Hey Blake just wanted to thank you for all the effort and enthusiasm you put into these video! It always makes me excited to go riding and I totally share your love for hardtails! And of course thanks to everyone else behind the scenes on the GMBN team making these videos so entertaining and high-quality. Always fun to watch what videos you're putting out next!
I ride a slack hardtail with 2.6 Minions, so I wasn't a bit surprised by the results. But I'm still marveling at your ability to ride that sloppy trail, in the rain, with no fenders or eye protection. That was some kind of black magic.
If you want to test the difference of the bike you should minimze factors that create difference so I absolutely agree. On the other side however these are the tyres you would probably ride on those bikes. Although I think the middle way for both would have been better. Some proper grippy trail tyres that still roll fast on the straight parts.
Definitely agree. Regardless of hardtail or full-sus I think I'd always want 2 sets of wheels now. One with aggressive trail/mud tyres and one with fast XC tyres. Then swap them out based on the weather and the type of riding. I'd love to see a bike/£ comparison. You get a lot of bike for your money with a hardtail but is it enough to beat a full-sus? (Hardtail is my only MTB right now).
@@ifitrollsrideit530 only times I take out the fully is when I go to mountains with chunky tech. Also did that on the hardtail and itmight even be more fun but I do find myself to be a little bit slower as I have to push harder to keep up with friends. Does not feel like that though and you can still get good speeds if you know the trail and technique is good.
I would actually prefer the 67 degree head angle over the 63.5. If you want to talk about skills, riding a 66 or 67 degree head angle is all you need for slackness. I think it's actually the sweet spot in geometry and all you have to do is sharpen your skills a little rather than having a super slack bike that sucks for anything that isn't pointing down.
@@WilliamLevesqueineX I have ridden a lot of pretty aggressive trail with my Eskar Hayduke which has. 140mm fork and 66 degree head angle. It doesn't need to be any slacker.
@@ShadLife Looking at where you ride, I dont think you have quite the same kind of riding we do here in Canada (both western and eastern). Trust me, slacker isnt a bad thing for a lot of the stuff here haha. My HT has 66deg and a 130mm fork, needs a bit more frankly. Also have a DH bike for lift access stuff :)
@@WilliamLevesqueineX I ride all over the place. Colorado, North Shore, Bentonville, and so on. I also ride BMX bikes with no suspension, 20" wheels and a 75 degree head angle. So yeah, a 27.5 or 29 inch wheel with a 66 degree head angle is plenty slack for shredding most technical DH with a slight exception of probably the gnarliest down hill trails. But those are far and few between. I rode Trestle bike park going 35 or so MPH and had plenty of stability. Super slack is needed for a very limited amount of trails and like I said, with the right amount of skill any rider could shred anything with ease on less slack bikes. The super slack bikes I have ridden only felt good once I was going down hill at a higher speed up 25 MPH plus, otherwise they felt cumbersome to ride.
Just picked up an aggressive'ish hardtail in the nukeproof scout. My other bikes are a full suss 27.5+ with less aggressive geo, and a full suss enduro. Im really looking forward to seeing how it compares!
Nice comparison.. how about hardtail vs full sus xc on long climbs/ uphill?. as I've only got a hardtail, i'm always wandering how capable a full sus xc bike is, which is more efficient on long climbs and which bike is more fun going down,
I started with a hardtail that seemed like a mix of XC and trail with its geometry and 130 travel and rode it for years. I made the switch to a full sus trail almost mini Enduro 150/140 and I couldn't be happier. I actually find the full sus easier for uphill. Modern anti squat technology and geometry really help. Plus if I need to I can lock it out but haven't needed to yet. Downhill is where it really shines and will leave you grinning ear to ear. My opinion, move from XC to trail and you won't regret it.
@@JeffMTBinVA man a 150/140 with a lockout in the back that's a sweet setup you've got. Should be a blast going down. My hardtail build right now is trailish setup with 140mm travel. And on my local trail it's kinda enough. Although there's some section on the trail that sometimes I wish I have a rear shock haha
@@gmbn as some of us need to pedal long climbs to go on our local trails. It would be interesting to see if a short travel full squish is really faster on climbs than an agressive hardtail.
