Full Suspension Vs Hardtail | What's The Best XC Bike?

When getting into Mountain Biking, it's often XC riding where people first dip their toes, but with so many XC bikes available it can be a bit of a minefield when choosing your first! Our resident lycra specialist and XC nerd Rich Payne is here to run you through some of the key differences, what to look out for when selecting your first XC Mountain Bike and how different frames can affect your experience!

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What style of XC bike do you prefer? Let us know down below!👇

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[gmbn]

What style of XC bike do you prefer? Let us know down below!👇

[dyzoly]

GMBN: Carbon=less forgiving, more vibrations, GCN=more forgiving, less vibrations. You should do a joint episode on the topic.

[rocheuro]

the best advice I ever had on Full vs Hardtail was this - quote: " just get a bike that suits your local terrain. if it's mostly flat you'll regret buing a full sus. when you got some hills and i mean HILLS than get full. you'll not regret.

[knightstemplar]

I’ve had full suspension bikes and hard tail. Personally I love hard tail less things to go wrong less to service and far more fun

[AlenRi]

Just bought myself a hardtail Cube Elite C:62, 9, 8kg without pedals and is a game changer versus previous bike Trek x-caliber 8 which has 14kg. Hope that one day I'll treat myself with a fully carbon🤘🏻

[zerocool]

on the right course, absolutely love my hardtail. I also learned on the hardtail, finally got a full sus this year and was slower at first on several trails. finally pushing it to where I'm faster on the full sus on the rougher trails but I wouldn't take for granted what I learned (and continue to learn) on the hardtail.

[peterdebondt]

I changed from an alu ht to a carbon ht and the difference is huge, especially on longer rides. Not wanting to invest in a full sus I went tubeless which takes off the hardness of the ride. But the best investment was the dropper. HT's are getting a more and more aggressive seating position it becomes scary for amateurs in downhill sections, that dropper is a life saver. So I ended up with an almost as soft ride as a full sus but without the weight of it. Love it.

[JB-]

I switched from a full suspension bike to a fully rigid.

It's faster, but less comfortable. My next bike will be a hard tail.

[FilipeRicardoMTB]

For me the way to go is Hardtail Bike. Mine is the Canyon Exceed CF5. Already driven full suspension but now for me i think the full suspensiom bikes feels a litte bit loose due to the amount of movement that the bike do. I prefer Hardtail🙌

[overcomecafe]

I really love Rich’s approach to educational videos!!! Very relatable!!! Thanks for the knowledge!!!

[adamwilson]

Thank’s Rich, that was a great video :)

[Benjay]

I just bought a specialized epic hardtail comp, couldnt be happier, such a quick bike

[eatnpooter]

I have a Santa Cruz Highball, put a dropper on her, 180 front rotor and she’s in beast mode ! I also have a Hightower.. that gets ridden when I wanna get rowdy . But if I had to sell one, it would be the full suspension. I ride my XC bike 80% ..

[jeskli]

I used to ride XC hardtails since I began with cycling, which I consider to be 9 years ago when I was 11 (I learnt how to ride a bike when I was a little kid, this was about the time I started to ride more regularly and race). I wanted to switch to a fully already for the 2020 season, but the pandemic's start meant I couldn't get it for a price I could afford and therefore stayed with hardtails for another two years. I already have a good skillset as I can ride with exception for big jumps and drops (mostly because of worries about the bike) pretty much any enduro trail nearby with 100 mm of front travel and high seat. However, this year I'm convinced to finally get myself a full sus and if I don't find one for a good price, I'd stick with just road, gravel and cyclocross for a year. Hardtails are fun, but after nearly on decades only on them they start to get a bit boring. And as I found, in most XC races at least here in the Czech Republic full suspension bikes are just quicker and at the races where hardtails are quicker, they are quicker just by a tiny bit.

[yengsabio]

At the moment, my only MTB is Giant Talon 2 (2017). It's my workhorse, so to speak. Very utilitarian MTB, indeed!

With its existing 2x9 drivetrain, I intend to upgrade it to a 2x10 system with a rear derailleur that has a clutch. I also intend to replace the coil-spring fork with an air fork. Plus, I want to edit the seat post with a dropper one.

Lots'a love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from tropical Philippines! #KeepBiking

[chrisridesbicycles]

Thanks for the vid Rich. It will be full sus for me for the marathon races I plan to do. Over a 6hr race the comfort will even be quicker. The track looked nice. I wonder how much the difference on the roots would be between a 29er hardtail and a 26 inch

[tonywilson]

I think it all comes down to the kind of riding you do, so the terrain picks the type of bike for you really. I've ridden hard tails since the 90's, and only got my first full suss bike just over a year ago. The full suss is an incredibly capable bike, especially heading downhill, but for me and the type of riding I do then a hard tail wins still. Having both though allows me to cover all bases 🙂🙂 My hard tail is a 2019 Whyte 905, and it is a very capable and fun bike, even when charging downhill at Flyup 417!!

[shinkoreancookery]

Thank you for this video this will help me to think about bikes and progress my mountain bike skills!

[brandn]

I just went with a hard tail due to the price but now that I know just a little more about Mtb I’m currently saving up for a full sus

[kevinseel]

Great video. I'm a roadie and I've just bought my first hard tail (Kona Honzo) this winter and I'm both excited and slightly terrified about learning new skills but I have to admit, XC riding is SO much fun. Huge difference going from a road bike that weighs 7.4kg all in (minus bidons) to, uh, don't even know what this beast weights but it rolls like a tank over everything! Interesting your comment on a dropper post. I've never had one before but I'm loving the ability to change riding position dynamically through a ride. I've ridden my gravel bike on single track before and nearly been bucked off. Drop that saddle and I feel centered. Again, i'm just a total noob though.