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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it’s often been said that xc is the best place to start when people first venture into the world of riding mountain bikes now you might see xc on the telly you might have dabbled in a bit of racing you might even just go out for big old long rides and for a long time it’s often been said that it’s the best place for learning and the most easily accessible place to start but having said that now whether you’re a seasoned pro or you’re looking to get a bike for the first time and get into it what do you choose between a hardtail or a full sus [Music] well today don’t worry because i’ve got your back we’re going to be looking at the pros and cons of both types of bike a full sus and a hardtail xc bike and i’m going to put a little bit of a comparison out there as well to hopefully help you out there make a more informed decision when it comes to buying your next bike so i think without hanging around anymore let’s have a look at the bikes [Music] first up the xc hardtail the bike most similar to those bikes of yesteryear however this is still a vastly different bike from what they used to be suspension has come on a long way 29 inch wheels and carbon frame carbon parts out mean that this thing is an absolute thoroughbred lightweight race weapon on my canyon exceed then well you can find carbon wheels front and back carbon cranks carbon handlebar and stem and a carbon seat post and yet you guessed it it is a solid seat post there is no drop around here as personally i don’t think i need it but that is a decision that you guys and girls should make at home for yourself having a dropper on a hotel can sometimes mean you can ride it a little bit rowdier next up my full sus bike a very similarly spec bicycle but with one glaring difference yes the hundred mil shock at the back now again it’s got similar parts similar wheels is full carbon and yep there ain’t no dropper on this one either but because of that extra linkage that shock those pivots bushes bearings etc there is a little bit more weight this one coming at slightly closer to 11 kilograms there you go and look at them back to back not actually too dissimilar same group sets same fork tires very similar wheels carbon parts throughout and neither have a dropper so actually it’s going to be a really good comparison to ride them back to back to see the pros and cons but what are actually the pros and cons of each type of bike then well let’s have a look [Music] to begin with then let’s start with the pros and cons of the full sus pros well you’ve got the suspension at the back so it’s going to smooth out all the bumps and imperfections in the trail giving you a far more comfy ride especially if you’re doing kind of marathon style stuff or really really long rides where it can actually take a bit of a toll on your bike another pro for the full sus then is the traction it’s going to give you especially when things start getting a bit loose or a bit slippery especially going uphill because your weight is going to be sitting into the back end more it’s going to give you more traction so when you might see your counterparts on their hardtail spinning and slipping going up a muddy hill or you’ll be just planted and absolutely spinning up there past them see you later it’s time for the hardtail then and let’s talk pros to begin with first up simplicity no moving parts bare minimum going on means that it’s a maintaining dream you don’t really have to do anything to it price wise as well well they can be very expensive but actually at the other end of the spectrum for those beginning or starting to learn and want to get into it well for xc they are the cheaper more budget option which makes them a great accessible kind of thing next up they are fast they are efficient and because of that they are absolute rocket ships up and down and that is always a great thing for an xc racer especially looking to save all the watts that they can another really great pro for the hardtail then is it’s weight saving you haven’t got all the extra hardware which means you’re not hauling around any unnecessary weight final pro for the hotel then well they’re great for learning on again if you are a beginner or you want to brush up your skills the raw nature of the hardtail itself means that you are going to learn some great technique and skills to potentially one day if you did want to take over to the full sus you’ve got the basics absolutely dialed what about the cons of the hardtail then well there are also sadly some here too first up they are less forgiving on your body yet there can be a pretty harsh ride especially when you do get up to something like this which is an absolute thoroughbred carbon everything it’s so stiff and so rigid that you do tend to feel a lot more of the vibrations and the sort of the feel of the trail all the way through your body with only that hundred mil up front another con is that they’re less forgiving sometimes on the trail you can’t get as rowdy on them and if you do get a bit rowdy that room for errol that margin of error is very very small right that’s enough gas and about bikes i think it’s about time we headed out onto the trail and make a solid comparison between the two so climbing first all xc is based around a good old solid fun climb and i’ve got a red climb ahead of us it’s pretty choppy with roots and it’s got some good kicks to it some tight turns so it should really distinguish between the two bikes so let’s get climbing [Music] all right so far so good but here’s the first fairly tight