They are just more engaging on the trails. I love it, when it gets chunky until you have baby head seized rocks, to be honest 🤪 everything smaller and I am within my comfort zone and I do Enduro riding 💪🏾
Gents please will you recognise everyone is different and has different needs! So will you please stop trying to guide us down the full sus option! I'm 62 and have been riding mountain bikes for over 30 years! Whilst I'd love to do some of the things I used to do I know now if I fall off my body breaks far easier and takes longer to mend! Hence my riding style in now more sedate! Also I want to use my bike to ride into the mountains with panniers so I can go wild camping so I think a HT is more suitable? Please accept that some of us just want/need a HT and give us some focused advice and support about HT's without spending time trying to persuade us to get a full sus! Can we have some reviews on HT's without telling us how we will be missing out by not having a sus!!! Otherwise love everything you are doing 👍 thanks Paul
Protection from the whims of the changing standards bike industry. And, remember that in these tough economic times people may not have the money to properly service their suspension components. Hard tails are just basic fun. If you can’t ride and have fun on a hard tail then you won’t have fun on a full squish. Except for the dudes just showing off their money.
Yes same, I am moving from Trek Fuel EX 6 suspension bike to Trek Powerfly 4. Because I'm alot older now, it's going to be more touring now rather than ripping through hard core trails.
@@guy3555 test ride both hardtail and fs, bought the fs . A bit more comfortable, got it on sale,saved 1000$...both are bloody sweet rides. Laugh every time the motor kicks in.
I hired a hardtail at dalby forest and after doing 30 miles of trails I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. I then hired a full suss the next month and did 30 miles and didn't even feel like I'd been on a bike. I now own a full suss focus sam2 6.8 and love it 👍
I always found hardtails much more fun, raw and offers more of an adrenaline rush for me, but a full sus was nice to get your breath back on the rough surfaces
I used to ride fullies exclusively simply because I was used to them from always having had one since my early teenage years (thanks, parents). And that extra capability encouraged me to explore progressively rougher terrain and challenging trails over the years. But then I moved to a flatter part of the country and my riding changed from up and down to distance, and my first 29er endurance hardtail simply rode better on those hours long marathon rides exploring my surroundings. I ultimately found that my hardtail can get me through occasional rough rocky/rooty patches and downhill well enough but rides especially well on nice roads and trails. So, lifting my bum off the saddle over big roots and kerbs has become second nature 😁
We have Ecotric e-bikes with hub drives. They also have throttles. They are rigid frame. My husband can no longer walk without a cane and that is difficult. Have you done a video on the benefits of e-bikes for the disabled? It's given him a way to get outdoors. He can no longer hike. E-bikes had given him a reason to still enjoy life.
I bought a new Spez Tero 4.0 November 21 for riding trails in the Surrey Hills. Been riding MTBs since early 90s, both full suss & hardtail but this was my first EMTB. I was very pleased with it, but soon found that the extra weight on the supplied 2.35 tires was quite uncomfortable. I changed to 2.6 and this helped. However, I found the more I rode it, the faster I became, the further I went & I started to tackle more tricky trails. After only a few months I realised that as much I loved the Tero 4.0, it was not suitable for what I was doing. Thankfully due to lack of new bikes available I was able to sell it on for only a small loss. I replaced it with a new 2022 Mondraker Chaser R with the latest Bosch 750 battery and I love it. This is so much the bike I should have bought in the first place. It’s perfect for what I do. The only upgrade it required was DHF & DHR tires as the supplied Recons didn’t have enough grip for where I ride in the UK. In short, the HT was brilliant and I loved it but it was not suitable for where I was riding. This can be said for non e-powered bikes to, but due to extra weight of the ebikes the lack of rear suspension is felt more so.
I have the Orbea Urrun. Soooo fun. Also, my thought was without that rear suspension in frame, that's a great space to fit a bike bag and make this an epic bikecamping rig. I have yet to try it on a spicy blue or an easier diamond.. But, I plan to.
@@patrick.771 Hi yes, it fits my needs well, I don't need full suspension for the trails I ride with it. Although I did bend the back rim, it needs to be trued. So maybe I do need FS? lol. Nah, it's fun.
Full suspension bikes can do everything that the hardtail can do, AND then some. Many riders who buy hardtail bikes don't buy them over full suspension ones. They buy hardtail bikes due to budget limitations.
Love, love, LOVE my hardtail EMTB. It does everything and goes everywhere. I love hill climbs and jumps on it. Not quite as fun as motocross but way less expensive.
definitely, cycle to work scheme ftw, if you have a capped limit and cant order a full sus on it. Personally looking to do this for the commute and then the lad can ride it at the weekend whilst i am on the full sus.
First EMTB this summer, purchased the CUBE Reaction Hybrid Pro 625 hardtail, fantastic bike with great components and the 85Nm Bosch motor. More than capable for the terrain I cover (single track, bridle, rutted woods) and I can go a good distance without feeling knocked about. BUT I’m now sitting here recovering from back surgery (not bike related) and I’m 61. So I’m not going to be throwing it around, but maybe a bit of buyers remorse is setting in. Should I have gone £1k above budget and got the full suspension with dropper post? I reckon the PNW Coast dropper+suspension post maybe a solution, otherwise a trade-in?
I think I've trumped the hardtail ebike world and purchased a kingsong S18 EUC electric unicycle, it has suspension, no need to lock up and leave, it has a trolley handle to wheel around shops etc, take it on the bus, train no worries and with a 50 mile radius, it's still an electric powered cycle too, just a unicycle.
I'm a BMX guy first and foremost. I've never gotten along with full suspension because of that. 29 is almost as bad after giving that a try for a while. I'm hoping to drop down to 27.5 in the spring time to see how I get on with that.
I don't own an E-MTB but when i do buy one it is going to be a Hardtail (Can't stand full sussers) not my thing, always had Hardtails, had one full susser but got rid of it. I also have more fun on Hardtails. So for me Yeah an E-MTB hardtail is preffered
Got a full suspension first then bought a Specialized hard tail for daily riding and to carry my drone and camera gear down paved trails to dirt for photography. Great suggestions/video, thanks! 😁
Well hardtails are more fun when you have good riding skills. I found riding on a full sus I got lazy/less active on the bike. Steve switched from all time fully bike to a rigid bike, sure he got rattled. Hardtail riding takes getting used to but once mastered the whole feedback and experience is so much more rewarding. But I also understand it's personal, we live in an increasing “less afford” society so I get the choice of a full sus.
