Do you own a hardtail EMTB? If so, what made you decide to go hardtail? Let us know down below! 👇

It's mostly cost... Good Full sus is £4500. Good hardtail £2200. Not everyone is rich

Weight, Maintenance, less moving parts. Nicer to drive on flat surfaces. Love my hardtail.

I used to ride fullies exclusively simply because I was used to them from always having had one since my early teenage years (thanks, parents). And that extra capability encouraged me to explore progressively rougher terrain and challenging trails over the years. But then I moved to a flatter part of the country and my riding changed from up and down to distance, and my first 29er endurance hardtail simply rode better on those hours long marathon rides exploring my surroundings. I ultimately found that my hardtail can get me through occasional rough rocky/rooty patches and downhill well enough but rides especially well on nice roads and trails. So, lifting my bum off the saddle over big roots and kerbs has become second nature 😁

I am going from full suspension trek rail 5 to trek powerfly 4. I had both and now there is just one. The hard tail is my choice 💯

I hired a hardtail at dalby forest and after doing 30 miles of trails I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. I then hired a full suss the next month and did 30 miles and didn't even feel like I'd been on a bike. I now own a full suss focus sam2 6.8 and love it 👍

I bought a new Spez Tero 4.0 November 21 for riding trails in the Surrey Hills. Been riding MTBs since early 90s, both full suss & hardtail but this was my first EMTB. I was very pleased with it, but soon found that the extra weight on the supplied 2.35 tires was quite uncomfortable. I changed to 2.6 and this helped. However, I found the more I rode it, the faster I became, the further I went & I started to tackle more tricky trails. After only a few months I realised that as much I loved the Tero 4.0, it was not suitable for what I was doing. Thankfully due to lack of new bikes available I was able to sell it on for only a small loss. I replaced it with a new 2022 Mondraker Chaser R with the latest Bosch 750 battery and I love it. This is so much the bike I should have bought in the first place. It’s perfect for what I do. The only upgrade it required was DHF & DHR tires as the supplied Recons didn’t have enough grip for where I ride in the UK. In short, the HT was brilliant and I loved it but it was not suitable for where I was riding. This can be said for non e-powered bikes to, but due to extra weight of the ebikes the lack of rear suspension is felt more so.

Bought a e-hardtail 4 months ago. Got around 1500 km on it right now and i love it. Drove a full sus last weak and it was a bit boring with my ride style. So i love it even more now. ❤

We have Ecotric e-bikes with hub drives. They also have throttles. They are rigid frame. My husband can no longer walk without a cane and that is difficult. Have you done a video on the benefits of e-bikes for the disabled? It's given him a way to get outdoors. He can no longer hike. E-bikes had given him a reason to still enjoy life.

Love, love, LOVE my hardtail EMTB. It does everything and goes everywhere. I love hill climbs and jumps on it. Not quite as fun as motocross but way less expensive.

Had my giant hardtail for 4years and done 6500 miles, love it

I’ve owned a cube reaction hybrid hardtail for a year and it’s feckin awesome for my local rides.

Quicker to clean in the winter! I got a cube reaction hybrid pro 2years ago. Started off with 100mm coil on front. Year later went 130mm air. 6months after went 150mm. Put grippy tyres on it, great bike. And 2.5 grand cheaper than a full suspension! Run the back tyre at 15psi and u have a tiny bit of rear suspension 😁😁😁

My first e-MTB was a 2019 Giant Fathom E+3 hardtail. Five years later the bike still puts a massive smile on my face as well as giving me an introduction and broad education into the world of pedal assisted electric mountain bikes. Not all of us have a tonne of money to jump straight onto a e-full suss and the notion that a well setup hardtail isn’t capable of dealing with difficult gnarly terrain simply isn’t true (and this is coming from a 60 year old man with a dodgy knee and sciatica). I would even suggest that for a vast majority of amateur e-mountain bikers and the vast majority of rides those riders tackle, an e-MTB HT is the perfect bike to be on compared to that of a full suss which would be overkill but that’s just my humble opinion. It’s like buying a Toyota Land Cruiser and then only using it to do the shopping commute when a Suzuki Jimmy would suffice.

