Don’t Make These Mistakes When You Next Ride A Hardtail!

Do you ride hardtails? What hardtail are you currently riding? Let us know! 👇

I can't say enough about the benefits of riding clipless to the point where I can't understand why anyone would choose to ride without them. I never need to worry if my foot is on the pedal or if it'll slip off. Leaves bandwidth to focus on the many other things going on.

I’ve always thought bikers overthink hardtails. Then again, I have never ridden a full suspension bike nor have I ever tried clip in pedals. Hardtails and flats are the only bike I know and love. 40 years of riding and I don’t believe I’ll ver own a full sus. Anything is possible though…

Surly Krampus, Voodoo Dambala Cannondale Single speed

I ride a Specialized Fuse 27.5 that comes with a 130mm coil fork. Would a 150mm air fork be good or would that be too overforked?

Trek 6500 for 20 years, hardtail for life.

Over forking is a mistake. Best to embrace the format. Your HT ride is designed with good solid geo. 150+ forks are going to dive and pitch you forward, and don't really help at all with the bumps out back. Best to learn to "ride light" and pick the smoother lines!

I would say after my own experiences, if you're looking for a hard tail, really think hard about your budget and the type of riding you do. Look for a bike within your budget that has the best possible components for your style of riding and look at different brands, look at different shops, some shops may have sales on.

Let's be honest, "a bit of bling" is the most important part on any bike 😅

Top notch tips and music choice :D

Agree about the clipless pedals. I only ride clipless now and it's made all the difference.

I love hardtails and love my clipless pedals. I've been riding clipless for 20+ years and still have no intention to try out flats.

Flat Pedals are so great, I couldn’t imagine riding technical terrain while being attached to the bike. Maybe I’m not a heavy rider because I’ve never felt like I’m putting the back wheel through too much even through rocky tech stuff on my hardtail. The back wheel bounces around anyways haha.

I would add that it's a mistake to use carbon rims on a hardtail. The added compliance of the alloy wheels helps keep the back smoother. And when you get a bad hit on the rear end, you might get a dent on the wheel instead of a crack.

This isn't a hardtail video, its a mountain bike video.
I get that GMBN needs to make more videos to make more money, but can we get content with a bit more insight behind it?

A. Don't preride a trail? It can bite you on any bike.
B. Think your ride will only burn your legs? All mountain biking will work your whole body. A 100mm xc bike will take more of a toll on your body than a 140mm trail bike.
C. Find it hard to keep your feet stuck to the pedals? Clipless works great on any bike you have to pedal (ok this one probably has more merit on hardtails...but then again DJs are hardtails)
D. Overforking any bike can ruin the geometry, and arguably full sus bikes will feel even more out of balance due to the uneven travel distances and/or spring rates.
E. Underbiking is fun for a reason. Most bikes not found in a department store can handle gnarly trails under the right rider (see "Road Bike Party").
F. Hardtails are no more subject to upgrade-itis than a budget full sus.

How about some facts and pitfalls unique to hardtails?

1. Pinch flats/wheel failures
-You will benefit from running higher pressures, stiffer casings, or tubeless inserts on your rear wheel when riding a hardtail compared to a full sus
2. Adjustable Chainstay length
-Lots of hardtails have adjustable dropouts so you can change the feel and wheelbase of your bike. Its like a flip chip with infinite settings. Play with it!
3. Material Options
-When buying a hardtail, you have more options between carbon, aluminum, steel, and titanium than you would on a full sus bike. Try some new things!
4. Hydration
-Bring more than one bottle if your hardtail has bosses for multiple cages. Having 2+ bottles on your bike doesn't make you an XC nerd, it enables you to go further for longer.
5. Crank length/BB drop
-Without suspension bob, you can run longer cranks on a hardtail without pedal strikes compared to a full sus with the same BB drop (altho short cranks are all the rage these days)
6. Frame stress/failure
-Any bike will fatigue over time, but hardtails don't benefit from suspension softening each blow. Just like with pinch flats, hardtails are easier to break especially as you add up all those impacts over time. Regularly inspect your welds/seams for stress cracks, especially around the BB and downtube.

Still think it's silly to call pedals that you have to clip into, 'clipless' pedals. High time for a terminology change. Most people don't even remember pedal clips! :-) (I do - I'm 55)

Agree with all.....except the fork one. No such thing as "overforked" in my book, not unless the frame has a bad standover height.

