Hardtail Vs. Full Suspension MTB for $1000/£1000 | What’s The Best Budget Mountain Bike?

This video contains product placement from Freewheel. If you have £1000, which bike do you go for- a hardtail or a full suspension bike?

Previous logic has suggested that hardtails at this price point are the best option, as, with less moving parts, more money can be spent on higher spec on the rest of the bike.

However, over the last few years, budget full suspension bikes have improved to the extent that spending £1000 or dollars unlocks impressive performance.

To answer this question, we have got two budget mountains bikes from Boardman and are comparing them head to head to see which one is better.

The Boardman MHT 8.9 is a capable hardtail with a Rockshox Reba fork up front. It is going up against the Boardman 8.6 full suspension mountain bike, which comes with a Suntour front fork and a RockShox rear shock.

What do you think? Are you more interested in a better spec on a hardtail? Let us know in the comments!

Contents:
00:00 Intro
01:37 Intro to both bikes
02:48 Frame and Geometry
05:56 Kit
08:45 Ride feel
11:17 Conclusion

Watch our Mountain Bike of the Year Videos:

If you want to look as rad as Alex, here are the links to what he's wearing:

Shorts
Shoes
Helmet
Glasses
Knee Pads
Jersey

Listen to the BikeRadar Podcast

Follow BikeRadar on our social media channels:

BikeRadar is supported by Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus Magazine –For more information and to subscribe please visit

For more content like this see our latest subscription offer –

#BudgetMountainBike #Fullsus #hardtailmtb

[bikeradar]

What do you think? Are you more interested in a better spec on a hardtail? Or does the 8.6 look good to you? Let us know in the comments!

[chairmanmeow]

The used market is mental at the minute. You could get something pretty special that's a few years old for a grand.

[GeorgeFrideric]

The Bossnut isn't available anymore but Polygon made the frame and they use it for their own branded Siskiu bike. That's one of the few to come close to the MTR for this sort of money.

[Simte]

Great video. I find hardtails better to work with, yeah, there are things you might not want to do during a descent but picking good lines or managing technical trails works the same. I send it with no worries in the gnarliest of roads.

[roberttravers]

i have the boardman mtr 8.8 and i really cant fault it. Excellent bike.

[fatimapina]

I'm honestly impressed by the amount of time and effort that you put into these videos, Keep it up as always!!💜

[danielmateusz]

That hardtail looks nice the other silver bike looks heavy.Was looking after him full sus but i bought Siskiu D7 video as always!

[stevesnailfish]

I've got 3 Boardmans....CX Comp (2014), Team 29er hardtail (2016) and an ADV 8.9 gravel bike (2018) and they're all bloody good for the money. All of these, however, are like Trigger's broom now as pretty much all the bikes (apart from the frame, forks and headsets) have been upgraded/ changed as parts wear out....Even on older models the welds are smooth and they look cool all on a 1x
As for these bikes tested, it'd be the hardtail for me components and 1x12, although Deore is very good indeed and 10 speeds are decent....and most of the trails around here (Peterborough UK) is hardtail/ gravel bike
As for a full susser, I use a Calibre (shame about the popular Bossnut) Triple B (2020), which has slacker angles than the old Team 29er I'm running and is more comfy but way does the gnarlier/ rough local trails way easier than the 29er and gravel bikes....

[markbailey-hmcu]

I have the 8.6 and really love it, great review.

[olivera]

I got the mht 8.9 ages ago and love it. Weak points are rear hub isn't serviceable so needs changing at service time also the frame mounts for the gear cable outer don't have good tolerances so causes poor shifting but easily fixed by drilling them out and running an outer all the way from shifter to rear mech. Other than that it's a fab bike

[wasky]

I have that boardman hardtail. overall I'm happy with it for the low price but I wish I got the medium rather than the large for tighter turns and I wish the hardest gear was harder.

[drewsmith]

I got the new 8.6.... Two-month-old and fly/s down hill, go's up easy as well

[walken]

In this comparison I would say it was more question of geometry, probably would’ve been more interesting to compare the full suspension bike with the Canyon Stoic 2 or the Marin st Quentin 1

[JoeJoe-C]

I would choose... the bossnut! Disagree on brakes though I'd take the tektro over sram level every time

[fcktherich]

Am I crazy or does that ht look pretty old school with the high top tube and steep head angle?

[zedddddful]

I bought a voodoo bizango pro it's great for the cash shimano hubs, thru axles front and rear, modern geometry full 1x12 speed shimano plus decent enough brakes well happy with mine until i save up for a good full sus.

[todormladenov]

Very, nice video, I own MHT 8.9, and I can’t find out what is the biggest chain ring I can put on it.
Any idea?

[scottlstone]

It’s not really comparing like for like. Looks as if you tested an xc bike on a trail against a trail bike?

[brendonnoble]

Fantastic value for money. Can these be bought in Spain?

[michaelpegasiou]

When did someone start using cockpit as a descriptive word, sounds odd on an open bike.