Rigid Vs Hardtail Vs Full Suspension Mountain Bike | What's More Fun For XC?

We love cross country mountain bikes! But which setup is more fun? A super lightweight rigid build, a do it all hardtail, or a full-suspension bike to soak up the bumps and pump the corners? Neil puts all three bikes head to head in a fast-paced trail smashing ride in the hills at Forrest of Dean to find out 🤘

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What do you find more fun? Rigid, Hardtail or Full Suspension? Let us know 👇

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[gmbn]

What do you think you would find more fun? Rigid, Hardtail or Full Suspension? Let us know 👇

[camacdonnell]

Big downside of riding a hardtail is having to wait for 10 minutes at the top of every climb for your full sus friends

[Hjorten]

The rigid one is exactly how gravel bikes be like in 2 years 😂 love the look of it though

[pseudomugilidae]

I love my rigid singlespeed. I'm actually a fan of how rigid bikes jump, you don't have to load the suspension at all into the lip of the jump and they're really controllable because they're really light. It is best however to either lower the seat or have a dropper post before you drop into a jump line.

[TheSynthisis]

Watching this after watching some of Neil's slams through the years and dude mad respect for you and your skill. Hardtail xc beginner here.

[jackmcswiggan]

I love my hard tail I have been riding it for 4 years now and they are so fun.

[sattvicvelo]

You left out the most fun option: fully rigid SingleSpeed

[muttleybn]

Started out on fully rigid bikes all those years ago and we all loved them. Hell, we had nothing else to compare them to! Then came front suspension and we loved them. Then came full sus and I did not love it. I bought a specialized fsr and it was a heavy dog of a bike that sucked the enjoyment out of 95% of the ride. I got rid of it pretty quickly and went back to hardtails where I have stayed ever since. I am sometimes tempted to see what a modern full susser would be like as I'm sure it would be a huge improvement over the old ones but I can't get away from the fact that the nearly 2 grand I spent on a sorted hardtail would only get me a heavy basic full susser that would ruin my fun like the old specialized did.

[uranusesbutt]

I have been riding a full rigid 29+ bike and it is awesome on the trail! Some things feel a bit more chattery, but it feels so fast, climbs well, and steers very directly. Tire pressure is important to get right. I was dropping guys on their full suspension bikes on the trails today

[mtbwithben]

I admire people who can ride a rigid,
It looks so hard to stay on the ground

[Maninthewhitehouse]

Love my full-sus. I think it’s helped me progress as a rider, however I think you need to start on hard tail. Full squish give you the confidence to push harder, but a hard tail gives you the skill. GMBN gave me the confidence to start my own YouTube channel and one day would love to do a feature with you sir and Blake!

[johnnydoe]

I know this will sound counterintuitive, but I love my hardtail. Reason being is that the older I get, the slower and less daring I ride off road. I have owned numerous full suspension bikes and just recently purchased a 27.5 Plus Hardtail, and it's all the cush I need for my style of riding. I ride with this Mantra: Dirty Harry's quite "A man's got to know his Limitations" and I know mine

[letsgo_inc]

I love my hardtail. It's been doing XC, jumps, flow and even proper downhill. Sure it gets rough but honestly, I expected worse. It will be a long time before I really "need" a FS.

[DilbertMuc]

I think this test proves that
1.) the hardtail is golden middle: affordable, low maintenance, good for bikepacking, comfy ride with a good fork and not much slower than the fully.
2.) The totally rigid is hard on the hands, slow, bumpy and erratic on roots and burps. And the carbon fork is not much cheaper than a good middle class suspension fork. First rigid gravel bikes appear with a flat bar now.
3.) Gravel bikes figured out that suspension is good! They start implementing some carbon flex suspension and now add some basic forks with 30mm. I guess they will end up as mid-90's hardtails with a drop bar and some 50-60mm fork.
:D))))

[partmedia]

Love getting technical on the trails with a hard tail. HT's make you aware of every stone in the path.

[sterlingramirez]

I ride a Surly Krampus 29x3.0. I love it and don’t see myself ever going back. I also find that it forces you to find the most perfect line choice while riding rigid which ultimately makes you a better rider in my opinion.

[chiccorocker]

Have to admit that you guys at GMBN praised the capabilities of full suspension mountain bike and how much fun they are, you convinced even me to get one. And I love it to the very bits. I have to agree with Neil, the full suspension is super fun.

[CyberdyneSystemsSkynet]

Thank You. I have been commenting and asking for a video like this for a while, you have created a comparison where literally the only variable is the suspension, and you have like-like purpose. For a non-scientific sponsored YouTube video I think this was good. I'm going to keep my hardtail and not worry about what I _may_ be losing on climbs due to slightly decreased traction because in re time to ascend it's within margin of error.

[joppek]

I'm actually building a fully rigid Cotic Soul 26" with parts I ordered a few years ago! DT Swiss rigid carbon XC fork, Spank rims, 2.4" tires and 11 spd XT all around pretty much. Looking forward to giving it a test ride some time this weekend. I might put a suspension fork on it in the future if I can find a nice 26" fork for a good price, but for now I'll enjoy the feel of trail, roots and stone under my wheels. :-P

[repapeti]

The gold stickers make the frame look dirty from afar