All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Anybody going to Big Mountain Enduro at Mt Nebo this weekend? I'm schlepping some gear down from Bentonville to support the Specialized pros and will be pretty much hanging out. Bringing a turbo Levo and my acoustic Stumpjumper.

 

acoustic haha made me laugh!

 

I think aggressive hardtails are a very niche type of bike. An all around hardtail can serve so many purposes; commuting, XC, bike packing, general trail riding, and even intentionally under-biking harder/familiar trails. If you go too aggressive on the geo, you lose some of that versatility though.

 

i always wondered why you needed a 170mm fork on a HT. I guess I got all the plush to alter how I land and just nose dive all the heavy hits and then smash my knees there after.

 

It was a cable lock integrated into the Rocky Mounts Splitrail rack. I had just upgraded to their Guiderail that has the thick 10mm chain, but that is on my 3rd gen and we took the 1st gen w/ the older rack the day it got stolen.

 

I agree so much! I love to have an XC geometry hardtail with flat pedals in the garage. I use mine for a lot, and it is not usually trail riding. Going to the beach? take the hardtail. Riding the MUP with the wife on a nice day? Take the hardtail. Running a tool down the street to a neighbor? take the hardtail. Daydreaming about riding while the weather sucks? Pick up the hardtail and do some bunny hops, wheelies, and cuttys in the driveway Now I'll be using it for taking the daughter out for a ride on the MUP or fire roads.

There's only one trail around me that I actually choose to take the hardtail on, and I don't ride it that often because it is pretty mellow.

The flat pedals are key to getting the most use out of it! I have clipless on my trail bike and clipless on my road bike, so having something I don't have to change shoes for really puts a lot more quick use on the hardtail and allows you to get on the bike when you normally wouldn't bother.

 

I think it's just marketing.

Most hardtails are targeted towards newer MTBers and people who don't know any better think the bigger the travel, the better the bike. I know I did.

Also, all these "hardcore hardtails" are running crazy enduro geometry because all of the media outlets fuss over how important an aggressive geometry is. Meanwhile, they are testing these bikes in Squamish, Whistler, Bellingham, etc. People in middle and south east America get caught up in those reviews and end up with a way to aggressive bike for their local trails.

I have to travel to mountain bike. I hill bike where I live. That means, a lot of short ups and downs, a lot of tight switch backs, and techy, rooty, rocky stuff that you don't carry enough speed to plow through or over, so you have to move the bike around no matter how much travel you have.

I truly believe geometry is extremely important, but that doesn't mean every bike needs to be laid out with a 63 degree head tube angle. I had a hard time looking for a FS with a little steeper head tube angle because I didn't want to lose the maneuverability and I don't need to blast down mountains at mach-chicken, i don't have that here...

 

Hell yeah son. 85 degrees mixed with that mileage is tough!

Hahaha "hill bike". There are definitely uses for aggressive hardtails but I agree there are plenty of folks with bikes not compatible with their everyday terrain

 

I just went through that whole debate when selecting a hard tail frame. I really wanted a Nukeproof Scout 275 or 290, but those frames were hard to come by. I ended up getting a Commencal Meta HT. It's a 150mm travel front end, 29'r with moderately aggressive geometry. I bought it as a 'do-it-all' machine. I expect it to perform on everything from fast, flowy downhills to chunky crap knowing that my knees will be the limiting factor. It will be overbiked on some of the more XC trails I ride, but right at home on the chunky single track. It will give my 'big bike' a break when the trails are wet or if it's just going to be an XC pedally day. We'll see how it turns out!

 

I think part of the problem (in previous years) is there have been hardtails that come out in conjunction with full suspensions in the same segment and share somewhat similar geo. All things being equal, a hardtail under sag is going to have a steeper head tube angle than geo charts suggest and steeper than its FS counter part. I think there is a sweet spot for aggressive hardtails, but I wouldn't shy away from a hardtail thats slacker than a FS in the same market segment.

 

Anybody on here from Washington? Potentially looking for riding buddies for i90 trails/anywhere

 

I guess taking sag into account does steepen the head tube angle, so that's something I haven't really considered.

I have always said, though, that geo charts should be measured with the bike at recommended sag. It makes the whole process so confusing

 

dayumn! Good work! that's some serious stats!

I won't be at Nebo. But I will be at the Durango and Brian Head ones. Hah!

 

I'm just not sure there's much of a place for hardcore hardtails for most riders regardless of where you live. Even out west, if you're on some steep/fast trail the rear end is gonna limit you before the geometry does. You've gotta be a very good and very active rider to get the most out of a slack hardtail. For most of us, a standard XC geo hardtail, or even moderate trail geo, is gonna be plenty slack and much more versatile.

We'll be at Durango! My wife's racing and I'll be on the cheer squad with our little girls.

 

Did you post this on YouTube as well? Just wondering because I tried sharing it with a friend that has an Izzo and lives in LA but he doesn’t have Instagram.

 

Thanks dudes! Our group of buddies is already talking about Leadville

I was actually thinking about building a Hardtail for more XC riding.... maybe even a single speed?

A chameleon with a 36 should do the trick right haha? can't be any worse than my EVO

Haven't really looked at what's out there but definitely want something in the more aggressive dept

 

sick!! Time to party it up! I'm racing and I think I've got a few friends coming to ride and party. It's gonna be a good time.

Hah! I've thought about doign a commencal meta ht with my old 36.

 

i'm on the fence about a slack hardtail. riding my old hardtail, 2015ish geo with quick release, is fun and fast on the pedals. its silly how much faster and efficient i feel. but getting into the single track i feel very cautious. maybe im not used to the bike, it is a steeper headtube angle than my patrol that i ride more and the tires are tubed so i get nervous with traction. but my ride home from work yesterday was a mix of rail to trails, single track, and dirt/gravel double track trails.

arm pump was real but i think the cheap suntour fork i have isn't dialed in yet. any rock/root/whatever i hit with my back wheel definitely jostled me around. i had a bigger bag on that i normally wouldnt ride with since i had my lunch box and work clothes in there. still just a camelbak mule though.

i could see the benefit to a slack hardtail and a shorter travel fs. been thinking about a GG pedalhead or a transition spur for awhile. big price differences though. maybe i'll win that transition raffle that ends in a few days

pic from a cool overlook i came across finding a new way home yesterday on my hardtail

 

There were some guys doing the race I did this weekend on hardtails...I just don't understand it. The guy parked next to me was riding a Spot Rocker...

I also know one of the shop owners around here races a singlespeed. Last time I saw he was riding a Knolly Tyaughton and did that same race on it with an MRP Ribbon coil.

Also, congrats on the whiskey! That was a solid time for how much climbing. You were definitely putting in the work based on what you were posting in here.

 

None the "issues" you describe are geo related. A hardtail with thru axles, tubeless tires, and a better fork will feel so much more confidence inspiring and comfortable.