mtnbiker66

Brains are bad ...thats why I don't use one.

Flak

You don't need em in the south i heard

Funkychicken

Most comments re: the versatility of HTs are true. On my HT, i've been able to ride every trail that my FS can go over, including DH trails (sans drops).

It was just a LOT faster and more fun on the FS

rydaddy

A combination of both. It depends on who I am riding with. Some guys are pretty fast and I hang with them easily with the hardtail. Others simply have too much bike for their skill level.

I will eventually own a fully but not for a while. I have been told I have too many bikes

mikejo

Ideally, you should have both. However, after having a full susp, I went back to hardtail. It seems like all the full suspension bike manufacturers are always trying to compare their bike's climbing ability to a hardtail. And since I spend 75% of my riding climbing up a 2000-3000 ft mountain, I decided that a steel hardtail (or titanium, but I got a good deal on a steel) was the way to go.
Even after 15+ years of developing the the full suspension, it seems no one can agree or decide what really works for XC riding. Granted, for downhill after a ski lift takes you up the mountain, they are the way to go.
Like everyone says, it all depends on the type of riding you like to do.

ed 

I'm somewhat of a tech geek and I personally feel that duallies are just more fun. My fav. local trail is a hardtail'ers "dream". Techy, short/steep climbs that can be destroyed outta the saddle. However...

I really don't care anymore how quick I get up the hill...I still get up it. Now that I've put all that $$$ from selling my hardtail into my dually, I enjoy the trail more than I ever have. If I get tired from pedaling my pogo-piggy and don't feel like standing up over that 5" rock garden, I sit down and pedal through it. I'm riding more agressively on the technical sections as well.

I sold my 26# HT to ride a 32# coil sprung 5x5 in the midwest...I've never been happier.

I admit that I have a day now and then when I miss the efficiency of my HT, but I ride for fun now. I'm not trying to prove anything to myself and I'm not training for some race somewhere, so my dually is what makes me smile.

ed 

Agree'd.

If I could afford two, I'd still have two. I like to hit the "Urban Terrain" one day, jumping off the stairs and such while another day I'll be riding rolling/flowing singletrack. I love the XC trails, but for myself...a straight up XC hardtail would crumble beneath me. (again)

Ideally, I'd have an XC HT, AM dually, and a decent FR/Urban rig. (but we'll not get into that, hehe) I've already gone off topic.

FreeRidin'

Hardtail= H-core.

Impalla

I'm not nearly as bike knowledgeable as most here but I'll at least put in my two coppers worth....

When I started looking at buying a bike and was looking at mountain bikes, I tried everything the local bike stores had to offer. I remember trying both the Specialized Stumpjumper and the Stumpjumper FS. I thought both bikes had positive and negative to their credit but I think I liked the hardtail version better. To me, it felt more 'bike-like'. It felt a tad more solid and nimble. I'm not sure if that adequately describes my impression of the two but that's the best I can do putting it into text. That doesn't at all describe or compare all hardtails to all full suspension bikes. I just thought it was worth mentioning in a thread full of useful insight.

-Impalla

Scottluebke2004

Ride a FS for a while, then try going back to HT. Most people will find the FS to be far superior to HT. I own both styles, and both are high quality bikes. Braking when flying on anything close to technical is difficult on a HT, not to mention the FS soaks up a ton of bumps that, believe me, are much more enjoyable riding over with full suspension.

ed 

Yup


I was just thinking...

I think that if you're into efficiency and lap times and training...get a HT. If you're into a "total ride experience" like just going out and riding some trail jumping that log, cleaning that rough section etc...buy a dually.


You'll never fully apreciate both until you spend time on both. If I would have only owned dual suspension bikes and never spent time on a HT, then I'd want a HT. If I had never ridden a dually and only ridden HT's...I'd say that I would want a dually. I wouldn't be happy until I had spent time on both. I don't mean test ride both...actually get some saddle time.

Now that I've spent many years on many versions of dually and HT...I can say that I will be happy owning a dual susser as my sole ride.

workscollective

Gotta agree on this one...have a much harder time trying to jump on my fully suspension than on my fully ridgid singlespeed...the 12-13lb difference is probably playing into that though. (one caveat is that you can pre-compress the springs on the full squishy and get it to sort of "launch" you...

Also I don't miss my suspension at all. Given the 29 inch wheels help but even so I was amazed how good the full rigid felt. I know that I have to provide any suspension and absorb things as opposed to thinking that the suspension will take care of this and that and riding what I consider sloppy...

I don't however like aluminum hardtails...just too little flex in the frames. Steel is real

willtsmith_nwi

Actually, there is a reason that most pro racers have switched from hardtails to short travel full suspension bikes. They allow the rider to stay seated longer and pedal more efficiently at a higher cadence. For endurance races, it's almost a must.