Hard tail Tero 5.0 for some smaller reasons but one giant reason. I want to ride it everywhere, including adventures on road. The only e-mountain bike I know of that is able to go 28mph assisted is the Tero. This is a factory option to have it upgraded. For road rides being able to squeak a bit more than 20mph is a little bit more important than full squish. Price was also slightly a factor, other bikes can be had near the same price. That said, I absolutely do not regret it. The 2.35 tires will be swapped to 2.6 mainly to cut the chatter in the rear, the fork is already upgraded to a Yari 120mm, it’s a great weekend adventure bike. I have a stumpy for the harsh stuff but honestly I don’t even need that much most of the time. Most anything I regularly ride is more flow and loose rock which is fine on a hard tail. Next morning I can be out touring the countryside or bombing to my favorite breakfast stop, it’s great.
I own hardtail EMTB, Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro. I always had a hardtail, wasn't riding that much but always in the forest. When I started taking my daughter to kindergarten which is a bit further daily I decided to buy EMTB. I actually haven't even considered a full suspension. Once I started riding on EMTB, mostly commuting but also through forest trails I like it more and more. I also tried the pump track I discovered nearby and small jumps and now when I'm watching more and more of your videos I'm thinking if I haven't made a mistake. I haven't tried a proper trial so far but plan to do it in spring. I hope that for my occasional trail riding it will suffice. And if I fall in love with it and have time to ride more on trails then I'll probably go switch to full suspension.
Bought a e-hardtail 4 months ago. Got around 1500 km on it right now and i love it. Drove a full sus last weak and it was a bit boring with my ride style. So i love it even more now. ❤
Hardtail with suspension seat post gives the best of both worlds without the added cost and complication of full suspension. I have a Felt Doctrine with Suntour NCX post, can't beat it.
I don’t own a hard tail myself but have a brother that loves his. He also has a full sus but where he is riding dictates what he rides. He uses the hard tail a lot on the Malvern Hills and similar places and the full sus on more ‘rowdy’ trails. That said a persons budget will certainly play a part in what they buy.
I already had two electric bikes but I wanted a mountain bike so I bought a second hand gary fisher mountain bike a 750w mid-drive motor and used a 48v 15.5 spare battery and built a DIY electric mountain bike all in for £700 and its still going strong and its a hard tail and I don't ride the really narly trails but i would like to buy a full suspension bike in the future 👌
Ive just got myself the Superior EXC 7019 B E-Bike(HARDTAIL) with the BOSCH active line plus motor, its just complete quality never owned a bike like it made life easier and i get out even more just because haha off-road IS AMAZINGGGG. Also perfect for a trailer attachment to take my daughters too school and back.
For those of us lucky enough to ride velvety smooth ,groomed snow trails in the Winter , a hard tail fat bike, such as the Norco Big foot vlt , is a dream bike! A rear shock isn’t necessary for that style of riding. The Swedes and Norwegians are all over it! ⚡️❄️⚡️check it out.
I went full fat full suspension cause I ride Vermont double black tech trails. Wife went mid motor hard tail cause she’s into Vermont gravel to two track fire/sugaring trails. Specialized Turbo Levo for me, Liv Tempt3 E+ for her (she especially loves the auto assist of the Giant/Yamaha motor)
I went hardtail because I HATE riding a full sus bike. Its just so uncomfortable always bouncing on a full sus, plus I use my arms and legs to absorb bumps out of habit already so what do I need the extra parts for
Guys there is a huge market out there for Hardtail emtb's. We are not a nation of good amateur or ex professional riders, so a do it all emtb without the expense and maintenance hassle of a full suspension is perfect. Most of us are not going to be chucking it down the kind of trails and tracks you guys do in the way that you do it, so we have no need for rear suspension. The reality is outside of the bubble you live in not many people have a spare cash sitting in the bank let alone the cost of a decent full sus emtb 4-10k. The more you keep being negative about Hardtails the more you are excluding potentially new cyclists to mountain biking and Emtb's.
"Back in the day, if you could enjoy riding a steel-frame bike with no suspension and no motor, then you can have an even better time on a modern electric mountain bike (eMTB), whether it's a hardtail or full-suspension model.
I've been down Snowdon on a hardtail - carried it up though! And it was quite a good one, not a £450 job. For me (apart from that Snowdon trip) I like hardtail because I have kids. Hardtail gives me just a nice little bit of fear and adrenaline without riding blacks or road gaps and stuff. I don't need to put myself at risk to have fun. So effectively I ride it because of its limitations, not despite them
I do not ride very technical trails with roots and rocks, so HT is all I need. One might argue that gravel bike would be enough for me in that sense... Ride on some rougher roads would be smoother on higher speed on fully, but for the price difference, I rather have bigger battery and better gear on the bike...
I ride my Levo with locked f/r sus when on the road or bike paths etc but full sus all the way off road - I’ve got a non elec hard tail 29 and a rigid fat bike as well but suspension wins for my local
Quicker to clean in the winter! I got a cube reaction hybrid pro 2years ago. Started off with 100mm coil on front. Year later went 130mm air. 6months after went 150mm. Put grippy tyres on it, great bike. And 2.5 grand cheaper than a full suspension! Run the back tyre at 15psi and u have a tiny bit of rear suspension 😁😁😁
Price is only advantage. You will always be disappointed with the hardtail feel. Despite the high cost of living it remains popular. Don't piss around just buy the best for maximum fun and pleasure and turn yourself into a gleeful kid again. E=Mtb²
Speak for yourself mate. Have done 3000 km now on my Cube Reaction Hybrid hardtail (with lots of proper big mountain riding) and am still loving it. Only cost £1800 new in 2020, spent a few hundred upgrading the forks and adding a dropper. An equivalent full suss would be £4000+. Yes, will concede that a full suss is better, but that doesn't mean you will be disappointed with a great hardtail. As has been said many times, hardtail can handle anything, just need a bit more riding skill.
@@jonm7272 Glad to hear you are loving your hardtail. For the money you have spent it sounds like a good thing. My point is that when you buy your next emtb if you have more money available dual suspension will make riding more comfortable in all situations. Also try a set of Fox 38 forks 🍴for stability and to make it even easier on your body. If you eventually upgrade you want everything to feel better . Cheers E=Mtb²
@@robhaskins3068 Thanks Rob. It's good advice, but actually I'm lucky enough that I could afford one if I wanted, but I prefer to spread my money out a bit more. I have a carbon xc bike, a full suss trail bike and the hardtail emtb. I'd rather have more specific bikes for different types of riding than one do it all bike. The carbon xc bike is amazing for big mountain hike a bike, nice and easy to carry. The full suss for trail centre and bike park reds and blacks. The emtb hardtail does just general exploring in the hills, which it is amazing for. All three together probably cost less than a half tidy full suss emtb.
@@jonm7272 Yes it's nice to have several bikes to enjoy. If I could only have one of my bikes it probably would be the new lightweight Trek Fuel EXe 9.7 as it is so versatile ,quiet and great to ride without the motor On. I find 50 Nm is way enough if you mainly ride alone .