Hard tails are bullet proof! Less to go wrong.. been beating on mine for about 15000 km now

I think I've trumped the hardtail ebike world and purchased a kingsong S18 EUC electric unicycle, it has suspension, no need to lock up and leave, it has a trolley handle to wheel around shops etc, take it on the bus, train no worries and with a 50 mile radius, it's still an electric powered cycle too, just a unicycle.

as im getting close to 60 im not so confident on the rough stuff anymore and also enjoy hiker biking so my next e bike will definately be a e hardtail

I have the Orbea Urrun. Soooo fun. Also, my thought was without that rear suspension in frame, that's a great space to fit a bike bag and make this an epic bikecamping rig. I have yet to try it on a spicy blue or an easier diamond.. But, I plan to.

Get a regular hardtail and add a CYC or Bafang motor... cheaper and more power.

Got a full suspension first then bought a Specialized hard tail for daily riding and to carry my drone and camera gear down paved trails to dirt for photography. Great suggestions/video, thanks! 😁

Hard tail Tero 5.0 for some smaller reasons but one giant reason. I want to ride it everywhere, including adventures on road. The only e-mountain bike I know of that is able to go 28mph assisted is the Tero. This is a factory option to have it upgraded. For road rides being able to squeak a bit more than 20mph is a little bit more important than full squish. Price was also slightly a factor, other bikes can be had near the same price. That said, I absolutely do not regret it. The 2.35 tires will be swapped to 2.6 mainly to cut the chatter in the rear, the fork is already upgraded to a Yari 120mm, it’s a great weekend adventure bike. I have a stumpy for the harsh stuff but honestly I don’t even need that much most of the time. Most anything I regularly ride is more flow and loose rock which is fine on a hard tail. Next morning I can be out touring the countryside or bombing to my favorite breakfast stop, it’s great.

For those of us lucky enough to ride velvety smooth ,groomed snow trails in the Winter , a hard tail fat bike, such as the Norco Big foot vlt , is a dream bike! A rear shock isn’t necessary for that style of riding. The Swedes and Norwegians are all over it! ⚡️❄️⚡️check it out.

When I started mtb in 1984 hardtail is all you had. Ridged Forks is all we had. Once I got used to full squish I will never go back.

I have a rockrider est100 electric mtb and I absolutely love it!! It's an absolute amazing bike for everything!!

Full suspension bikes can do everything that the hardtail can do, AND then some. Many riders who buy hardtail bikes don't buy them over full suspension ones. They buy hardtail bikes due to budget limitations.

definitely, cycle to work scheme ftw, if you have a capped limit and cant order a full sus on it. Personally looking to do this for the commute and then the lad can ride it at the weekend whilst i am on the full sus.

I own hardtail EMTB, Cube Reaction Hybrid Pro. I always had a hardtail, wasn't riding that much but always in the forest. When I started taking my daughter to kindergarten which is a bit further daily I decided to buy EMTB. I actually haven't even considered a full suspension. Once I started riding on EMTB, mostly commuting but also through forest trails I like it more and more. I also tried the pump track I discovered nearby and small jumps and now when I'm watching more and more of your videos I'm thinking if I haven't made a mistake. I haven't tried a proper trial so far but plan to do it in spring. I hope that for my occasional trail riding it will suffice. And if I fall in love with it and have time to ride more on trails then I'll probably go switch to full suspension.

Protection from the whims of the changing standards bike industry. And, remember that in these tough economic times people may not have the money to properly service their suspension components. Hard tails are just basic fun. If you can’t ride and have fun on a hard tail then you won’t have fun on a full squish. Except for the dudes just showing off their money.

I'm a BMX guy first and foremost. I've never gotten along with full suspension because of that. 29 is almost as bad after giving that a try for a while. I'm hoping to drop down to 27.5 in the spring time to see how I get on with that.

I don’t own a hard tail myself but have a brother that loves his. He also has a full sus but where he is riding dictates what he rides. He uses the hard tail a lot on the Malvern Hills and similar places and the full sus on more ‘rowdy’ trails. That said a persons budget will certainly play a part in what they buy.

I bought a Powerfly to hold me until my Rail arrived. Had a blast on it and didn’t want to sell it. It was a fun bike.

Hardtail with suspension seat post gives the best of both worlds without the added cost and complication of full suspension. I have a Felt Doctrine with Suntour NCX post, can't beat it.

