at a grand. Are attractive options.

Though some people will always like the lighter weight and bob/chain tension problem free pedaling. Like me.

The Rookie

The Hardtail will always have its place, both at the very entry point (where an equivalent FS is going to be adding circa 25% to the price) and for those who want the best in cross country speed, but I'd agree with SS, the entry point for FS worth considering as 'proper bikes' is coming down, also with improved parts (mostly in the shock) the downsides of FS are also reducing.

Trail centres also play a part, much like Downhill racing, as the bikes have got better, the trails have got a bit tougher, this leaves the HT at more of a disadvantage compared to a few years ago.

Although most my riding is XC and 'natural HT' territory, I found my stamina at trail centres was becoming an issue, not due to pedalling, but using my legs for the suspension (and the faster I went, the less distance I could go before starting to suffer), I switched to a short travel FS and it makes a huge difference to my stamina, although mine is a simple swing arm a good rear shock means very little bob and certainly no loss of 'connectivity' compared to an HT, I was also lucky to get a very lightweight frame so the weight penalty compared to my HT is only about 600g.

nightfly33

I started with a hardtail but soon realised Id made a mistake when I got more confident. The ht smashed the crap out of me and the fork suspension was too short for the bigger stuff! If you buy a full susser, you can start with the smaller stuff and you'll have the correct bike when your ready to go bigger. Plus you wont have to explain your wife or partner why your blowing another £2000+ on a second bike!

rockmonkeysc

If you want a new type of fun try a season of downhill racing on a hardtail. Every mountain biker should try it. You'll learn a huge amount about bike control and line choice and just what you can get away with.
There's nothing quite like riding an 8 foot drop on a hardtail to find that, if done right you still get a smooth landing.

Jonesinamilion

RockmonkeySC wrote:

If you want a new type of fun try a season of downhill racing on a hardtail. Every mountain biker should try it. You'll learn a huge amount about bike control and line choice and just what you can get away with.
There's nothing quite like riding an 8 foot drop on a hardtail to find that, if done right you still get a smooth landing.

I wouldn't try an 8' drop with a parachute never mind on a bike