A good hardtail is better than a cheap full sus. Plain and simple. For the same price point, that’s what you’re choosing. Cycle to Work schemes increasingly allow that £2.5-3k budget where you can pick up a fairly decent hardtail but can’t afford a decent full sus. And for commuting during the week but doing some reasonable trails at the weekend - you’re going to struggle on the big blacks but are you going to smash those on the bike you need to get to work on monday? Hardtails are a go between that most people fall into - ride around during the week, do some trails, some longer rides down some country roads/paths, but most people aren’t flying all weekend. I’d look for the best motor/groupset available for the budget then worry about the rear suspension afterwards.
I've just ordered a Orbea Urrun over the Rise. My rationale was that since I'm getting on a bit now I'm less likely to be doing the black trails and more gnarly routes that I did previously so less incentive to spend the extra £1300 on the full bounce. Plus I've always ridden hardtails anyway so well aware of their pros and cons. Can't wait for it to show up now 😊
@@patrick.771 Yes. Lower spec all round than the Rise but perfectly decent kit that can be upgraded as and when necessary... and I don't feel at too much of a disadvantage when I'm out with my bouncy chums. I'd say the benefits I see on the road, canal paths, etc outweigh a bit of bone rattling on the rough stuff.
I went full suspension on my latest eMTB due to the fact I had experience on an e-Gravel bike. Waited and spent a bit more for that EMTB just for that full range motion. The EMTB is actually my wife's as I still ride a regular MTB full sus but I did go from hardtail to the current MTB. Great video guys. Love the comparisons.
My first e-MTB was a 2019 Giant Fathom E+3 hardtail. Five years later the bike still puts a massive smile on my face as well as giving me an introduction and broad education into the world of pedal assisted electric mountain bikes. Not all of us have a tonne of money to jump straight onto a e-full suss and the notion that a well setup hardtail isn’t capable of dealing with difficult gnarly terrain simply isn’t true (and this is coming from a 60 year old man with a dodgy knee and sciatica). I would even suggest that for a vast majority of amateur e-mountain bikers and the vast majority of rides those riders tackle, an e-MTB HT is the perfect bike to be on compared to that of a full suss which would be overkill but that’s just my humble opinion. It’s like buying a Toyota Land Cruiser and then only using it to do the shopping commute when a Suzuki Jimmy would suffice.
I'm moving from FS to Hardtail now, purely down to the type of riding I will be doing now. No longer cycling down hardcore trails, just riding forest tracks and gravel so no need for FS anymore.
Hardtails can do everything full-suspension can, at much less the price. And you get more pedaling/fun, than constantly adjusting a full-suspension. And there is the cost, which reviews so eloquently ignore. A shock can easily cost over $500. Full-suspension, typical has pricey components...another drawback. If you're gonna purchase a FS-rig, make sure(on a fixed income), ya can afford the maintenance costs. Like my FS e-bike, it's been in the storage shed for over a year. The problem: The company voided the warranty of replacing the motor.
Great convo guys ,im having this dilemma ATM being in the 2k to 3k price range considering weather to go entry level full suspension or decent hard tail. But i think you've hit the nail on the head with the e bikes being a different ride to a noramal bike. Ive never had a e bike before but i think i would be more adventurous on one. So thanks for the tip 👍
Im 62 and just purchased a Trek Powerfly. 5 I've been riding MTB for over 30 years and regularly headed into the Peak District for the more extreme trails and down hills I still have my Proflex856 & 857full sus bikes in the garage. Now I stick to local trail riding for the health fitness benefits and feel for the type if riding im doing Full Suspension is over kill plus its extra maintenance with the pivots and shocks.When I was thinking of buying an ebike It was a toss up between eMTB or titanium framed eGravel bike which are full rigid . If I could have found a good quality rigid EMTB I think I would have chosen ridgid. I have fond memories of my first MTB a 2nd hand USA made Marin Rockyridge.
I spent the first 43 years of my mountain bike riding on hard tails. Actually the first 30 years were on completely rigid bikes. Sure,I like the new suspension bikes, but nobody really NEEDs one .
What I'm hearing is if you need a full rack mounted on the back of the bike, that is basically the ONLY reason to choose a hardtail emtb over a full suspension emtb. This was my opinion prior to this video. Thank you for the confirmation bias. 🤣
Its budget to get hardtail over fs i love hardtails im in Australia 🇦🇺 test road powrrfly 4 before covid. But now loosing drivers licence. They r on special so going a trek rail 5 gen 3 fs .1500 more but be worth it as i had a car accident and fs be alot nicer test ride again when they get a med frames in
I have a Husqvarna MCLE. Do you know of any software or recommendations to help tune. I don’t believe there’s any tuning available on the bike at the moment from the factory.? Thanks for any help
As much as I hate to admit it, I got beat up on my hardtail URRUN 10 on blue trails. It’s fun and I can ride way longer than normal, but wish I had full squish.
I had a Trek Rail 5 and it was great but I’m a bit older now and a proper trail bike allows me to put myself in a bit of danger. I now have an Orbea Kemen SUV and I don’t dare take that down technical single track. It’s a good all around bike that I can now ride with my wife. Added a Brooks B67 spung saddle and it ride great over bumpy forest roads.
Can you get a touring road tread tyre for these hard tail emtb's? The bike I am looking at has 29" wheels with 2.6inch wide tyres fitted as standard, but I want to use it for work commuting mostly. I cannot see any type of tyre except knobbly ones so far in my search. Something like the Schwalbe Big Ben type of tread would be ideal, less rolling resistance.
A discussion from two owners of full suss bikes? I live on Salisbury Plain. Miles upon miles of chalk tracks, some hilly, some very steep. Not much technical single track though. Ive no wish to go to a bike park as I want to use my bike from my back door. I bought a Cube hybrid reaction race, seems to do all I want at the pace I ride at.
to do bike courrier in montreal canada all years round and still do stare sets drops and use snow bank as table tops. i m also big on enduro dh and trail so i d like to have fun while i work. fat for courrier i think to much tyre drag and not anuff suspention or else i go for a city bike
Is it possible to bunnyhop a hardtail emtb on flat ground (e.g up a curb)? Given its weight I would think that you'd definitely need a rear suspension to assist with getting some air from flat.