I’ve got an analogue hard tail and Emtb full sus. Best of both worlds !

I went full fat full suspension cause I ride Vermont double black tech trails. Wife went mid motor hard tail cause she’s into Vermont gravel to two track fire/sugaring trails. Specialized Turbo Levo for me, Liv Tempt3 E+ for her (she especially loves the auto assist of the Giant/Yamaha motor)

Love my whyte e 505 great hardtail handles off road well has the best geo out of all the hardtails availble

Hardtail Fatbike for me. [Fantic FatSport] Where I live I ride in snow, rocks, roots, mud, and a wide range of temps. I have a 29er full squish non-ebike and it collects dust. When I bought a hard tail fatty [Growler] I fell in love. Now my new fat e-bike just opens up more riding possibilities for me.

Just got a brand new Scott Aspect 940 with bosch performance line (not cx) and 500wh powertube for $1350, couldn't be happier.

Hard tail all the way. It’s just as capable as a full susser just less hassle and cost for servicing and cheaper

Love my cube reaction hybrid race, just added sus seat post just for a bit more comfort 👍

I don't own an E-MTB but when i do buy one it is going to be a Hardtail (Can't stand full sussers) not my thing, always had Hardtails, had one full susser but got rid of it. I also have more fun on Hardtails. So for me Yeah an E-MTB hardtail is preffered

My own route has been fairly atypical. Started with no-suspension city bike from Kalkhoff for rides in the hilly city of SF and the Bay Area, shared with my wife. Kalkhoff originally went with a proprietary motor design that the hills of San Francisco absolutely brutalized. The clutch or gearing in that motor burned out 4, maybe 5 times in a year. That prompted a considerable upgrade to a Riese & Muller Homage GT Nuvinci. After years of bike truck service (using a Surly Ted), I built a new, DIY, AWD, dual battery bike truck and the R&M was retired to family rides on increasingly hilly fire roads, so I upgraded it from the tired old Nuvinci to a SRAM GX Eagle 10-52 lunar drivetrain (had to build a new rear wheel), changed the tires to Johhny Watts 365 front and Hurricane rear, and had added a PNW dropper a few years back for descending 29% graded streets in SF. It came stock with a Fox 34 front fork and rear lockout remote. So it was essentially at this point a full e-mtb, albeit for lighter riding and of course very heavy at 68 lbs. (a heavy light e-mtb? lol). Tried that out on numerous XC-style rides with a smattering of enduro and downhill features that are common in this neck of the woods. The full suspension on our old R&M is great, if a little low travel at times. But a 68 pound bike is very difficult to learn mtb skills on for the first time, like wheel lifts, pivot turns, bunny hops, et cetera. I'm accustomed to nice load-outs now, but not having the skills to ride it to its full potential, did not want to spend another $6-15k USD on a full-sus e-mtb. So I bought 2 bikes: a $398 Walmart special, the Ozark Trail, purely as a session/clinic bike and a Ride1Up Prodigy XC for $2,500 and an extra battery ($500). I probably spent another $1,000 on upgrading components (still in progress), and had some other components lying around. So all in, about $4k. Yes, I could get a lower-end full-sus e-mtb for that, just barely, but I don't want minspec components, which brings me back to the $6k+ range (either upgrading a $4k bike or just buying a nicer bike). For a bit over half that, I have a hardtail, class 3 e-mtb (technically illegal, but there is no enforcement here anyway and it's largely a moot issue on hilly trail rides) with a Brose TF Sprinter that weighs 22.7 kg and can destroy hills with an e*thirteen 12-speed 9-52T cassette and SRAM GX Eagle derailleur and shifter, and on city streets hit 28 MPH, something a $10k class 1 e-mtb cannot do. Once I learn the skills on the Ozark and the Ride1Up to deserve a $6k+ full-sus e-mtb, I will buy one in the future. I'm a monkeywrench who likes building and working on his own bikes, so having another bike or two in the stable doesn't bother me. I took the Ride1Up on an inaugural ride in Marin headlands last weekend. Just by virtue of it weighing 18 pounds less than the R&M, I'm already doing self-taught wheel lifts. The ride is indeed a bit rough, but I'm not ready for truly downhill, flowy, hard tech terrain rides yet anyway, and I have to say, even with the stock componentry, the bike absolutely rips on flats and downhill sections and is just overall a blast to ride. Can't wait to get the e*thirteen/SRAM on there and see what she can do. By the time I feel I have the skills down for more technical riding in a few years, I'll be starting to ride more technical stuff anyway so the switch to a full-sus e-mtb should be fairly organic, if you will, and having ridden in 'hard-mode' to learn, should be that much more of a blast to ride. Not to mention e-mtb's will be even more amazing in a few years than they are today. Not the same choice everyone would make, but it works for my situation.

