[Closed] Hardtails - Outdated

Maybe I want to work harder at it 🙂

Maybe, just maybe, I won't be happier with 6" of talent compensation beneath me.

Maybe you should try it before you dismiss it?

These are pretty good for stability too

[img] [/img]

Not sure if they make them in carbon?
🙂

ok so why are the locals on the Q's going bach to or are now using hardtails????

BTW I have just spent 3hrs replacing all 8 of my rear end bearings sorry i am going back to a hard tail to.

the thing is each year the manifacturers release the best ever suspension system does that mean that last years effort was shit? just a thought

Ride what you like no one gives a ****.

Jimbo has a shed full of toys you know

i p/x'ed an o6 stumpy fsr comp frame for an 08 s works carbon hardtail.i have no regrets.

Tried it. Prefer riding a hardtail, because full suss makes the tech stuff easier; I'm no riding God, but stuff like the Beast in the Peak is a challenge on a hardtail, but a motorway on full suss.

Each to their own, and I have both, and ride both, but that feeling of "wow, this is so much easier than riding a hardtail" doesn't last forever.

...and there's always someone quicker, or as quick as you, and if they are on a hardtail and you're on a susser....

I had the pleasure of riding some of the new Scott FS bikes a while ago. I was seriously impressed in how much the technology had moved on since I last rode a FS. Really quite light indeed and as you say, fantastic at tracking the ground with very little bob under proper climbing conditions.

Saying that, I doubt I'll be buying one for a long time yet, I enjoy the fun a hardtail gives me on the downhills way too much. You lose a lot of the hardtail experience by charging over it all, speed isn't everything. Nothing like a bit of hoppity.

It's all personal taste though.

I've just spent a hundred bloody quid on a couple of plastic bushings and an axle or two for my trek top fuel. Was expecting change from 30 quid.

I prefer a hardtail, I just don't like having suspension on the rear, can't really explain why...I just don't like it! Also - probably due to the fact that i don't like full sussers I'm faster downhill on my hardtail

i like bikes

Gone the other way, from Helius to Chameleon. Much more fun.

...and remember, Grasshopper, some of us have been riding those same trails for 20+ years on rigid bikes, on cyclocross bikes and so on, so save the evangelism for the MBUK generation....

Fast forward a few months for the "I'm going back to a hardtail!" thread 😉

I can't help but think a full susser is a bit like Jordan (the model not the country). I fancy a shot every now and then but i wouldn't want to have to live with one.

I liked my hardtail a lot, but recently I've come to realise that its not the correct tool for the job. Riding a good full sus was just the final nail in the HT coffin.

I have a hardtail, a 4" fs and a 6" fs. hardtail wins.

[img] [/img]

[i]I liked my hardtail a lot, but recently I've come to realise that its not the correct tool for the job. Riding a good full sus was just the final nail in the HT coffin. [/i]

...for you.

Recommending that the rest of the world should do what you think is right makes you sound like a bit of a cock really.

I'm buyiong a hardtail next spring, just as soon as I can decide which one. Whole new thread....

I've never quite understood the idea that bikes should make mtbing as undemanding as possible - why not go the whole hog and trade the mtb in for a crosser? You'll need even less effort and be even faster!

I've got a 6" full susser for the Lakes/Peaks etc but sometimes it makes things too easy so I bought a SS rigid thing to challenge myself around the easier local trails. Next month I'm buying a HT to split the difference - I'll have a bike for every mood then...

But I reckon some the best times will still be spent thrashing the "even more outdated than a ht" rigid SS around the woods! Just because something is technically better doesn't automatically mean its always more fun - and thats why we all ride surely?

PS - classic trolling?

I'm thinking of selling my hardtail and just keep on my roadbike...

IGMC...

why not go the whole hog and trade the mtb in for a crosser? You'll need even less effort and be even faster!

You've never riden a crosser have you.....

Until 18 months ago I'd been riding full sus for 8 years , I was flicking through the local evening papers classifieds and spied an ad for an old Orange P7 for £120.

Thought to myself 'I can make a few quid on this' so coppered up and bought it , 2 days later while cleaning it up I took it for a quick bez in the woods over the road and that was it I was hooked again ,it just took me back to where I started and it was fun and you had to work at it not just float over everything.

When I got back home I started stripping my 4" travel xc bike of the best parts to put onto the P7. I now run this which has become my main bike and I also have a 6" bike for more hardcore duties.

No way are hardtails outdated if you want a more connected to the terrain ride(not literally) then a hardtails definately where its at .IMO.

CR250R... 😀

CR250R..

You'll know it's a lot harder work to ride fast then....

[i]Hardtails - Outdated[/i]
spurious claim FAIL

[i]my fillings aren't being rattled out[/i]
change of dentist needed over change of bike...

[i]j-claw - Member
Now I'm not saying that everyone has to be a riding god to get any enjoyment from mtbing - I'm sure even the most basic riders have a lot of fun on their bikes...

