Are Hardtails dead?

[Long Wheel Base]

i hope not because if ht is dead i am a necrophiliac

Had to google this word.............

[Grease_Monkey]

Yeah that alloy frame with the absurdly upgraded spec, that was a good one

 

I believe he did the Ata this year on a stock standard one, unlike that custom build for Epic.

[Nestus]

I love my hardtail.  Bought a new 2020 merida big nine slx last year December as i upgraded from my old hardtail.  Also, it was all i could afford, i dont have the moola for a full suspension bike.  Yes there are techie sections you can't ride the way you want and need to choose your line, but for me it is about having fun, spending time outdoors and fitness.

[Blackheart]

Depends on the hardtail (cos there's hardtails and hardtails..).

I'll take any excuse to show this off

My only MTB now is this steel Niner, I use it for long events (100 miler etc) and for blasting the singletrack around The Cape. I had two other Niners, an Air9 RDO which was lighter and a Jet9 RDO which had 120mm/90mm. I'm a few secs slower up the long climbs than on the carbon HT and faster downhill than on the FS. Overall faster all round. It's more comfortable than the carbon HT but way more forgiving and it's more direct and responsive than the FS but just as capable. I sold both other bikes, as the ROS made them redundant to me. Admittedly, the spec is quite high end which helps keep the weight down, it's now at 12kg ready to roll. 

The spec, to those interested:

Niner ROS steel frame

SRAM XX1 Eagle

RS1 fork

Tune hubs

AM Classic 3834 rims

Maxxis Ardent 2.4

RS Dropper

Fizik Tundra2 carbon

Niner RDO carbon bar and stem

Formula Cura brakes

 

 

[PhilipV]

Naah, hardtail isn't dead.

But discerning buyers who think and do some research instead of walking into a concept store saying: "I have no clue, but here is my credit card, please take it and give me one of all that I need for this MTB thing," are about as rare as hardtails nowadays.

Edited May 22, 2020 by PhilipV

[PhilipV]

Here is a pic of my hardtail. Just to show that I'm practicing what I preach.

 

[IceCreamMan]

The HT is dead, long live the HT.

 

Considering I only own a HT and have never even ridden a dual sus I can only hope they last a while yet. However, walking around my local Giant shop the other day dual sus is certainly the flavour of the day.

[Chadvdw67]

Sold my HT to get a DS, and sometimes, on some trails, I wish I had the HT, but I can only have one bike, and since I had a skydiving accident damaging my back, the DS is flavour of choice, however seeing the Silverback Slade Trail is available again, has me pondering ways to justify a 2nd bike....

[Farrnus]

watching thread closely   ... #steelisreal #wemighthavesomethingsoon 

[Hairy]

I have been wondering for a while now why it seems hardtails are so unpopular in SA. I mean you hardly see a hard tail anywhere outside of a high school bike shed these days.

 

Seemingly a full sus trail bike has become the entry point to being able to ride even a mild Jeep track.

 

Now sure, I’m exaggerating a bit above, but it would seem locally that hardtails are not really selling anymore. I was in the specialized shop in Stellenbosch over the weekend to see some of the new bikes, and I was surprised not to see any decent hardtails. They only had the really entry level rock hopper hardtails.

 

When I asked a young sales guy if they didn’t have any more serious hardtails in stock, he sheepishly showed me a top of the line S-Works Epic, that was retailing at R140k. Nothing else. When I asked him where all the bikes in between are, he said they don’t carry hardtails anymore, because no one buys them.

 

This is in stark contrast to what we see in the overseas forums, and especially on channels like GMBN, where they seem to absolutely love hardtails, especially for longer rides across the countryside, or just some fun on a trail park.

 

Now I know full sus is awesome, especially on multi day stage races, and especially with lots of long corrugated gravel or very bumpy track....... but for blasting on some flows single track, nothing on earth beats a hardtail.

 

The XCO guys on the international scene also seem to chop and change between there full sus and hardtails depending on the terrain.

 

So why on earth are hardtails basically dead here. Specially in a place like Stellenbosch, that is blessed with loads of amazing trail riding?

 

If I was on a tight budget, I would far rather buy the best hardtails I could, rather than an entry level full sus. I mean bikes of R25 to 30k are being sold with sun tour and x-fusion suspensions, and SLX if you lucky. In these price range I much rather buy something with a REBA fork and full XT groupset.......

 

If I was told I had to choose one bike now, and I could never have another, it would definately be something with pretty slack geometry, 130 mil travel up front, and nice wide 27,5 tires, and a hardtails.

 

I do how ever hope the day never comes where one needs to be married to one type of bike for life......

In the UK there are a good number of hardtails doing the rounds, but I understand they are also more trail orientated vs XC

[MORNE]

Had to google this word.............

OT sorry

 

you'll never look at morticians the same way again  

[Red Bird]

I have a Trigon HT and it weighs 10kg, but is almost just as comfortable as a FS so it is a win-win. I recently put a Vittoria Agarro on the front for a more trail feel to the bike and I absolutely love it! It makes the bike 400g heavier so for races I will put my Barzo back on etc.

 

I just don't like the generalisation in judgment that comes with the HT. People just assume you're all about racey racey and no fun. But a comfy hardtail is super fun to ride plus you can have the speed when you need it.

[Goodbadugly]

I suspect hardtails will die with the concept of round wheels

[RobertWhitehead]

To answer your question: No, they are not dead, less in demand due to fact that the majority of riders fall within the MAMILS category (Middle-Aged-Men-In-Lycra) and therefore most opt for the duals. I have a back issue and therefore I also have a dual. 

 

The brand being referred to do not have as many options in the HT category, I would look at other brands: 

 

https://www.trekbikes.com/za/en_ZA/bikes/mountain-bikes/29er-mountain-bikes/c/B513/

https://silverbacklab.com/ladies-bikes/

 

Lastly, if it was me: I would build me a sub 10kg machine for the budget

[nonky]

I had a full suspension Merida and a hardtail. Sold the Full suspension and kept my hardtail, best decision I've ever made. But if I could buy again, I would definately try to get a Silverback Slade hard tail. Very nice looking geometry.  

 Does anyone even stock the Slade? 

 

Been looking around and can't find one, except online  

[BSG]

Does anyone even stock the Slade?

 

Been looking around and can't find one, except online

If I'm not mistaken, Henningvr had one which he sold and yes, he said that apparently they are as scarce as hens teeth. Apparently not being brought in or sold any more here. But if I could get my hands on one I'll sell a kidney. Edited January 27, 2020 by BSG