My own route has been fairly atypical. Started with no-suspension city bike from Kalkhoff for rides in the hilly city of SF and the Bay Area, shared with my wife. Kalkhoff originally went with a proprietary motor design that the hills of San Francisco absolutely brutalized. The clutch or gearing in that motor burned out 4, maybe 5 times in a year. That prompted a considerable upgrade to a Riese & Muller Homage GT Nuvinci. After years of bike truck service (using a Surly Ted), I built a new, DIY, AWD, dual battery bike truck and the R&M was retired to family rides on increasingly hilly fire roads, so I upgraded it from the tired old Nuvinci to a SRAM GX Eagle 10-52 lunar drivetrain (had to build a new rear wheel), changed the tires to Johhny Watts 365 front and Hurricane rear, and had added a PNW dropper a few years back for descending 29% graded streets in SF. It came stock with a Fox 34 front fork and rear lockout remote. So it was essentially at this point a full e-mtb, albeit for lighter riding and of course very heavy at 68 lbs. (a heavy light e-mtb? lol). Tried that out on numerous XC-style rides with a smattering of enduro and downhill features that are common in this neck of the woods. The full suspension on our old R&M is great, if a little low travel at times. But a 68 pound bike is very difficult to learn mtb skills on for the first time, like wheel lifts, pivot turns, bunny hops, et cetera. I'm accustomed to nice load-outs now, but not having the skills to ride it to its full potential, did not want to spend another $6-15k USD on a full-sus e-mtb. So I bought 2 bikes: a $398 Walmart special, the Ozark Trail, purely as a session/clinic bike and a Ride1Up Prodigy XC for $2,500 and an extra battery ($500). I probably spent another $1,000 on upgrading components (still in progress), and had some other components lying around. So all in, about $4k. Yes, I could get a lower-end full-sus e-mtb for that, just barely, but I don't want minspec components, which brings me back to the $6k+ range (either upgrading a $4k bike or just buying a nicer bike). For a bit over half that, I have a hardtail, class 3 e-mtb (technically illegal, but there is no enforcement here anyway and it's largely a moot issue on hilly trail rides) with a Brose TF Sprinter that weighs 22.7 kg and can destroy hills with an e*thirteen 12-speed 9-52T cassette and SRAM GX Eagle derailleur and shifter, and on city streets hit 28 MPH, something a $10k class 1 e-mtb cannot do. Once I learn the skills on the Ozark and the Ride1Up to deserve a $6k+ full-sus e-mtb, I will buy one in the future. I'm a monkeywrench who likes building and working on his own bikes, so having another bike or two in the stable doesn't bother me. I took the Ride1Up on an inaugural ride in Marin headlands last weekend. Just by virtue of it weighing 18 pounds less than the R&M, I'm already doing self-taught wheel lifts. The ride is indeed a bit rough, but I'm not ready for truly downhill, flowy, hard tech terrain rides yet anyway, and I have to say, even with the stock componentry, the bike absolutely rips on flats and downhill sections and is just overall a blast to ride. Can't wait to get the e*thirteen/SRAM on there and see what she can do. By the time I feel I have the skills down for more technical riding in a few years, I'll be starting to ride more technical stuff anyway so the switch to a full-sus e-mtb should be fairly organic, if you will, and having ridden in 'hard-mode' to learn, should be that much more of a blast to ride. Not to mention e-mtb's will be even more amazing in a few years than they are today. Not the same choice everyone would make, but it works for my situation.
Hardtail Fatbike for me. [Fantic FatSport] Where I live I ride in snow, rocks, roots, mud, and a wide range of temps. I have a 29er full squish non-ebike and it collects dust. When I bought a hard tail fatty [Growler] I fell in love. Now my new fat e-bike just opens up more riding possibilities for me.
Lets be realistic. The ONLY reason to own a hard tail is the factor or price. If you cant afford dual, then go hard tail. Otherwise there is absolutely no real disadvantage to having dual.
I don't have an e-mountain bike. I'm watching to learn more and avoid mistakes if/when I give it a go. I think the monopoly quote you are searching for is unfortunate in this case because I think it is "go directly to jail, do not pass go". The opposite of what you meant! Great video though, keep it up.
Do you own a hardtail EMTB? If so, what made you decide to go hardtail? Let us know down below! 👇
a easy rack for bags is a HUGE piont for a hardtail! love your chanel!
less maintenance and less cleaning. i dont want to have to clean my bike after every ride.
They are just more engaging on the trails. I love it, when it gets chunky until you have baby head seized rocks, to be honest 🤪 everything smaller and I am within my comfort zone and I do Enduro riding 💪🏾
Gents please will you recognise everyone is different and has different needs! So will you please stop trying to guide us down the full sus option!
I'm 62 and have been riding mountain bikes for over 30 years!
Whilst I'd love to do some of the things I used to do I know now if I fall off my body breaks far easier and takes longer to mend! Hence my riding style in now more sedate! Also I want to use my bike to ride into the mountains with panniers so I can go wild camping so I think a HT is more suitable?
Please accept that some of us just want/need a HT and give us some focused advice and support about HT's without spending time trying to persuade us to get a full sus!
Can we have some reviews on HT's without telling us how we will be missing out by not having a sus!!!
Otherwise love everything you are doing 👍 thanks
Paul
The price
It's mostly cost... Good Full sus is £4500. Good hardtail £2200.
Not everyone is rich
This
The need to house oneself and eat a few meals seems lost on these guys.
Exactly
Protection from the whims of the changing standards bike industry. And, remember that in these tough economic times people may not have the money to properly service their suspension components. Hard tails are just basic fun. If you can’t ride and have fun on a hard tail then you won’t have fun on a full squish. Except for the dudes just showing off their money.
If you have a full sus e-bike in the city, its 10x more likely to get stolen.
Yeah I leave mine locked up all the time up the city. Decent lock though litelock gold and don't leave it too long. Sure people wanna knick it
I am going from full suspension trek rail 5 to trek powerfly 4. I had both and now there is just one. The hard tail is my choice 💯
Lookin at power fly
@@turbod15 I love my powerfly 4. Awesome bike
Yes same, I am moving from Trek Fuel EX 6 suspension bike to Trek Powerfly 4. Because I'm alot older now, it's going to be more touring now rather than ripping through hard core trails.
@guy3555 I'm doing less trail and more dirt roads. No need for a full suspension anymore
@@guy3555 test ride both hardtail and fs, bought the fs . A bit more comfortable, got it on sale,saved 1000$...both are bloody sweet rides. Laugh every time the motor kicks in.
I hired a hardtail at dalby forest and after doing 30 miles of trails I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. I then hired a full suss the next month and did 30 miles and didn't even feel like I'd been on a bike. I now own a full suss focus sam2 6.8 and love it 👍
Weight, Maintenance, less moving parts. Nicer to drive on flat surfaces. Love my hardtail.
Great points there Steve! 🤘
Not nicer to ride on flat surfaces with an emtb
But you know you can lock out the shock right?
I always found hardtails much more fun, raw and offers more of an adrenaline rush for me, but a full sus was nice to get your breath back on the rough surfaces
So agree!
Get a regular hardtail and add a CYC or Bafang motor... cheaper and more power.
