Hardtails - How many people still race / ride them...

"Awwww, yeah, beautiful girls!!"

 

I still ride a HT... Specialized RockHopper. I am new to the game but I ride the hell out of that damn thing. It never fails me.

 

Awesome crash at the 1:00 mark.

 

love my hardtail! big wheels keep on turning... :bang:

 

I don't care for them anymore. And I don't ride them. I know I will get some heat for this but, I really wonder why they are still purchased by mtbr enthusiasts. They are for newbies or poor people. In fact, newbies who spend $300-$400 to buy one seem to already get turned off to trail riding after a couple rides because they are uncomfortable. That's why you see them in great condition, collecting dust in garages from here to Vermont.

Background: Back in the 6th grade I used to ride my neighbor's Yamaha 125MX. It was a nice dirt bike, complete with old tech full suspension. We'd hang out in the garage with the bike and talk of maybe someday someone would build a full suspension bicycle for people who don't want to mess with a 2 stroke motor. Heck, even our mini bikes with lawnmower motors had a coil rear suspension.

Fast forward from the 70's to the 90's: single pivot rear suspension bicycles appear. Lord does the wheels turn slow! But also, cassette tapes, LP's, 8 tracks, VHS, 3/4" U-Matic and Licorice Pizza stores become extinct.

So what I am trying to convey is, NO, I do not ride a hardtail nor do I ever want to again. You couldnt give me one. I still own a dual recording cassette deck and Samsung VCR. Do I use them? NO. Would you trade a modern fuel injected, electronically computerized car or truck for a 1972 one that you have to change the points and condensers, plugs, adjust the carb, etc. every 5,000 miles? Or would you trade an ipod for a cassette walkman
with auto reverse? Does anyone know what auto reverse is? LOL The HT for enthusiasts has gone the way of Big Ben, Virgin Megastores & Tower Records.

Even a 2" rear suspension bike is better than a hardtail anyday. I do admit, Salsa, Santa Cruz, Kona, Specialized, etc HT's they look good sitting on display but once you get them off-road, forget it.

P.S. I agree with Ricky they are useless and outdated. I love retro everything but in moderation, riding a HT bike full-time is like owning & using one of those walkie-talkie looking cell phones from the Miami Vice days.

 

I used to be a newbie and still am poor (rich in character, spirit, and other non-monetary ways). I fit your stereotype almost perfectly.

BUT, did you even look at the bikes on this thread? I highly doubt a poor newbie is going to drop the money (LOTS of it) on a custom ti HT frame (what does a newb care about ti for?). And what about the poor newbs who race XC professionally on HT's?....

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Yours is just wrong (IMO at least, haha).

 

im building up a full foldable ss ht and a moots ybb right now. ill show them when complete!

 

...and the fastest guys.

 

Hard tails

Raced hard tails in the 80's with no suspension. Then Paul Turner shows up and the world of mountain biking changed for me. Rode front suspension with an unheard of 1 1/2 inches of travel on my Nishiki Alien. Thought life couldn't get any better until Boulder came out with the Gazelle. Then I got a Gary Fisher RS-1 that blew that bike out of the water and it came with a rear disc brake and a Lawwill leader front fork. The rest is history. I now have owned or ridden many full suspension bikes and never looked back to the hardtail or rigid bikes. The bikes are so good these days that almost all suspension designs work well.

 

If that was the case you wouldn't see so many top level team riders still on them.

 

I had no idea this was going to turn into a debate of how fs suck/ht sucks.

Every bike is made for it's intentional purpose. HT's are perfect for XC type trails with lots of climbs through wide fireroads. I wouldn't want to use a full suspension bike riding up blackstar. A hardtail rocks climbing it!

For most socal trails however, they are not wide and flat. They have rocks, they have decents, and they have some climbs. For that reason, a ALL Mountain FS bike works the best for socal trails.

Some people do Shuttle Runs where FS DH bikes are perfect, but have you ever tried riding one of those up a hill? I have, I rode the full lenght up telegraph with a 40lbs specialized big hit. I thought i was going to DIE!!!

So before we go off saying FS sucks, HT sucks. Just rememeber, different bikes works for different trails that works for different riding styles!

:beer:

 

You know.

Those 'one' guys.

Who race in the Olympics and other 'stuff' like that.

(Although, Specialized dominates with the BRAIN; ...8-[ not that I'm baised or anything.)

 

ive ridden both HT and FS. i prefer HT. seems faster.

 

29", Fully Rigid, Single Speed! (monocog flight) Its my regular ride and I love it. I have to, I cant afford a FS bike right now. May get a fork for it later, but so far haven't absolutely needed one.

 

I choose to ride a HT 85% of the time. I ride all the same trails I do on my Heckler with the HT......climb faster, but DH is a bit slower.......some trails the 29er HT actually feels faster going downhill.

And no......HT's are not just for newbies and poor riders. I believe it is the other way around.....

 

If you watch the vid you'll see that he's on a hardtail. Sarcasm is easily lost on the interwebs. :?:

 

I ride XC on a Cannondale F1000 lefty ELO, BB7s, Dual Control shifters. I love FS bikes and all of the choices we have today but this is how I roll .

 

I'm not blasting HT's, I'm just saying that IMO,
they are outdated like most things that were invented ion the 1970's and 2009 tech kicks its arse.

For example:
Sure, I loved my powder blue 65 Mustang
with the 289, Rally Pak and 4 speed on the floor,
but in many, many ways a 2009 V8 Mustang is a way
better handling car, has more hp, comforts, mechanicals and electronics that last way longer. The 65 just looks good and for sentimental value, it makes a 2009 seem like a generic Ford.

I am not bashing HT riders, just the old design.:wave:

 

I don't feel bashed, nor would I bash a FS rider. But in your example, you're still comparing muscle car to muscle car, just a different time frame. I'll concede that hardtails now are better than hardtails then...just as FS now are better than before. But I would not say FS are better than hardtails.

 

I think it takes more skill to ride a hardtail IMO I rode my friends FS and the trails i did with my hardtail seemed easier on the FS it was more of a challenge with my hardtail trying to follow a line, deciding landing spots, and hoping over rocks..where as on the FS you can run over everything or fly over them ....