Full suspension or hardtail for light trail and road use.

[K78]

I was pretty sure I wanted a bike with full suspension. I’m not getting any younger and I assumed it would be a better choice.

Im reading as much as I can at the moment. Its been mentioned more than once that hardtails have less extreme geometry and are better on road than full suspension bikes?

I can see that the seat is slightly closer to the handle bars on a bike with full suspension. Is that too extreme for road use?

 

[Sander23]

No doubt I would go with a full.
I've had 2 e-hardtaile in the past and switched to a full 6 months ago and I wouldn't go back.
My shock has a lockout but I barely use it even on the road

 

[fenwick458]

steep seat tube is better for climbing, slack head angle better for descending so yeah they are basically designed with the intention of going up and coming down

I'd definitely go for a full suspension too, unless you are riding fire roads and bridleways. the rear suspension will stop the back wheel from getting trashed, they are both really heavy bikes and unless you are an incredibly skillful rider it's really almost impossible to quickly descend on rocky/rough stuff without smashing the rear wheel up

also depending on how light these trails are you have in mind, you might be able to get away with a gravel bike?
The new 2023 Scott Solace eRide - a gravel ebike
they are much lighter than mountain bikes, so much so you can ride these with the motor switched off, and the ranges are over double

 

[Growmac]

I agree with both above that a FS is almost certainly the way forward.

That said, the weight argument is absolute nonsense. An ebike is about 8 kg heavier than a regular bike, or an additional 60% or so. That feels like a LOT when you pick the bike up. It must take a beating, be harder to stop etc, right? No, not really. Would you change any components, say upgrade the brakes, because Dave was 88 kg as opposed to Fred, who weighted 80 kg? Of course you wouldn't. The overall weight of bike and rider hasn't changed much at all.

An FS ebike will be more comfortable, will be easier to control off-road than a hardtail, and as #23 noted above, you can generally lock the shock out if you want to. Which you probably won't.

 

[steve_sordy]

Full Suss every time.

 

[SwampNut]

I've had 2 e-hardtaile in the past and switched to a full 6 months ago and I wouldn't go back.

Same. I finally sold my hard a couple months ago because I couldn't stand riding it any more. And I recently rode a hardtail bike in a downtown area, which you'd think would be fine, but! Potholes, curbs, even sneaky little rumble strips were just so jarring. Nope.

 

[irie]

Once you start getting ambitious (which you will) you'll increasingly find a hardtail a pain in the ass [sic] and want FS. Just get FS to start with and avoid the future hassle.

 

[K78]

Thanks for the advice. Full suspension it is.

The gravel bike is interesting. I’ve never seen them before. I’ll definitely take a look at them.

I decided to go for mountain bike initially as I live in a area with roads on steep hills and woodland on my doorstep.

I will be using the bike for a 4 mile commute with a lot of hills. I didn’t think a “commuter” bike would be up to the job.

 

[irie]

Thanks for the advice. Full suspension it is.

The gravel bike is interesting. I’ve never seen them before. I’ll definitely take a look at them.

I decided to go for mountain bike initially as I live in a area with roads on steep hills and woodland on my doorstep.

I will be using the bike for a 4 mile commute with a lot of hills. I didn’t think a “commuter” bike would be up to the job.

With FS you’ll soon be in the woodlands ...

 

[Martylaa]

Perfect thread to find, i've just placed an order for the same Whyte bike but after doing some research and a few hundred pounds more i'm going to change my order for the Trek Rail 5 Deore as there are so many people saying the same things about the rear wheels on trails. Also came across someone saying the electric motors are more suited to sitiing and getting a smooth pedalling action, on a trail where the back end is harsh and you are out of the seat more this can be a hinderance on a hardtail.

 

[maynard]

Maybe if someone made a nice hardtail eeb i could see the attraction. But they all weigh a ton with no advantage. Most weigh more than a nice carbon dual suspension

 

[Sander23]

Maybe if someone made a nice hardtail eeb i could see the attraction. But they all weigh a ton with no advantage. Most weigh more than a nice carbon dual suspension

My old hardtail with light tires weight even more then full suspension with heavy tires

 

[irie]

My old hardtail with light tires weight even more then full suspension with heavy tires

I still have my old Trek Gary Fisher Big Sur but where I now typically ride my Rail the Big Sur would be trying to launch me over the front!

 

[Zimmerframe]

There are a few lighter ones, the e-caliber (semi HT).

The Urrun if you like Orbea's and want Ally (19.6kg - so not as light as a lot of lightweights, but 540wh).

Lightrider e-ultimate at 14.6 kg (oops, it's FS, I seem to be proving your point) even lighter than a Scott Lumen e-ride (15.5kg - also FS .. bollox) : The Lightrider E Ultimate Claims To Be Lightest Full-Suspension EMTB

 

[Expidia]

I've owned two hardtails and now have an FS. It's really night and day. A hardtail is OK if you are just using it for bike paths, commuting etc, but even with that type of usage an FS is still much better. A hardtail is also much better with some type of seat dampening by using something like a Thudbuster. Even small cracks in the road can be quite jarring as the vibrations run right up your back and tire you out over long rides. And hitting pot holes really suck on a hard tail.

No questions that just like upgrading to running tubeless tires . . . all FS ebikes will require more of an initial investment and more ongoing maintenance costs. But the difference "to me" is like riding around in a BMW or a Hyundai (with bad shocks).

The choice is yours . . . "First Class or Coach

If you go hardtail a short throw Thudbuster (their latest model) can still be found in the $150 range if you have patience and search around:

 

[Martylaa]

Well, i'm glad i did some more research, i've changed my order to a nicely discounted Trek Rail 5 Deore. Looking forward to seeing how it rides.

 

[Bob88]

Well, i'm glad i did some more research, i've changed my order to a nicely discounted Trek Rail 5 Deore. Looking forward to seeing how it rides.

Nice choice, if you get any sticking on the 35 gold rl fork, send it in for warranty service before looking at replacements. They will replace the lowers FOC with new better tolerance ones and these will be infinitely better. They did mine and they were not even in warranty!