I used to ride fullies exclusively simply because I was used to them from always having had one since my early teenage years (thanks, parents). And that extra capability encouraged me to explore progressively rougher terrain and challenging trails over the years. But then I moved to a flatter part of the country and my riding changed from up and down to distance, and my first 29er endurance hardtail simply rode better on those hours long marathon rides exploring my surroundings. I ultimately found that my hardtail can get me through occasional rough rocky/rooty patches and downhill well enough but rides especially well on nice roads and trails. So, lifting my bum off the saddle over big roots and kerbs has become second nature 😁
We have Ecotric e-bikes with hub drives. They also have throttles. They are rigid frame. My husband can no longer walk without a cane and that is difficult. Have you done a video on the benefits of e-bikes for the disabled? It's given him a way to get outdoors. He can no longer hike. E-bikes had given him a reason to still enjoy life.
what does this have to do with hardtails being worth buying?
@@mikec4308 - Oh, did she upset you. Poor baby!
bushings or knees which do you like replacing more?
🤣
I bought a new Spez Tero 4.0 November 21 for riding trails in the Surrey Hills. Been riding MTBs since early 90s, both full suss & hardtail but this was my first EMTB. I was very pleased with it, but soon found that the extra weight on the supplied 2.35 tires was quite uncomfortable. I changed to 2.6 and this helped. However, I found the more I rode it, the faster I became, the further I went & I started to tackle more tricky trails. After only a few months I realised that as much I loved the Tero 4.0, it was not suitable for what I was doing. Thankfully due to lack of new bikes available I was able to sell it on for only a small loss. I replaced it with a new 2022 Mondraker Chaser R with the latest Bosch 750 battery and I love it. This is so much the bike I should have bought in the first place. It’s perfect for what I do. The only upgrade it required was DHF & DHR tires as the supplied Recons didn’t have enough grip for where I ride in the UK.
In short, the HT was brilliant and I loved it but it was not suitable for where I was riding.
This can be said for non e-powered bikes to, but due to extra weight of the ebikes the lack of rear suspension is felt more so.
as im getting close to 60 im not so confident on the rough stuff anymore and also enjoy hiker biking so my next e bike will definately be a e hardtail
I have the Orbea Urrun. Soooo fun. Also, my thought was without that rear suspension in frame, that's a great space to fit a bike bag and make this an epic bikecamping rig. I have yet to try it on a spicy blue or an easier diamond.. But, I plan to.
are you still happy with your Urrun? :)
@@patrick.771 Hi yes, it fits my needs well, I don't need full suspension for the trails I ride with it. Although I did bend the back rim, it needs to be trued. So maybe I do need FS? lol. Nah, it's fun.
Full suspension bikes can do everything that the hardtail can do, AND then some. Many riders who buy hardtail bikes don't buy them over full suspension ones. They buy hardtail bikes due to budget limitations.
Very true! Hardtails still make for a great mountain bike, but the cheaper price point makes them more desirable. 👍
Some also simply like Hardtails regardless of the budget limitation. See hardtail party
Love, love, LOVE my hardtail EMTB. It does everything and goes everywhere. I love hill climbs and jumps on it. Not quite as fun as motocross but way less expensive.
That is awesome to hear! 🙌
What are you riding?
@@eXaviar Liv Cycling Tempt E+
@@RedSonya4 nice bike 👍🏾 to be honest, I hoped to find something roudy 😅 so not my cup of tea, but does not make your bike any bad!
@@eXaviar lol it’s a bike built for a woman’s body, probably not a good fit for you!
I’ve owned a cube reaction hybrid hardtail for a year and it’s feckin awesome for my local rides.
Had my giant hardtail for 4years and done 6500 miles, love it
Had my hardtail (and fork) Ribble for one summer, put 8,600 miles on it. Oh, it's a gravel bike. You need to ride more.
@@billskolnik4908 some people have lives
definitely, cycle to work scheme ftw, if you have a capped limit and cant order a full sus on it. Personally looking to do this for the commute and then the lad can ride it at the weekend whilst i am on the full sus.
First EMTB this summer, purchased the CUBE Reaction Hybrid Pro 625 hardtail, fantastic bike with great components and the 85Nm Bosch motor. More than capable for the terrain I cover (single track, bridle, rutted woods) and I can go a good distance without feeling knocked about.
BUT I’m now sitting here recovering from back surgery (not bike related) and I’m 61. So I’m not going to be throwing it around, but maybe a bit of buyers remorse is setting in. Should I have gone £1k above budget and got the full suspension with dropper post? I reckon the PNW Coast dropper+suspension post maybe a solution, otherwise a trade-in?
I think I've trumped the hardtail ebike world and purchased a kingsong S18 EUC electric unicycle, it has suspension, no need to lock up and leave, it has a trolley handle to wheel around shops etc, take it on the bus, train no worries and with a 50 mile radius, it's still an electric powered cycle too, just a unicycle.
I'm a BMX guy first and foremost. I've never gotten along with full suspension because of that. 29 is almost as bad after giving that a try for a while. I'm hoping to drop down to 27.5 in the spring time to see how I get on with that.
Just got a ride 1 up prodigy v2 xr, love it. 27.5 only one frame size though its like a medium-large. But not a bad price, i ride 80% road
I don't own an E-MTB but when i do buy one it is going to be a Hardtail (Can't stand full sussers) not my thing, always had Hardtails, had one full susser but got rid of it. I also have more fun on Hardtails.
So for me Yeah an E-MTB hardtail is preffered
Sounds like you know exactly what suits you, ride on! 💪
When I started mtb in 1984 hardtail is all you had. Ridged Forks is all we had. Once I got used to full squish I will never go back.
It's insane to think about the development of mountain bikes! Going from what you rode in 1984 to now must be a whole world of difference. 😅
Hard tails are bullet proof! Less to go wrong.. been beating on mine for about 15000 km now
Wow, that's a lot of miles! Nice one Brendan! 🤘
Simply cost
Love my cube reaction hybrid race, just added sus seat post just for a bit more comfort 👍
Got a full suspension first then bought a Specialized hard tail for daily riding and to carry my drone and camera gear down paved trails to dirt for photography. Great suggestions/video, thanks! 😁
Price. It's the only answer.
Well hardtails are more fun when you have good riding skills. I found riding on a full sus I got
lazy/less active on the bike. Steve switched from all time fully bike to a rigid bike, sure he got rattled. Hardtail riding takes getting used to but once mastered the whole feedback and experience is so much more rewarding. But I also understand it's personal, we live in an increasing “less afford” society so I get the choice of a full sus.
Have a Giant e+power whith rear wheel quick release, it pulls a
B.O.B Ibex trailer up hills like a tractor.
💪
Hard tail Tero 5.0 for some smaller reasons but one giant reason. I want to ride it everywhere, including adventures on road. The only e-mountain bike I know of that is able to go 28mph assisted is the Tero. This is a factory option to have it upgraded. For road rides being able to squeak a bit more than 20mph is a little bit more important than full squish. Price was also slightly a factor, other bikes can be had near the same price.