I already had two electric bikes but I wanted a mountain bike so I bought a second hand gary fisher mountain bike a 750w mid-drive motor and used a 48v 15.5 spare battery and built a DIY electric mountain bike all in for £700 and its still going strong and its a hard tail and I don't ride the really narly trails but i would like to buy a full suspension bike in the future 👌

Well hardtails are more fun when you have good riding skills. I found riding on a full sus I got lazy/less active on the bike. Steve switched from all time fully bike to a rigid bike, sure he got rattled. Hardtail riding takes getting used to but once mastered the whole feedback and experience is so much more rewarding. But I also understand it's personal, we live in an increasing “less afford” society so I get the choice of a full sus.

bushings or knees which do you like replacing more?

I had a Trek Rail 5 and it was great but I’m a bit older now and a proper trail bike allows me to put myself in a bit of danger. I now have an Orbea Kemen SUV and I don’t dare take that down technical single track. It’s a good all around bike that I can now ride with my wife. Added a Brooks B67 spung saddle and it ride great over bumpy forest roads.

I do not ride very technical trails with roots and rocks, so HT is all I need. One might argue that gravel bike would be enough for me in that sense... Ride on some rougher roads would be smoother on higher speed on fully, but for the price difference, I rather have bigger battery and better gear on the bike...

I ride my Levo with locked f/r sus when on the road or bike paths etc but full sus all the way off road - I’ve got a non elec hard tail 29 and a rigid fat bike as well but suspension wins for my local

Great convo guys ,im having this dilemma ATM being in the 2k to 3k price range considering weather to go entry level full suspension or decent hard tail. But i think you've hit the nail on the head with the e bikes being a different ride to a noramal bike. Ive never had a e bike before but i think i would be more adventurous on one. So thanks for the tip 👍

Have a Giant e+power whith rear wheel quick release, it pulls a B.O.B Ibex trailer up hills like a tractor.

Bought an Orbea Urrun 10. Cannot wait until it arrives. This will be my gravel/light mtb/commuter bike.

I went full suspension on my latest eMTB due to the fact I had experience on an e-Gravel bike. Waited and spent a bit more for that EMTB just for that full range motion. The EMTB is actually my wife's as I still ride a regular MTB full sus but I did go from hardtail to the current MTB. Great video guys. Love the comparisons.

I'm moving from FS to Hardtail now, purely down to the type of riding I will be doing now. No longer cycling down hardcore trails, just riding forest tracks and gravel so no need for FS anymore.

Im 62 and just purchased a Trek Powerfly. 5 I've been riding MTB for over 30 years and regularly headed into the Peak District for the more extreme trails and down hills I still have my Proflex856 & 857full sus bikes in the garage. Now I stick to local trail riding for the health fitness benefits and feel for the type if riding im doing Full Suspension is over kill plus its extra maintenance with the pivots and shocks.When I was thinking of buying an ebike It was a toss up between eMTB or titanium framed eGravel bike which are full rigid . If I could have found a good quality rigid EMTB I think I would have chosen ridgid. I have fond memories of my first MTB a 2nd hand USA made Marin Rockyridge.

Full squish helps my back not shatter into 1000 pieces… but I love how hardtails look. I will stick to full suss though.

I've just ordered a Orbea Urrun over the Rise. My rationale was that since I'm getting on a bit now I'm less likely to be doing the black trails and more gnarly routes that I did previously so less incentive to spend the extra £1300 on the full bounce. Plus I've always ridden hardtails anyway so well aware of their pros and cons. Can't wait for it to show up now 😊

I have a DIY Hardtail Emtb that i use for city commuting.

