XC MTB Hard Tail vs Full Suspension? First Mountain Bike for Beginners #5



Hard tail or Full Suspension – First Mountain Bike for Beginners

SingleTrackCentral

Buying your first Mountain Bike for Beginners, N00bs, and Newbies #1

Buying your first Mountain Bike for Beginners #2 seat saddle height

29er or 26er – First Mountain Bike for Beginners #3

Clipless Pedals – Buying your first Mountain Bike for Beginners #4

Selle SMP saddle review for Mountain Bikes.

Independent testing of speed has found the hard tails are faster for short runs of 10 min or less.
However, for extended rides, the full suspension will keep the rider going farther with less effort.

Essentially, it takes more effort and concentration for a hardtail.

Other things to consider are the weight, maintenance, and price.

Full suspension adds about 1-2 pounds.
This isn’t much as a percentage for most risers, but it does mean you will have to pay more for other lighter weight features to make up the difference.

To maintain a full suspension, you have additional parts to care for.
This means more points of possible failure as well if you lapse on the maintenance.

Pricing will also be higher. For example, if you wanted to order a carbon frame, directly from the manufacturer… you could get a carbon hard tail 29er for $512 shipped to your door.
If you ordered the equivalent carbon full suspension from the same manufacturer, it would cost $742. You then have to purchase the shock, and that cost is $150 to $350, depending on the weight and quality.

The last, and frequently the most important that riders of full suspension bikes tout is the comfort.
For more and more riders, the gain in comfort on a full suspension is so noticeable; they are riding longer distances and not taking as many breaks to catch their breath.

The bottom line is if you want a more technical control ride, you are likely to look at a hard tail 26er.
But since you are a beginner, the full suspension 29er will likely suit you best for getting into the sport.

There is also an in-between option for those that want to save a few hundred bucks by getting a hard tail, but to add a bit of suspension for your backside.
This would be to add a cane creek thudbuster.
They run from $125 to $160.
Considering the prices difference, you could easily save yourself 500 bucks by purchasing a hard tail 29er and adding on the thudbuster.
Reading the reviews for the thudbuster seat post online are fantastic at 4.6 out of 5 stars,
The horizontal shock absorption makes the thudbuster far better than the telescopic seat posts and makes a huge improvement to any hard tail bike.

If you like this video, please feel free to check out our other topics for beginners.

We have also partnered with a new channel, SingleTrackCentral.
So check them out if you’re interested in some awesome videos made by mountain bikers for mountain bikers.

Thanks and have fun out there!

Created By ThreeDigitIQ