That said, I absolutely do not regret it. The 2.35 tires will be swapped to 2.6 mainly to cut the chatter in the rear, the fork is already upgraded to a Yari 120mm, it’s a great weekend adventure bike. I have a stumpy for the harsh stuff but honestly I don’t even need that much most of the time. Most anything I regularly ride is more flow and loose rock which is fine on a hard tail.
Next morning I can be out touring the countryside or bombing to my favorite breakfast stop, it’s great.
I own hardtail EMTB, Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro. I always had a hardtail, wasn't riding that much but always in the forest. When I started taking my daughter to kindergarten which is a bit further daily I decided to buy EMTB. I actually haven't even considered a full suspension. Once I started riding on EMTB, mostly commuting but also through forest trails I like it more and more. I also tried the pump track I discovered nearby and small jumps and now when I'm watching more and more of your videos I'm thinking if I haven't made a mistake. I haven't tried a proper trial so far but plan to do it in spring. I hope that for my occasional trail riding it will suffice. And if I fall in love with it and have time to ride more on trails then I'll probably go switch to full suspension.
Bought a e-hardtail 4 months ago.
Got around 1500 km on it right now and i love it.
Drove a full sus last weak and it was a bit boring with my ride style.
So i love it even more now. ❤
Hardtail with suspension seat post gives the best of both worlds without the added cost and complication of full suspension. I have a Felt Doctrine with Suntour NCX post, can't beat it.
Nah
I don’t own a hard tail myself but have a brother that loves his. He also has a full sus but where he is riding dictates what he rides. He uses the hard tail a lot on the Malvern Hills and similar places and the full sus on more ‘rowdy’ trails. That said a persons budget will certainly play a part in what they buy.
Great thinking there, we totally agree!
I already had two electric bikes but I wanted a mountain bike so I bought a second hand gary fisher mountain bike a 750w mid-drive motor and used a 48v 15.5 spare battery and built a DIY electric mountain bike all in for £700 and its still going strong and its a hard tail and I don't ride the really narly trails but i would like to buy a full suspension bike in the future 👌
Wow, sounds like you got a great deal there Rory! 🎉
Ive just got myself the Superior EXC 7019 B E-Bike(HARDTAIL) with the BOSCH active line plus motor, its just complete quality never owned a bike like it made life easier and i get out even more just because haha off-road IS AMAZINGGGG. Also perfect for a trailer attachment to take my daughters too school and back.
Just got a brand new Scott Aspect 940 with bosch performance line (not cx) and 500wh powertube for $1350, couldn't be happier.
You should go hard tail electric Fat Bike. Those things are beasts on the trails, but you almost never see them.
Yeah, they're far and few between, but they make for an insane hardtail/e-bike combination!
For those of us lucky enough to ride velvety smooth ,groomed snow trails in the Winter , a hard tail fat bike, such as the Norco Big foot vlt , is a dream bike! A rear shock isn’t necessary for that style of riding.
The Swedes and Norwegians are all over it! ⚡️❄️⚡️check it out.
How to avoid back problems when riding a hardtail on trails?
I have a DIY Hardtail Emtb that i use for city commuting.
Nice! What specs did you go for?
I went full fat full suspension cause I ride Vermont double black tech trails. Wife went mid motor hard tail cause she’s into Vermont gravel to two track fire/sugaring trails. Specialized Turbo Levo for me, Liv Tempt3 E+ for her (she especially loves the auto assist of the Giant/Yamaha motor)
That's a brilliant bike you've got there, Paul! It's very suited for the conditions and trails you ride. 👍
I have a rockrider est100 electric mtb and I absolutely love it!! It's an absolute amazing bike for everything!!
I’ve got an analogue hard tail and Emtb full sus. Best of both worlds !
That sounds like a brilliant combo, Will! 👍
Love my whyte e 505 great hardtail handles off road well has the best geo out of all the hardtails availble
Full squish helps my back not shatter into 1000 pieces… but I love how hardtails look. I will stick to full suss though.
Yeah, it's no secret that full-suspension bikes are a bit lighter on your body when out on the trails. 😅
I went hardtail because I HATE riding a full sus bike. Its just so uncomfortable always bouncing on a full sus, plus I use my arms and legs to absorb bumps out of habit already so what do I need the extra parts for
Guys there is a huge market out there for Hardtail emtb's. We are not a nation of good amateur or ex professional riders, so a do it all emtb without the expense and maintenance hassle of a full suspension is perfect.
Most of us are not going to be chucking it down the kind of trails and tracks you guys do in the way that you do it, so we have no need for rear suspension.
The reality is outside of the bubble you live in not many people have a spare cash sitting in the bank let alone the cost of a decent full sus emtb 4-10k. The more you keep being negative about Hardtails the more you are excluding potentially new cyclists to mountain biking and Emtb's.
"Back in the day, if you could enjoy riding a steel-frame bike with no suspension and no motor, then you can have an even better time on a modern electric mountain bike (eMTB), whether it's a hardtail or full-suspension model.
I've been down Snowdon on a hardtail - carried it up though! And it was quite a good one, not a £450 job. For me (apart from that Snowdon trip) I like hardtail because I have kids. Hardtail gives me just a nice little bit of fear and adrenaline without riding blacks or road gaps and stuff. I don't need to put myself at risk to have fun. So effectively I ride it because of its limitations, not despite them
I do not ride very technical trails with roots and rocks, so HT is all I need. One might argue that gravel bike would be enough for me in that sense... Ride on some rougher roads would be smoother on higher speed on fully, but for the price difference, I rather have bigger battery and better gear on the bike...
You Tested my Hardtail Haibike sDuro Hardseven 1.0 on EMBN & Chris seen photo of my Ebike
I ride my Levo with locked f/r sus when on the road or bike paths etc but full sus all the way off road - I’ve got a non elec hard tail 29 and a rigid fat bike as well but suspension wins for my local
Biggest difference for me is that on a hard tail your not fighting your suspension on long distance pedaling.
You guys just won't talk about the Aventon Ramblas will you? Its beneath embn?
Tried a hardtail ebike took it back to the shop and bought a full sus. Comes down to B***y uncomfortable to a joy to ride, Full sus is the way to go
Ouch 🤣
I bought a Powerfly to hold me until my Rail arrived. Had a blast on it and didn’t want to sell it. It was a fun bike.
Have both or as i have bike full sun and analog hardtail
what is the bike in the thumbnail?? please anwser it looks so clean
Getting the Powerfly 5 for my first emtb!
Quicker to clean in the winter!
I got a cube reaction hybrid pro 2years ago. Started off with 100mm coil on front.
Year later went 130mm air.
6months after went 150mm.
Put grippy tyres on it, great bike. And 2.5 grand cheaper than a full suspension!
