7 Hardtail Hacks | Set-Up Tips & Upgrades For Your MTB

Hardtails are mega versatile bikes, great for anything from a day at the bike park hitting big jumps to bike packing through the backcountry. Blake and Neil are in Dyfi Bikepark and breaking down some of their top hardtail hacks for riding demanding terrain without rear suspension!

Timestamps 👇
00:00 - Intro
00:45 - Clips or Flats?
01:49 - Set up matters!
02:16 - Tyre Inserts
03:33 - Preventing Chain Slap
04:12 - Tyre Choice is important!
05:14 - Wheel Choice
06:10 - Frame Bags

Useful Links:

What are your top hardtail hacks which have made your life on the bike that much better? Share them with us in the comments below 👇

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[Emz_Jhaye]

Nice hacks! Flat pedals for me!. Still using that inner-tube hack as a chain stay protector. Still riding my hairdtail on 26" front & 24" rear wheel... 😎

[brettjohnson]

I like clipless pedals but I am way more confident using flats on technical and rocky climbs

[darylhunter]

26" all-day .. had a 29er it got stolen, went back to the 26 and now I and got in a nice groove ..

[MrSorseone]

dropper post also game changer on hardtail rigs.. flat pedals, riser bars & short stems all required

[aaronza]

Hardtail and flat pedals... love it!! :D

[watchjunkie]

Clipless pedals all the way, especially on techy trails, I like that feeling I get being planted in while sending over gnarly rough sections. Hardtail ftw👍🏻👍🏻

[Melonator]

Flat pedals for me all the way. I mainly ride jumps and smoother trails. Even on the rough stuff flats give me all the security i need

[crabtrap]

for chain slap: use quality 550paracord. Hot glue ends and wrap the chain stay in area of likely chain strike. Much lighter the other options and durable, 100's of color choices

[michaelsernst]

Love the hardtail content.... keep it coming.

[THEBLACKANARCHIST]

26 ain't dead I'm upgrading my hard tail

[kevinw]

Agree with you on clips - be one with the hardtail!!

[MrKeefy]

Flat pedals since its what I'm used to and did a lot of BMX in my younger years

[renenavarro]

Best thing I've done with my scout is convert it to single speed. It's so light and zippy. Love it

[stevenreyes]

The best thing, aside from the 1000 watt motor, has to be the PNW suspension / dropper post. And it does not pogo. The rebound is unnoticeable...

[richardburns]

Always flats off-road, I don't want clipping in! Id be straight over, straight over! Best flats? For me, DMR Brendog signature, I've got them on the Scott and Yeti.

[gerthinatorgaming]

Just about to start upgrading my old DDG COMBAT ISSUE hardtail. So much to sort out 😂😂

[LjTactical]

I got back into biking after a few years as it is something I can do with my kids. I got myself a Vitus sentier VR and its epic, went tubeless, changed my brakes and put some clipless.pedals on her and I am away!

[anthonygordon]

Nice hacks... we need a vid with Blake's yellow scout specs. Love that bike

[dylan-]

That yellow scout looks so good. I mainly ride my FS these days but I'm always tempted to take my hardtail out.

[lemmontree]

I like to move my feet a lot on the pedal. Good shoes will stick in any direction, but clipless only offers one position, too limiting.