Conversely, a rigid bike lets you hammer uphill as opposed to spinning. It puts you in control of negotiating terrain below. For double the fun, make it rigid up front too. If you really want to "pilot" your bike instead of riding it, go fully rigid!!!!

xcracer13

chris eatough rides for trek and is a 6x 24hr world campion. He rides a tek top fuel short travel fully,

ed 

I tested a Stumpy FSR with the Brain turn all the way up...I was amazed at how efficient it was. You could just stand up and honk on 'em.

I'd love to have a Monocog for that very reason.

Terrapin Ben

Have you ever had the chance to ride a $2,000+ hardtaill? Not to be rude and no offense intended, but the five spot and the epic and exceptionally nicer than a rockhopper. You might not be singing the same tune if you put some miles in the saddle on an enlightenment or a scale 20. It really is a matter of preferance. I've riding my hadtail in vancouver, moab, the midwest, western PA, currently ride western montana rocky mountain trails on a daily basis. I like daulies. They are cool. And after vancouver and moab i looked into purchasing one, a specialized enduro expert to be exact. Test rode it for a day on all my favorite trails and test rode my friends santa cruz blur lt and 4x. They're fun, but they felt sluggish to me. Maybe i don't have enough experience riding with that much travel or can't throw the extra weight around, but i liked my finely tuned hardtail more. Granted, i was going to need to strech my wallet to afford a new bike, but i couldn't justify it on the ride alone. Again, it's all just a matter of personal preference. If i were to win the lottery tonihgt, i'd go buy a new bike right away, and you can bet it'd be an enduro. But if i had to choose between the enduro and my hardtail, given the relative similarity in price, i'd choose my hardtail over the enduro.

*edit for typos*

Terrapin Ben

true. different strokes for different folks. i think it's total preference as well.

Flak

You said yourself if you had the money you'd run out and buy the enduro. If hardtails were so much better wouldnt you go and buy the latest and greatest tricked out hardtail? I think hardtails are fine bikes, but the only reason im riding one is because i just dont have enough money to buy a really nice full suspension.

Sure its a preference thing to some people, but i think the majority of people who own hardtails and say they prefer them over full suspension bikes do so because they dont have the funds for a nice FS and it makes them feel better to convince themselves that they're riding a superior design.

Terrapin Ben

I am a much bigger fan of hardtails myself. I said it in my two previous posts, it is all personal preference. i agree 100% with you and pete about that. Considering i already own two hardtails and a roadie/commuter, the next bike i will add to my arsenel will most likely be a full suspension bicycle. But lately, i've been eyeing some dirtjumpers. Now they look fun...

*after rereading your post flak, i guess you don't agree about the personal preference thing. i see where you are coming from but i don't fully buy into it. but you do have a good point. money is a big factor for a lot of people when deciding on a bicycle.

Flak

No i do think its a personal preference for some like yourself that has an array of bikes. However i think for most it's because they're on a budget and only have one bike, and that same budget limits them to hardtails because of thier excellent bang for buck.

never

I agree with Flak on this statement...and these people are not the best to get hardtail vs. FS advice from, even if they have 'tried' other FS bikes. If the rear suspension isn't set up for the rider, the bike will feel like crap. When I only had a hardtail (and a rigid), I always justified the HT choice...until I got a FS bike.

The best people to get advice from are those with both types of bikes, and who preferably ride similar terrain as the person asking the question.

pinkrobe

A debate as old as time itself...

I rode a hardtail from '89 - '01, then rode FS for 4 years. I switched back to a HT 'cause I lost all my mad bike handling skillz. It was sad - after two seasons on the FS I sort of forgot how to ride technical trails. Pick lines? Nope. Use body english to get over stuff? Nah. I switched to the HT and my riding improved dramatically. Unfortunately, the trail conditions around here have become pretty bad since 2001, and many of my favourite rides have become painful to climb AND descend. Thus, I am going back to the FS [Titus Moto Lite 2 ]. Now that I have a rigid singlespeed to rip around the shorter trails, I should be able to maintain mad skillz but also enjoy myself on the more technical rides with bigger terrain features. Win-win!

NB: Soon to be for sale, Trek 8500 frame with Race Face Deus headset and Fox Float RLC 100, great shape, never raced...

never

I wouldn't say a FS bike makes you lose skills, you just develop different skills. Whether on the HT or the FS, my approach to the trail is different (assuming it's rough enough to warrant a different approach). I just prefer the additional speed descending rough stuff you generally get on a FS.

pinkrobe

Seriously, I lost skillz. It was pathetic - I couldn't do anything. Stuff I do on my rigid SS now would have had me off and walking. It was so sad...