Run the back tyre at 15psi and u have a tiny bit of rear suspension 😁😁😁
Nice bike, Neil! That's also a great little hack! 😉😅
not worth it
if u have a titanium spine, go hardtail
That Canyon does not have proper fork
Price is only advantage. You will always be disappointed with the hardtail feel. Despite the high cost of living it remains popular. Don't piss around just buy the best for maximum fun and pleasure and turn yourself into a gleeful kid again. E=Mtb²
Speak for yourself mate. Have done 3000 km now on my Cube Reaction Hybrid hardtail (with lots of proper big mountain riding) and am still loving it. Only cost £1800 new in 2020, spent a few hundred upgrading the forks and adding a dropper. An equivalent full suss would be £4000+. Yes, will concede that a full suss is better, but that doesn't mean you will be disappointed with a great hardtail. As has been said many times, hardtail can handle anything, just need a bit more riding skill.
@@jonm7272 Glad to hear you are loving your hardtail. For the money you have spent it sounds like a good thing. My point is that when you buy your next emtb if you have more money available dual suspension will make riding more comfortable in all situations. Also try a set of Fox 38 forks 🍴for stability and to make it even easier on your body. If you eventually upgrade you want everything to feel better . Cheers E=Mtb²
@@robhaskins3068 Thanks Rob. It's good advice, but actually I'm lucky enough that I could afford one if I wanted, but I prefer to spread my money out a bit more. I have a carbon xc bike, a full suss trail bike and the hardtail emtb. I'd rather have more specific bikes for different types of riding than one do it all bike. The carbon xc bike is amazing for big mountain hike a bike, nice and easy to carry. The full suss for trail centre and bike park reds and blacks. The emtb hardtail does just general exploring in the hills, which it is amazing for. All three together probably cost less than a half tidy full suss emtb.
@@jonm7272 Yes it's nice to have several bikes to enjoy. If I could only have one of my bikes it probably would be the new lightweight Trek Fuel EXe 9.7 as it is so versatile ,quiet and great to ride without the motor On. I find 50 Nm is way enough if you mainly ride alone .
Blade 2.0 vs Weapon X?
Hard tail all the way. It’s just as capable as a full susser just less hassle and cost for servicing and cheaper
A good hardtail is better than a cheap full sus. Plain and simple. For the same price point, that’s what you’re choosing.
Cycle to Work schemes increasingly allow that £2.5-3k budget where you can pick up a fairly decent hardtail but can’t afford a decent full sus. And for commuting during the week but doing some reasonable trails at the weekend - you’re going to struggle on the big blacks but are you going to smash those on the bike you need to get to work on monday?
Hardtails are a go between that most people fall into - ride around during the week, do some trails, some longer rides down some country roads/paths, but most people aren’t flying all weekend. I’d look for the best motor/groupset available for the budget then worry about the rear suspension afterwards.
I've just ordered a Orbea Urrun over the Rise. My rationale was that since I'm getting on a bit now I'm less likely to be doing the black trails and more gnarly routes that I did previously so less incentive to spend the extra £1300 on the full bounce. Plus I've always ridden hardtails anyway so well aware of their pros and cons. Can't wait for it to show up now 😊
are you happy with your Orbea Urrun and was it a good idea to buy it instead of the Rise? :)
@@patrick.771 Yes. Lower spec all round than the Rise but perfectly decent kit that can be upgraded as and when necessary... and I don't feel at too much of a disadvantage when I'm out with my bouncy chums. I'd say the benefits I see on the road, canal paths, etc outweigh a bit of bone rattling on the rough stuff.
I went full suspension on my latest eMTB due to the fact I had experience on an e-Gravel bike. Waited and spent a bit more for that EMTB just for that full range motion. The EMTB is actually my wife's as I still ride a regular MTB full sus but I did go from hardtail to the current MTB. Great video guys. Love the comparisons.
Nice one steve, sounds like you've really got things dialled down! 🤘
My first e-MTB was a 2019 Giant Fathom E+3 hardtail. Five years later the bike still puts a massive smile on my face as well as giving me an introduction and broad education into the world of pedal assisted electric mountain bikes. Not all of us have a tonne of money to jump straight onto a e-full suss and the notion that a well setup hardtail isn’t capable of dealing with difficult gnarly terrain simply isn’t true (and this is coming from a 60 year old man with a dodgy knee and sciatica). I would even suggest that for a vast majority of amateur e-mountain bikers and the vast majority of rides those riders tackle, an e-MTB HT is the perfect bike to be on compared to that of a full suss which would be overkill but that’s just my humble opinion. It’s like buying a Toyota Land Cruiser and then only using it to do the shopping commute when a Suzuki Jimmy would suffice.
I'm moving from FS to Hardtail now, purely down to the type of riding I will be doing now. No longer cycling down hardcore trails, just riding forest tracks and gravel so no need for FS anymore.
Hardtails can do everything full-suspension can, at much less the price. And you get more pedaling/fun, than constantly adjusting a full-suspension. And there is the cost, which reviews so eloquently ignore. A shock can easily cost over $500. Full-suspension, typical has pricey components...another drawback. If you're gonna purchase a FS-rig, make sure(on a fixed income), ya can afford the maintenance costs. Like my FS e-bike, it's been in the storage shed for over a year. The problem: The company voided the warranty of replacing the motor.
Great convo guys ,im having this dilemma ATM being in the 2k to 3k price range considering weather to go entry level full suspension or decent hard tail.
But i think you've hit the nail on the head with the e bikes being a different ride to a noramal bike.
Ive never had a e bike before but i think i would be more adventurous on one.
So thanks for the tip 👍
Hardtail are cheeper
You can't get good by staying at home. If you want to get fast, you have to go where the fast guys are.
Hardtails for normal use ? Yep..they can be surprisingly capable. The KTM Macina team 791 is around Euro 4350, great value
Im 62 and just purchased a Trek Powerfly. 5 I've been riding MTB for over 30 years and regularly headed into the Peak District for the more extreme trails and down hills I still have my Proflex856 & 857full sus bikes in the garage. Now I stick to local trail riding for the health fitness benefits and feel for the type if riding im doing Full Suspension is over kill plus its extra maintenance with the pivots and shocks.When I was thinking of buying an ebike It was a toss up between eMTB or titanium framed eGravel bike which are full rigid . If I could have found a good quality rigid EMTB I think I would have chosen ridgid. I have fond memories of my first MTB a 2nd hand USA made Marin Rockyridge.
I spent the first 43 years of my mountain bike riding on hard tails. Actually the first 30 years were on completely rigid bikes. Sure,I like the new suspension bikes, but nobody really NEEDs one .
