Mountain Biking - Newbie: What are the limitations of buying a hardtail MTB?

I would just do trail riding and some nice climbs..no radicial jumps off of 4 foot ledges or anything.

Are hardtails faster than dual supsension since you have less bouncing arouind? Thanks :)

I would say so. Although I guess you would go faster over say rocks on an FS then on a hard tail because a full suspenion bike would absorb the bumps. On trails hard tails would be faster because they are usually lighter and going up hills a hardtail would be easier to push then an FS.

I can't really think of any limitations other than maybe fatigue(not the frame, but the rider) from soaking up impacts. It's still mostly the rider that determines speed. I've know rigid riders who could outride our whole group thanks to experience/technique. A HT should be fine for your type of riding. You can usually get a nicely spec'd HT for less than a similarly outfitted FS. HT's are generally faster uphill, while FS is faster downhill, but that depends on the rider and suspension setup. Oh, and for what it's worth, I've taken my XC HT off of 4-5 foot jumps with no problems if you ever want to get into that aspect of it.

If you are new to mountain biking, most would suggest a hardtail because it will allow/force you to improve your skills rather than just relying on the FS bike to plow over everything.

If you are new to mountain biking, most would suggest a hardtail because it will allow/force you to improve your skills rather than just relying on the FS bike to plow over everything.

Agreed. Buying a hardtail will make you a better rider in the long run.

Hardtails offer more control, but like Karldarl said it does cause fatigue on the rider. but if you have a nice enough fork it shouldnt be too bad. so no there arnt too many limitations for hardtails, unless that is you feel like launching off of 8 foot jumps.

The downsides to full suspension are, they are sluggish. The dual suspension pivots and absorbs energy, making you go slower for a larger amount of effort. Unless your doing really bumpy downhill riding, fs bikes aren't the best way.

The downsides to full suspension are, they are sluggish. The dual suspension pivots and absorbs energy, making you go slower for a larger amount of effort. Unless your doing really bumpy downhill riding, fs bikes aren't the best way.
Thanks for the good info! :)

The downsides to full suspension are, they are sluggish. The dual suspension pivots and absorbs energy, making you go slower for a larger amount of effort. Unless your doing really bumpy downhill riding, fs bikes aren't the best way.


Your not wrong. I've had my Giant AC for a month now and it takes a lot more effort to get it rolling than my old DJ bike did. I did a triathelon a few weeks back and the other guys in my team where on supper light XC bikes - they left me standing going up hill, but on the downs they couldn't keep up.