However, it strikes me that some 'lesser skilled' riders use their niche bike as an excuse for their crapness.

For example; a rigid singlespeed is never going to be any good as a mountain bike, so no-one expects its rider to go anywhere particularly quickly (well maybe up a smooth hill). Therefore the bike can effectively be blamed for the rider's poor performance. Add a fixed wheel or some stupid bars & you have an even more unusable contraption - then everyone applauds you for just making it along the trail & your mincing goes unnoticed.

A bit scared of that tight, exposed switchback? Get a 29er & no-one will ever expect you to ride it again.

Can't do drops? Bin those suspension forks & you'll have a great excuse not to learn.

You can see where I'm going with this...
[/i]
from 5 months ago.

Yes, I can see you're already a cock, and that isn't going to improve....

Outdated? Yes.

Fun?? YESYESYESYESYESYESYES 😀

+1 for "ride what you like, just be sure to enjoy it". The biggest reason I love Mountain Biking is that "he who has the most fun wins" attitude. I love the technical advances, and ride a FS bike myself, but isn't it great when someone turns up having ridden their Apollo round a trail for the first time and has a grin that endangers his ears?

Since changing from a hardtail to full suspension I've shaved 45 minutes off my journey to work.

Cars sure are fast.

I haven't ridden two hardtails that were the same, neither have I ridden two full suspension frames that compare. Come to think of it, frame size will have a significant bearing on performance. Forks matter a great deal too.

It is unlikely that many people get to discover their ideal ride. I'm kinda envious of j-claw having found such a good ride for him. I like my bikes, but can't help thinking that there are much better alternatives out there.

After all is said and done, if something is unreliable then in my view, you are better off getting about on/in a wheelie bin. 😆

I went from 12 years of riding a rigid bike to full suspension and it was wonderful not to be in pain after a couple of hours riding. 10 years on from that I turned my rigid commuter into a hardtail just to see what it was like. For me it was an even bigger revelation in that I realised 90% of the benefit that suspension gave me came from the front end. I would still like a FS but I like the simplicity of a hardtail and mine has a Rohloff so it's virtually maintenance free which is good as I commute off road all year round. I fancy a lighter bike for longer rides and still don't really know whether I want FS or a hardtail.

All mountain bikes are outdated, it's an exercise in doing stupid things on ridiculous hardware. What's wrong with that?

Very poor quality, unimpressive, uneducated TROLL.

i found the exact opposite. Full sus was just too dull, got bored of biking.

Full sus for those "feeling a bit creeky, need the comfort" days.

Rigid SS for those "I just want to go into the woods for a burn around, and sod the maintenance" days.

Pompino set up as a fixed-gear cyclocrosser for those "I'm going to kill myself one of these days" days.

Ride whatever. Have fun. That's the point.

yes they are outdated. full suss invented after rigid bikes. 🙂

My TranceX is faster, up, down and along and I can ride it all day. It pops, absorbs bumps, grips like glue on corners, it floats, it flicks - it's ace. But sometimes I feel it's not really real.

Then I get the big forked HT out. It lurches up climbs, slowly bobbles along and then crashes fearfully downhill. It needs huge physical input and guts to ride well and leaves me fearful and shattered. That's why I still ride it.

Maybe you should try it before you dismiss it?

I tried FS for 10 years, but then loved a hardtail instead:-)

Full sus was just too dull, got bored of biking

Find or build some harder trails?

Decisions decisions

[IMG] [/IMG]

horses for courses, depends where we are riding

Not all FS are high maintenance....get a decent single pivot and you'll only have two bearings to change 😀

As for who rides what.....WHO THE XXXX cares!!!!! Stop shooting someone down for stating his opinion. Mind you, doing so on a forum with a large population of niche hungry idiots is bound to upset someone......whoops 😛

Oh....and i think hardtails are crap too.

Find or build some harder trails?

ie courses for horses ??

@ J-Claw, I think it was the tone of the original post more than the content that annoyed some people.

Unless you were trolling, if so well done 😆

HT for racing,climbs,sprints and descend like a demon. FS for the fun of it (and for the frequent visits to the lakes).

Hahaha, there was only one way this was going to go.

Good effort.

Hardtail good for this:
[img] [/img]

Hardtail no good for this:
[img] [/img]

Aaaahhh, so now you're saying that hardtails have a place?

Dimwit.

Aaaahhh, so now you're saying that hardtails have a place?

Try re-reading the OP...

Unless you're riding on the road, or on extremely smooth trails...

Stop shooting someone down for stating his opinion.

I don't see anyone shooting anyone down myself.

Just people saying what they like to ride.

As opposed to Mr J cloth who's trying to tell everyone else what they should be riding in his predictable trolly way. 😀

[i]Try re-reading the OP...[/i]

I did; you're a dimwitted troll on the available evidence...

My lord me & SFB agreeing. Whatever next? Me out riding with the Boggies?