What I'm hearing is if you need a full rack mounted on the back of the bike, that is basically the ONLY reason to choose a hardtail emtb over a full suspension emtb. This was my opinion prior to this video. Thank you for the confirmation bias. 🤣
Its budget to get hardtail over fs i love hardtails im in Australia 🇦🇺 test road powrrfly 4 before covid. But now loosing drivers licence. They r on special so going a trek rail 5 gen 3 fs .1500 more but be worth it as i had a car accident and fs be alot nicer test ride again when they get a med frames in
I’m too old for a hardtail🥸
Whatever works best for you JD 🙌
I have a Husqvarna MCLE. Do you know of any software or recommendations to help tune. I don’t believe there’s any tuning available on the bike at the moment from the factory.? Thanks for any help
As much as I hate to admit it, I got beat up on my hardtail URRUN 10 on blue trails. It’s fun and I can ride way longer than normal, but wish I had full squish.
Hi I’m 6,9”who manufacture’s a full suspension bike to fit me a currently have a cube reactionhybrid pro xxl frame
If you are a heavy bloke like me …then a hardtail was the right choice. I am just too heavy for rear suspension bikes.
While I don't feel the need of rear sus on my lard bike, I'd go full sus with electric bike.
Perfect timing (11 months later 😂) my exact question… hardtail 1st
I had a Trek Rail 5 and it was great but I’m a bit older now and a proper trail bike allows me to put myself in a bit of danger. I now have an Orbea Kemen SUV and I don’t dare take that down technical single track. It’s a good all around bike that I can now ride with my wife. Added a Brooks B67 spung saddle and it ride great over bumpy forest roads.
Can you get a touring road tread tyre for these hard tail emtb's? The bike I am looking at has 29" wheels with 2.6inch wide tyres fitted as standard, but I want to use it for work commuting mostly. I cannot see any type of tyre except knobbly ones so far in my search. Something like the Schwalbe Big Ben type of tread would be ideal, less rolling resistance.
A discussion from two owners of full suss bikes? I live on Salisbury Plain. Miles upon miles of chalk tracks, some hilly, some very steep. Not much technical single track though. Ive no wish to go to a bike park as I want to use my bike from my back door. I bought a Cube hybrid reaction race, seems to do all I want at the pace I ride at.
to do bike courrier in montreal canada all years round and still do stare sets drops and use snow bank as table tops. i m also big on enduro dh and trail so i d like to have fun while i work. fat for courrier i think to much tyre drag and not anuff suspention or else i go for a city bike
Less weight, no sway whatsoever, feels tighter and more control. I ride a nukeproof
Hardtails.....
like trying to run with a trainer on one foot and a welly that's four sizes too big on the other foot...
Is it possible to bunnyhop a hardtail emtb on flat ground (e.g up a curb)? Given its weight I would think that you'd definitely need a rear suspension to assist with getting some air from flat.
My own route has been fairly atypical. Started with no-suspension city bike from Kalkhoff for rides in the hilly city of SF and the Bay Area, shared with my wife. Kalkhoff originally went with a proprietary motor design that the hills of San Francisco absolutely brutalized. The clutch or gearing in that motor burned out 4, maybe 5 times in a year. That prompted a considerable upgrade to a Riese & Muller Homage GT Nuvinci. After years of bike truck service (using a Surly Ted), I built a new, DIY, AWD, dual battery bike truck and the R&M was retired to family rides on increasingly hilly fire roads, so I upgraded it from the tired old Nuvinci to a SRAM GX Eagle 10-52 lunar drivetrain (had to build a new rear wheel), changed the tires to Johhny Watts 365 front and Hurricane rear, and had added a PNW dropper a few years back for descending 29% graded streets in SF. It came stock with a Fox 34 front fork and rear lockout remote. So it was essentially at this point a full e-mtb, albeit for lighter riding and of course very heavy at 68 lbs. (a heavy light e-mtb? lol). Tried that out on numerous XC-style rides with a smattering of enduro and downhill features that are common in this neck of the woods.
The full suspension on our old R&M is great, if a little low travel at times. But a 68 pound bike is very difficult to learn mtb skills on for the first time, like wheel lifts, pivot turns, bunny hops, et cetera. I'm accustomed to nice load-outs now, but not having the skills to ride it to its full potential, did not want to spend another $6-15k USD on a full-sus e-mtb. So I bought 2 bikes: a $398 Walmart special, the Ozark Trail, purely as a session/clinic bike and a Ride1Up Prodigy XC for $2,500 and an extra battery ($500). I probably spent another $1,000 on upgrading components (still in progress), and had some other components lying around. So all in, about $4k. Yes, I could get a lower-end full-sus e-mtb for that, just barely, but I don't want minspec components, which brings me back to the $6k+ range (either upgrading a $4k bike or just buying a nicer bike). For a bit over half that, I have a hardtail, class 3 e-mtb (technically illegal, but there is no enforcement here anyway and it's largely a moot issue on hilly trail rides) with a Brose TF Sprinter that weighs 22.7 kg and can destroy hills with an e*thirteen 12-speed 9-52T cassette and SRAM GX Eagle derailleur and shifter, and on city streets hit 28 MPH, something a $10k class 1 e-mtb cannot do. Once I learn the skills on the Ozark and the Ride1Up to deserve a $6k+ full-sus e-mtb, I will buy one in the future. I'm a monkeywrench who likes building and working on his own bikes, so having another bike or two in the stable doesn't bother me.
I took the Ride1Up on an inaugural ride in Marin headlands last weekend. Just by virtue of it weighing 18 pounds less than the R&M, I'm already doing self-taught wheel lifts. The ride is indeed a bit rough, but I'm not ready for truly downhill, flowy, hard tech terrain rides yet anyway, and I have to say, even with the stock componentry, the bike absolutely rips on flats and downhill sections and is just overall a blast to ride. Can't wait to get the e*thirteen/SRAM on there and see what she can do. By the time I feel I have the skills down for more technical riding in a few years, I'll be starting to ride more technical stuff anyway so the switch to a full-sus e-mtb should be fairly organic, if you will, and having ridden in 'hard-mode' to learn, should be that much more of a blast to ride. Not to mention e-mtb's will be even more amazing in a few years than they are today. Not the same choice everyone would make, but it works for my situation.
Hardtail Fatbike for me. [Fantic FatSport] Where I live I ride in snow, rocks, roots, mud, and a wide range of temps. I have a 29er full squish non-ebike and it collects dust. When I bought a hard tail fatty [Growler] I fell in love. Now my new fat e-bike just opens up more riding possibilities for me.
Lets be realistic. The ONLY reason to own a hard tail is the factor or price. If you cant afford dual, then go hard tail. Otherwise there is absolutely no real disadvantage to having dual.
I don't have an e-mountain bike. I'm watching to learn more and avoid mistakes if/when I give it a go.
I think the monopoly quote you are searching for is unfortunate in this case because I think it is "go directly to jail, do not pass go". The opposite of what you meant!
Great video though, keep it up.