techa’s turn and you do have to make sure you’re looking ahead picking your line the back end just slid a little there where it is so bumpy right big stuttery section coming up look it’s hard to turn as easily and quickly on the hotel when it is stuttery like this you do have to be so careful and just the drive on these big big bumps is hard all right near the top of our climb now and it is smoothing and look out this corner the hardtail just powers absolute sprints so quick and efficient [Music] climbing on the hardtail done tekkers climb on the full sus now the shock is wide open so there is as much suspension as possible let’s see how she goes i’ll see you at the top [Music] okay we’re coming up to the first tight right hander then this time on the full sus and oh straight over the roots without having to worry that’s the gem of the full sus let’s get it on then coming up to this first root bed and look at that straight on the inside without having to worry on the full sus because i can feel it gobbling up the roots and then these i’m just able to pedal and drive all the way through lovely when it does go on the straights like this i can feel it bobbing a little bit i’ve got the lockout lever but obviously that is another thing to think about so corn is good but you can feel there’s just not the not the snappiness of the hardtail out of it [Music] that’s the climbing portion of this little comparison done and i think it’s pretty even stevens on the climb it really comes down to what kind of climb you’re doing and tackling and maybe even the longevity of it for a really big long climb a lighter bike over the period of that is going to pay off however if it is quite rough and choppy like what we were on there you could see the back wheel was jumping the front was skipping it was harder to maintain line and power sometimes giving the false us just a bit of an edge over the hotel but it’s a horses for courses kind of thing but anyway i think we need to get the stopwatch out and do an actual bit of time so i’ve come up with a course here in the forest of dean which has got a good mix of smooth and rough uphill and then a flat out downhill and we’re gonna see which is faster [Music] settling into my hardtail river men and so far so good it’s just on this particular type of terrain right now with all these stuttery roots it’s just very very tricky to keep momentum okay this is the hardtails time to shine see how smooth it is means you can really just drive through the pedals maximum power transfer and away we go [Music] final turn and finito ah done oh my eyes are watering is emotional that solid time but i’m not going to tell you what it is yet over to the full sus which do you think is going to be faster let’s see if it can better it [Music] all right then here’s downhill time this bike’s time to shine [Music] all right here we go shocks fully open we’re going full downhill mode much like before oh [Music] [Music] oh holy smokes hang on wowzers save that you are not going to believe these stats i think we reconvene we go find a nice quiet spot let’s look at some numbers because you guys and girls are in for a shocker [Music] we do love a good versus then here at gmbn and this one was an absolute doozy the race between these two was hellish close and the time zone i have got the stats here on garmin so the hardtail did it in 14 minutes 41 seconds with an average heart rate of 156 nothing to be sniffed out at all there the full sustain and we thinking higher or lower well i can tell you now that the time of the full sus was 14 minutes also and 28 seconds so 13 seconds quicker and the average heart rate was one five nights only three beats per minute in it proving that the effort was very very similar but what about that only 13 seconds different between these two over a nearly 15 minute long lap when you think about that an xc lap is probably about that give or take depending on the race so over that time actually obviously the full sus may save you time if you are looking to be a bit of a speed demon but i couldn’t believe it was quite that close [Music] why was the full sus quicker in this particular instance then well i think it’s down to one thing and it was on those stuttery bumps at the beginning of the course i’d planned you just lost quite a lot of momentum on a hardtail because you were sort of skipping wheel spinning and not able to drive through the rear wheel and get going forwards just quite as efficiently as you could on the full suss however on the downs basically it was an even stevens again between the pair of them they were both flying both absolute rocket ships but i would say a little less worry on the full sus the the hardtail does require a little bit more concentration and focus to get the most out of it that being said though on the right track i think the hardtail is definitely faster so it really is a horses for courses kind of a fair then if you want something that is going to get you through most things you may be a little bit more capable here and there and you kind of you can enjoy the ride maybe a little bit more sometimes the full sus is the way to go if you’re a racer or if you are like i said looking to get into this xc lock for the first time then a hardtail is the one for you and it’s going to teach you some awesome things along the way so that’s kind of my conclusion for this video hopefully i’ll see you at an xc race soon maybe on a hotel maybe on a full sus who knows but for now i’m out of it thanks very much for watching everyone let us know what you thought down below in the comments it’s been a pleasure i’ll catch you later