I did; you're a dimwitted troll on the available evidence...

If I'm such a troll, why are you getting so upset?

[img] [/img]
/p>

^^^^ Hardtail would be fine for that.

If you were designing the very first bike for riding off road on rocky, rooty, trails and wanted the best compromise of traction, comfort and speed I think what you'd design would be a FS bike. Hardtails are, I think, something of a a legacy from MTB's infancy.

However anyone can ride what they want to, the choice is theirs.

FS saves my back from a beating and after riding hardtails for years I wouldn't go back. Having said all that my FS is a mere 4 incher and pumped up hard (oooh er missus) it's also a single pivot, my bearings are almost 10 years old and get used several times a week so I don't see a downside to FS.

^^^^ Hardtail would be fine for that.

FS would be better!

I repeat......niche hungry idiots.

What's on that bottom pic that you couldn't ride well on a HT with a big fork?
And unless we are talking about gravel tracks and fields, I disagree that HT's are better at XC racing. A light FS is much faster everywhere because it grips better and you can sit-down and put maximum effort into pedalling.

FS would be better!

In what way? I could get down it on either, FS will feel smoother thats all.

lets not argue our selves into owning only one bike... god forbid... I find it hard enough already to convince the missus I don't need to sell any.....

I remember when I didn't have a choice... there where no full sussers....

I'm glad there are now though 😀

i'm a ht person.

got a short travel full susser for racing (its quicker.)
but, the long forked ht for all other/general riding. its more fun.

depends what you think is getting down it better... if you mean smoother/easier. then fine. but its not much of a challenge once you smooth it out with a full sus!

nickegg - Member

I repeat......attention hungry troll

Hmm....I see a challenge coming on....RS Vs J-Cloth in a head to head down Upper and Lower Ladies Only.

FS would be better!

Really, why? I haven't ridden anything that wouldn't be more fun on a hardtail, while (and here's the important bit) I still have the energy to enjoy myself, to brake when I want to and ride aggressively.

The ONLY time when a FS is more fun is when the trails/DH's/rides are to long to do the above.

For me thats long (>15 mile) loops in the peak, and most alpine riding. Anywhere else where the downs are short or there's time to recover on longer rides. I'll probably be on a HT. I'm sure that everyone has a point a which they'd be having more fun on a FS (if you say no then you're lying! megavalanche? a monster 100km Peak loop?), we're just all different.

[i]If I'm such a troll, why are you getting so upset? [/i]

I'm not upset, I'm playing the troll game....

I've just read the op and can't see what you all are fussing about ??? He's not saying h/t are rubbish and people shouldn't be riding them or are stupid for doing so. Only that in the situations he described his new full sus out performs his old h/t. They of course ride exactly as he describes, that doesn't mean loads of people don't prefer riding h/tails, fully ridgid or whatever.

joolsburger wouldn't be a Marin by any chance would it?

Hmm....I see a challenge coming on....RS Vs J-Cloth in a head to head down Upper and Lower Ladies Only.

Is that picture not pink starfish... at least thats what the link says? I haven't ridden that trail but that bit at least looks doable on HT. I actually did have thoughts about taking the video camera out there this weekend and finding that bit of trail.

[i]Unless you're riding on the road, or on extremely smooth trails then stop kidding yourself - you will be better off on a suspension bike[/i]

That's what he said.

He's a dimwit.

Oli, isn't it just that Hardtails are harder to break?... 😉

Anyway, the American magazine I read last month said that all mountainbikes with 26" wheels and less than 4 inches of rear travel are rendered obsolete by 29ers... What do we reckon to that?!

There are plenty of trails where hardtails are more fun. Bikes are all about fun so surely they will never be outdated.

My 6" full sus has sat in the shed for the last year, my rigid SS and my 6" forked h/tail get all the action. Go figure. Oh, and I was riding full sus bikes in 1990.

He's a dimwit.

& you are narrow-minded & resistant to/scared of change.

Things move on... Maybe you should too?

jojoA1
Anyway, the American magazine I read last month said that all mountainbikes with 26" wheels and less than 4 inches of rear travel are rendered obsolete by 29ers... What do we reckon to that?!

er....

[img] [/img]

Is that picture not pink starfish... at least thats what the link says? I haven't ridden that trail but that bit at least looks doable on HT.

It is Pink Starfish & I have ridden it on a HT. I've also ridden it on a FS & it was a lot more fun on that. I'm bored of getting beaten up by the trails on my HT. I have a lot more fun [i]riding[/i] the trails on a FS, rather than just making it down them on a HT.

Dimwit....

I've had HT and FS, and I take issue with your prescription for the masses; that we'll be better off on a FS.

Not narrow minded, not resistant to/or scared of change, just sensible enough to know a Dimwitted troll when one pops out from under the bridge.

Maybe work on your fitness and skill levels, rather than compensating for them with a snazzy bike.

Nowt wrong with snazzy bikes though, I have one.