I have personally never understood the idea of recommending only hardtails, but I do recognize that it's very much terrain and "ride fantasy" dependent.
'Round here (North of Boston), there are some amazing folks absolutely shredding on hardtails, but they're absolute beasts and have been riding for decades on all flavors of bikes. For mere mortals who think they might want more than rail-trails and fire-roads, attempting the local "real" trails really benefits from the traction and comfort provided by a full-sus. And that's a huge part of getting over that first hump of "this is hard work and everything hurts, but I'm having fun and I can see the light of enjoying this all the time".
To me, telling a newbie to avoid a rear shock is like telling someone to buy a car without a windshield washer because it will have to be refilled someday. Sure, they could just stop at a service station and use the brushy-thing every time the windshield gets dirty, or carry a separate spray bottle and rag, but those options are so inconvenient (and uncomfortable and potentially unsafe if you're trying to clean a window on the side of the highway), that's it's easily worth the effort to learn how to refill the built-in washer system. Or it could be like just getting a park bench for your living room instead of a couch, just because the couch will eventually need the upholstery cleaned and even maybe new cushions or springs. Yes, the bench is almost infinitely easier to maintain, but the comfort level, and subsequent enjoyment, is not even in the ballpark.
And this is coming from someone who was the very last in the group to go full-suspension. I had only hardtails for 15+ years, but for the last 10-ish years I have only ridden a hardtail when something on the full-sus is down for repairs* and I'm waiting for parts, which has only happened a handful of times* in the last decade.
\* Not down for repairs just because it's full-sus, but broken because I ride it often and hard and wear out or smash shit. A full-time hardtail would be broken just as often: no shock or pivots to wear, but it would beat up way more tires and wheels.
\* And one of those was waiting for a theft replacement so that doesn't count against the full-sus at all!
March 4, 2022, 7:51 a.m. - Justin White
I have personally never understood the idea of recommending only hardtails, but I do recognize that it's very much terrain and "ride fantasy" dependent. 'Round here (North of Boston), there are some amazing folks absolutely shredding on hardtails, but they're absolute beasts and have been riding for decades on all flavors of bikes. For mere mortals who think they might want more than rail-trails and fire-roads, attempting the local "real" trails really benefits from the traction and comfort provided by a full-sus. And that's a huge part of getting over that first hump of "this is hard work and everything hurts, but I'm having fun and I can see the light of enjoying this all the time". To me, telling a newbie to avoid a rear shock is like telling someone to buy a car without a windshield washer because it will have to be refilled someday. Sure, they could just stop at a service station and use the brushy-thing every time the windshield gets dirty, or carry a separate spray bottle and rag, but those options are so inconvenient (and uncomfortable and potentially unsafe if you're trying to clean a window on the side of the highway), that's it's easily worth the effort to learn how to refill the built-in washer system. Or it could be like just getting a park bench for your living room instead of a couch, just because the couch will eventually need the upholstery cleaned and even maybe new cushions or springs. Yes, the bench is almost infinitely easier to maintain, but the comfort level, and subsequent enjoyment, is not even in the ballpark. And this is coming from someone who was the very last in the group to go full-suspension. I had only hardtails for 15+ years, but for the last 10-ish years I have only ridden a hardtail when something on the full-sus is down for repairs* and I'm waiting for parts, which has only happened a handful of times* in the last decade. \* Not down for repairs just because it's full-sus, but broken because I ride it often and hard and wear out or smash shit. A full-time hardtail would be broken just as often: no shock or pivots to wear, but it would beat up way more tires and wheels. \* And one of those was waiting for a theft replacement so that doesn't count against the full-sus at all!