Our tandem is a hardtail with a DH fork up front. I am far removed from what happens back there, but my wife never complains. Not everyone rides rough downhill stuff, and I'm sure there's plenty of guys that would buy a FS if the price was right, but really don't need it for most of their riding. My Cannondale has about 3 inches up front, and I really enjoy that ragged edge feeling I get when I push it in the rough. That's just me though.