First EMTB this summer, purchased the CUBE Reaction Hybrid Pro 625 hardtail, fantastic bike with great components and the 85Nm Bosch motor. More than capable for the terrain I cover (single track, bridle, rutted woods) and I can go a good distance without feeling knocked about. BUT I’m now sitting here recovering from back surgery (not bike related) and I’m 61. So I’m not going to be throwing it around, but maybe a bit of buyers remorse is setting in. Should I have gone £1k above budget and got the full suspension with dropper post? I reckon the PNW Coast dropper+suspension post maybe a solution, otherwise a trade-in?

I ride hard tail First Because I don’t do trails but I want the comforter of the front shocks on bad streets and sidewalks .but I do love the kool look of full suspension 😊

Price. It's the only answer.

How to avoid back problems when riding a hardtail on trails?

"Back in the day, if you could enjoy riding a steel-frame bike with no suspension and no motor, then you can have an even better time on a modern electric mountain bike (eMTB), whether it's a hardtail or full-suspension model.

You Tested my Hardtail Haibike sDuro Hardseven 1.0 on EMBN & Chris seen photo of my Ebike

I don't have an e-mountain bike. I'm watching to learn more and avoid mistakes if/when I give it a go. I think the monopoly quote you are searching for is unfortunate in this case because I think it is "go directly to jail, do not pass go". The opposite of what you meant! Great video though, keep it up.

A good hardtail is better than a cheap full sus. Plain and simple. For the same price point, that’s what you’re choosing. Cycle to Work schemes increasingly allow that £2.5-3k budget where you can pick up a fairly decent hardtail but can’t afford a decent full sus. And for commuting during the week but doing some reasonable trails at the weekend - you’re going to struggle on the big blacks but are you going to smash those on the bike you need to get to work on monday? Hardtails are a go between that most people fall into - ride around during the week, do some trails, some longer rides down some country roads/paths, but most people aren’t flying all weekend. I’d look for the best motor/groupset available for the budget then worry about the rear suspension afterwards.

What I'm hearing is if you need a full rack mounted on the back of the bike, that is basically the ONLY reason to choose a hardtail emtb over a full suspension emtb. This was my opinion prior to this video. Thank you for the confirmation bias. 🤣

I brought a specialized ht to start with and loved it maninly because it was cheaper but quickly realised that the riding i was doing and were the ebike could take me i needed a full sus and its just so much more comfortable to ride but the ht defo taught me how to pick better lines.

You should go hard tail electric Fat Bike. Those things are beasts on the trails, but you almost never see them.

I've been down Snowdon on a hardtail - carried it up though! And it was quite a good one, not a £450 job. For me (apart from that Snowdon trip) I like hardtail because I have kids. Hardtail gives me just a nice little bit of fear and adrenaline without riding blacks or road gaps and stuff. I don't need to put myself at risk to have fun. So effectively I ride it because of its limitations, not despite them

Biggest difference for me is that on a hard tail your not fighting your suspension on long distance pedaling.

Getting the Powerfly 5 for my first emtb!

Having had a hardtail e-mtb, and just gotten my first full-sus e-mtb, I completely agree with what you said at the end as a summary: Go full-sus :) The difference is like night and day :)

I love both Hardtails, Full Suspension Bicycles.

Tried a hardtail ebike took it back to the shop and bought a full sus. Comes down to B***y uncomfortable to a joy to ride, Full sus is the way to go

Perfect timing (11 months later 😂) my exact question… hardtail 1st

I have a Haibike hardseven/5, its great for the trails I do here in NZ, and I prefer the look of a hard-tail, ive taken it on complex trails and it does suffer however.

I love my normal "organic" powered hardtail, efficient, light, playful, things I wouldn't associate with ebikes. (Don't really need efficiency with an bike and the other attributes are eroded by weight). So personally I went full-size enduro level when getting an ebike.

what is the bike in the thumbnail?? please anwser it looks so clean

A Trek powerfly 4 or allant 7 with a suspension seat post might offer enough fs for a variety of use and are way cheaper than a similar quality fs mtb. Also fs might be more for young riders. Enjoyed the clip.

I went hardtail because I HATE riding a full sus bike. Its just so uncomfortable always bouncing on a full sus, plus I use my arms and legs to absorb bumps out of habit already so what do I need the extra parts for

I am waiting for a full on trail e hardtail. Love riding a hardtail 😍 go a roudy trail one. Looking for an Enduro style hardtail and at best as an eBike. We will see what the future brings. Nowadays there are only those commuter style, light off road e Hardtails 😑

Have both or as i have bike full sun and analog hardtail

As much as I hate to admit it, I got beat up on my hardtail URRUN 10 on blue trails. It’s fun and I can ride way longer than normal, but wish I had full squish.