Blake, you've convinced me to try a Hardtail. Now I'm ditching my Full-Sus, because I'm now know what I've "missed" - or better - what I don't need 🫥.
Got myself a Nicolai Argon GAM Pinion, not a budget friendly bike at all, but capable of doing anything i will ever be able to do and it will last forever. I now ride it for 5 months, and my Trek Fuel EX collects more dust with every day 😅

I like clipless on my hardtail… for xc, but for the gnarly stuff it’s flats all day for me. And I love hitting gnarly stuff on my hardtail. Gotta love a hardtail…

I love my Nukeproof Scout 29 , artichoke green color , with a must-have dropper seatpost !

Did you just say clips on a hard tail? Where is the real Blake? What have you done with him? Who is this imposter! I’ll never clip in on any bike you animal! 😂

What rear shock is best for a hardtail🤔🤔🤔🤔

@gmbn well said. HTs are brilliant fun. If people go for the N+1 then they should have a HT in their arsenal.

Can eny one recommend a good see just got s trek slash but seat is killing me lol

I’ve only just bought a dropper post for mine.

Recently got ax2023 Vitus Sentier Vr 27.5, I'm from an old school mtb background, love my hardtail, hills or urban great fun

I run my NP Scout 275 with a 170mm fork too.....max tokens in use!

Wow of all the videos I’ve watched over the years this is the most well polished video I’ve seen. Only helps it’s about hardtails 😅

Over forked I get, what about mix wheel?

Hey Blake. You made me buying my Nukeproof Scout 2 years ago and I love this bike. 😁

i just bought a hardtail and i thought this was really helped me thank u.😀😀🚵‍♂

Your first mistake will always be riding a hard tail. Why get beat up while foregoing safety and control??? You wouldn’t go back to rim brakes or 26” wheels. Hell, grow a handlebar mustache and get a highwheeler. I’ve been biking since 1984 and hope to never go back to that kind of gear.

I’m going to have to disagree on not using flat pedals. A skilled hardtail rider can benefit from flats more so than clipless imo.

I’ve only had a few rides on mine , but I love it! Il stick with the flats though

I tend to agree with everything you say Blake, but the clipless... nah!
My terrain is extremely steep, rocky, rooty, leafy and loamy. In sections. Or all at the same time. There's everything in here.
And one thing I NEVER thought I wanted is clipless.
Horrible stuff!
I still have flashbacks of the two years I tried to get acquainted with clipless... such a horrible experience that I quit MTB's altogether!
Never again. Flats for life 😎

Blake , you got me back on the hard tail !!!! Love the videos and the helpful tips . I’m on the Ragley Big Al XL - 160mm fork which works perfectly with my 6foot3inch body . Still on flats , not sure I can do clipless . Definitely noticing it’s a bit harder on the body ,but man my confidence in my ability has improved and at the same time it’s more of a fun challenge to pick smoother lines and really use your whole body as the suspension. I’m 52 years old and loving the hard tail again !!!! Definitely riding the squishy bike less .
Cheers .

Got a new nukeproof scout for a good price. Have some red black local trails. Do i rude them slow or what?

One part should be to know your limitations in skill level and physical fitness, and how the additional demands can affect a group ride when others are on full sus bikes. All things being equal, expect to be slower, and to tire more quickly.

I adore my hardtail, but using my legs as suspension on New England trails burns me out much faster than a full sus, and back injuries make each ride that much more punishing. There are rides I'm excluded from because of how I'll limit the group.

That said, I only have hardtails now (Norco Torrent S2 with Z1 coil fork, Fluid HT1, and a Storm 2 for my wife). The direct connection from the pedals to the back wheel is so much more rewarding to me!

Clipless pedals, no thanks, I'm perfactly fine with my flats.

I sold my fuel ex and kept my ns eccentric, no regrets.

Blake = Hardtail = Blake

Love my Fatty Hard Tail. 3.8” tires, 100 mm travel, and a suspension dropper and I go anywhere my Full Squish buddies go.

Hard tails are more capable in every category other than huge rampage stuff maybe

Norco Fluid HT 1, Kona Honzo AL DL, Giant Fathom 1, Giant XTC. All have large Kona Wah Wah flat pedals.

The Hard tail hero reminding us to be a hard tail hero our selves! :)

built a ragley mmmbop over christmas took it 4 its first ride on sunday and it was great but i couldnt climb and hills cause my legs where shaking so much got used to my full sus too much [ IF ANYONE IS WONDERING I SPENT 950 ISH ON IT ON CRC DEALS BUT WOULD OF COSTED 2.6 K NORMALY]

Overforked? 🤔 better said you forked it up 😂

Everyone needs an aggressive hardtail. The best adventure bike imo.