# It's so cool to see a pro constantly promoting hardtails



## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)




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## cookieMonster (Feb 23, 2004)

Some of his points are tongue in cheek, but I largely agree.

For me, cost is a huge factor. My full suspension bike is a great bike, but I kept it too long and now a comparable bike is 2-3x more expensive. I’m just gonna say it — the prices of modern enduro bikes are batshit RIDICULOUS.

With a nice, modern hardtail like my ESD, thanks to intelligent geometry, I can ride all the same stuff as my enduro bike. Rougher, sure, but no less fun.


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## prj71 (Dec 29, 2014)

Even though I own a hardtail that I rarely ride...My back and body tell me that a hardtail is not better.


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## noapathy (Jun 24, 2008)

I have a hardtail with no brakes and a fully functional 100/120mm full suspension bike. Which would win if jumping from an airplane at 12,000 feet? (with parachute, of course)


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## DGUSMC (Jan 29, 2021)

cookieMonster said:


> Some of his points are tongue in cheek, but I largely agree.
> 
> For me, cost is a huge factor. My full suspension bike is a great bike, but I kept it too long and now a comparable bike is 2-3x more expensive. I’m just gonna say it — the prices of modern enduro bikes are batshit RIDICULOUS.
> 
> With a nice, modern hardtail like my ESD, thanks to intelligent geometry, I can ride all the same stuff as my enduro bike. Rougher, sure, but no less fun.


Just off an ESD ride - not sure I have ever smiled more on a bike. 

True - until I invested both time and money in curing some old muscular issues (stretching routines, deep tissue massage, etc) biking aggressively hurt a lot and more so on the HT. 

Much of this debate probably hinges on people’s technical and physical abilities and/or I suppose their commitment to getting better. More squish surely makes things smoother and allows one to attack more stuff more safely but so does better technique and flexibility. 

I have a Sentinel on which I do things I cannot on the ESD, but most of that still seems due my skill level, and while fun as hell, the Sentinel just does not do for me what the ESD does in terms of pure satisfaction.


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## theMISSIONARY (Apr 13, 2008)

If they paid me I would promote ride on Dildos aka Harleys


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## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

I prefer to get paid to not promote something.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

prj71 said:


> Even though I own a hardtail that I rarely ride...My back and body tell me that a hardtail is not better.


Most of the time I don't feel beat up, even if it's steeper. It's only if there are huge rocks all over the trail or large embedded rocks that it really starts to take its toll on a hardtail. For the embedded ones, if it's flatter and I can't coast down and have to pedal through them, it seems just tedious and not very fun more than physically punishing. For large 8-14 inch rocks that are loose, yeah I feel those. After about a mile downhill on those trails my fingers and wrists start really getting fatigued from holding on to the handlebars so tight. Don't even want to shift, just brake. At the bottom I have to stop and flex my fingers just to get them back to normal. 

Have you guys ever considered a 2.6 or 2.8 in back? Takes a lot of the sting out of bumps.


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## Hibikealot (Oct 14, 2021)

Guys:talks about riding hardtail in winter but is wet and muddy or spring/fall like conditions.
Me:where is this winter he speaks of,I didn't see any snow in whole video 🙄 
Last time I rode in winter everything was white 😆 
Me again:I like hardtail more than full sus,but this video is cringey....hurts to watch actually.


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## prj71 (Dec 29, 2014)

richj8990 said:


> Most of the time I don't feel beat up, even if it's steeper. It's only if there are huge rocks all over the trail or large embedded rocks that it really starts to take its toll on a hardtail. For the embedded ones, if it's flatter and I can't coast down and have to pedal through them, it seems just tedious and not very fun more than physically punishing. For large 8-14 inch rocks that are loose, yeah I feel those. After about a mile downhill on those trails my fingers and wrists start really getting fatigued from holding on to the handlebars so tight. Don't even want to shift, just brake. At the bottom I have to stop and flex my fingers just to get them back to normal.
> 
> Have you guys ever considered a 2.6 or 2.8 in back? Takes a lot of the sting out of bumps.


My hardtail only fits up to 2.4. 

Tires don't replace suspension. 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Stewiewin (Dec 17, 2020)

richj8990 said:


>


There is a video of fabio riding mainline in Austria in one of those 1940s bikes. He even did the jumps and the 360 back flip in it 😋 👌 🍟


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## MattiThundrrr (Jul 6, 2019)

Hibikealot said:


> Guys:talks about riding hardtail in winter but is wet and muddy or spring/fall like conditions.
> Me:where is this winter he speaks of,I didn't see any snow in whole video 🙄
> Last time I rode in winter everything was white


Welcome to the internet. Your experience may be different than others. They also call it winter in other parts of the world. The GB in GBMN stands for Great Britain, far outside of Canada.


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## snow snakes (Sep 13, 2021)

MattiThundrrr said:


> Welcome to the internet. Your experience may be different than others. They also call it winter in other parts of the world. The GB in GBMN stands for Great Britain, far outside of Canada.


I think it's actually Global Mountain Bike Network...but the point stands. In many parts of the world, "winter" riding means it's muddy and rainy all the time, not snowy. For my part of the world, you could easily sub in spring/fall riding. 

I love riding hardtail most of the time because my in-town trails are pretty flow-y, without a whole lot of crazy roots and tech - for me, the full-suspension makes a lot of the trails kinda boring, and reduces the amount that I can pop off jumps and pump berms. For the chunky trails outside of town, full-sus is more viable.


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## MattiThundrrr (Jul 6, 2019)

Lol yeah feeling the shame. GBMN is actually GMBN. But they are in GB a lot of the time


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## Hibikealot (Oct 14, 2021)

Should just call it the cold season.....but I guess winter in tropic could be considered summer elsewhere 😆


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## OldSchoolMBer (May 25, 2013)

theMISSIONARY said:


> If they paid me I would promote ride on Dildos aka Harleys


Fair point but Blake's always into hardtails, DJ's, etc. He's talked about it before going back to his childhood in Africa. Besides, if it wasn't a catchy title we wouldn't be talking about it


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

The affirmation from others is why I still ride a hardtail.


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## Curveball (Aug 10, 2015)

That video certainly captures a lot of the reasons that I bought a hardtail for winter riding. I don't get very much snow where I live, but a whole lot of mud that can muck up suspension pivots and shocks. Plus, the ground is typically softer in the winter too which helps smooth things out.


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## numbnuts (Apr 20, 2006)

He sure is fun to watch and listen to indeed.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

richj8990 said:


> Have you guys ever considered a 2.6 or 2.8 in back? Takes a lot of the sting out of bumps.


More like a shock postponer or amplifier.


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## numbnuts (Apr 20, 2006)

Jayem said:


> More like a shock postponer or amplifier.


find that sweet oscillation spot and hang on for dear life!


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

It's a good thing I've never ridden a FS bike. The cost of "needing" to buy and maintain one would cause me to find a different hobby.


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## maynard4130 (May 12, 2019)

mack_turtle said:


> It's a good thing I've never ridden a FS bike. The cost of "needing" to buy and maintain one would cause me to find a different hobby.


MACK is spot on. I spend enough on my hardtail as is. Happy wife, happy life


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## Mk3Rider (Dec 7, 2008)

I ride my hard tails most of the time. 

27.5 x 2.8 in a steel frame is a sweet spot.

I am going to try 29 x 2.8 on a carbon frame this year and see how it does.


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