I have the Scott E-ride 920 .. more for bike trails and roading !

to do bike courrier in montreal canada all years round and still do stare sets drops and use snow bank as table tops. i m also big on enduro dh and trail so i d like to have fun while i work. fat for courrier i think to much tyre drag and not anuff suspention or else i go for a city bike

The best reason is to have a perfect commuter bike with the option to ride off road or on ruff no maintained roads, lighter and affordable.

A discussion from two owners of full suss bikes? I live on Salisbury Plain. Miles upon miles of chalk tracks, some hilly, some very steep. Not much technical single track though. Ive no wish to go to a bike park as I want to use my bike from my back door. I bought a Cube hybrid reaction race, seems to do all I want at the pace I ride at.

You guys just won't talk about the Aventon Ramblas will you? Its beneath embn?

Price is only advantage. You will always be disappointed with the hardtail feel. Despite the high cost of living it remains popular. Don't piss around just buy the best for maximum fun and pleasure and turn yourself into a gleeful kid again. E=Mtb²

Its budget to get hardtail over fs i love hardtails im in Australia 🇦🇺 test road powrrfly 4 before covid. But now loosing drivers licence. They r on special so going a trek rail 5 gen 3 fs .1500 more but be worth it as i had a car accident and fs be alot nicer test ride again when they get a med frames in

Hardtails for normal use ? Yep..they can be surprisingly capable. The KTM Macina team 791 is around Euro 4350, great value

Guys there is a huge market out there for Hardtail emtb's. We are not a nation of good amateur or ex professional riders, so a do it all emtb without the expense and maintenance hassle of a full suspension is perfect. Most of us are not going to be chucking it down the kind of trails and tracks you guys do in the way that you do it, so we have no need for rear suspension. The reality is outside of the bubble you live in not many people have a spare cash sitting in the bank let alone the cost of a decent full sus emtb 4-10k. The more you keep being negative about Hardtails the more you are excluding potentially new cyclists to mountain biking and Emtb's.

for myself i originally wanted a hardtail e bike from specialized and from the research i gathered among's the competition the specialized hardtail was the weakest out of the bunch. the orbea hardtail caught my eye in the hardtail choices but like you said for the price its pretty close to a full sus e bike so i ended up getting a turbo levo 29 to which i love. but i think it all depends on the majority of the terrain a rider is riding most often. if you were like me who rode the city bike paths that are paved and the odd gravel or fire road then i think the hardtail is the right tool for the job because when i ride my turbo levo 29 on these terrains i feel its way too overkill for the situation. recently this year we found high mountain trails we were hitting on a regular basis and this is where the turbo levo shines. even though i do have a full sus turbo levo i am also keeping my eyes open for a hardtail too, for the simplicity of paved bike paths and simple riding. i do find the hardtails very attractive because of its simplicity and not too over the top.

Hi I’m 6,9”who manufacture’s a full suspension bike to fit me a currently have a cube reactionhybrid pro xxl frame

If you are a heavy bloke like me …then a hardtail was the right choice. I am just too heavy for rear suspension bikes.

If you have a full sus e-bike in the city, its 10x more likely to get stolen.

when I lock my rear suspension, it feels like somebody is kicking my ass constantly, no way I would switch to hardtail, aside from easier maintanance I dont see any advantage of having e-hardtail

While I don't feel the need of rear sus on my lard bike, I'd go full sus with electric bike.

Is it possible to bunnyhop a hardtail emtb on flat ground (e.g up a curb)? Given its weight I would think that you'd definitely need a rear suspension to assist with getting some air from flat.

Although fullsus emtb are more expensive, are they not more safe to ride than hardtail? (Specially among seniors)

Can you get a touring road tread tyre for these hard tail emtb's? The bike I am looking at has 29" wheels with 2.6inch wide tyres fitted as standard, but I want to use it for work commuting mostly. I cannot see any type of tyre except knobbly ones so far in my search. Something like the Schwalbe Big Ben type of tread would be ideal, less rolling resistance.