Posted by: mammal
Posted by: Mic
Posted by: Climber
What are your thoughts about a hardtail (bike rich otherwise)? I have so much trouble to explain to some (beginner) bikers riding fancy bikes what I use it.
If I had to talk to new riders who own the latest whizzbang bike, I would revolve around the need for really good line choice and solid body language while riding a hardtail. Riding a hardtail makes a rider aware of the trail a way that even an "ordinary" full suspension kind of takes away. A full suspension bike is a bit like anaesthesia, the bike takes away a lot of feedback and what the trail has to say.
Agreed. I usually intentionally switch to hardtails for most of my "winter" riding, just to regain that complete trail and body focus again. The flip side of that, is it takes some time to reacclimatize to the speed of the big squish bike, come spring.
It’s ironic how some riders have complained about trails being dumbed down and diluting their experience yet those same riders are on very capable longer travel bikes that similarly dilute the experience. Lower risk trails on a hardtail might be a similar experience to high risk trails on an enduro type bike.
Last edited by: andy-eunson on Dec. 6, 2024, 9:56 a.m., edited 1 time in total.