I have a Orbea oiz and love it , just got a Merida big trail hardtail for winter and I am so impressed and feel really confident on it , this vid was like comparing my 2 bikes ❤ Thank you GMBN
I guessed right! The suspension on the back probably kept the tire in contact with the ground, thereby outweighing the reduction in grip of an XC tire... however confidence on the front is of greater importance, giving the hardtail the win. I bet with a more aggressive front tire on the XC bike the results would reverse.
XC is a discipline that involves going UP hills/mountains as well as along and down them so comparing the two examples descending ability is IMO not a thorough examination of which will be quicker overall within the sport. Having said that, Blake said near the end of this presentation that it's really down to rider ability and to a lesser degree what type of terrain you intend to ride on which I wholeheartedly agree with.... on the day it looked like tyre choice was more a crucial factor lol
Aggressive Hardtails are much better on the downhill (more front travel, Enduro tires, aggressive long slack geometry...) And the cross country full sus might be faster on the uphill (less travel, lighter, not so slack...)
exactly the two bikes I have in mind to replace my trusty Alma. But I'm leaning towards the OIZ, even if the Laufey looks like a lot of fun, but I've covered a lot of kilometers on the Alma and there's still an Occam in the house 🤓.
Hello, would be Laufey 2024 suitable for long distance (commuting)? I understand that gravel would be faster but how about seat postion comfort and speed?
Love hardtails I will always choose my hardtail over my full suspension when possible.. this video whats price difference between the 2? Have to think that hardtail is significantly less expensive.
The Laufey is round about £600 in the UK, the Oiz is roughly £2,000. So you could buy the Laufey, stick a good dropper on it, upgrade/add a few things and still have spent half the money. If someone offered me either bike right now on the proviso I could never sell it, I'd take the Laufey anyway. I'll always be team hardtail.
@@kamasu4222 I like mine. Hardly ever adjust it. Maybe that's what makes it so popular. Also, it's affordable if not a little on the heavier side compared to other mid-tier forks.
Hardcore hardtails sound good on paper but I have test riden many of them through my riding buddies and swaping from full sus to hardtaill feels like going from mercedes G63 amg to a lada niva, capable maybe, but they feel like they will shatter your spine and bones from harshness, very unrefined and unsettling
Nice video. I am intreted by the wheels on the Laufey are those custom build SPANK cause they are not the wheels that comes with the bike and I can not find them on Spank website ether?
My Laufey frame is now sat to the side after moving all the components to a Nukeproof Reactor frame. The Reactor frame is much more forgiving but the Laufey frame was amazing to ride
I prefer hardtails. Previous two bikes have been full sus, now I'm back to a hardtail again. It must just be something about me but I just have way more fun on a hardtail, I feel better and more confident riding them too. With my last two full sus bikes I spent more time riding them with the rear suspension locked anyway so the added weight was pretty much pointless. I guess it's like cars, some like fwd, some like 4wd, some like rwd. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages. I drive a rwd, I like to get the back end out now and again - legally of course 😉
I had the stif squatch.My experience is.Numbers are just numbers. Steep seattube angles more than 75 on hardtails are nonsense. On flatter trails this hardtails ride akward,Your shoulders and upper body are more stressed.Not to forget that the angles steepen in sag on a hardtail!! I went back to the scout v3,just perfekt,as my body is well put in the bike. On full suspension steeper seattubes make sense as the bike flattens its angles on sag.
Perfect timing! I was literally looking at a FS XC bike yesterday and comparing it to a hardtail. Result? I have a new Norco Torrent S2. A continuation of this video would be interesting. Add in smooth and techy climbs, maybe some jumps, and see what happens.
The last time I rode a full suspensíon was over twenty years ago but what I remember was that I could ride the bike longer than a hard tail so in the long run going down ski hills the full suspension even though it was kinda crappy (Pro Flex with elastomer) I was less beat up after a four hour ride down using a chairlift to go up. I have only owned one full suspension bike in my life but from my little experience I would say if you can afford it I would go with a limited travel full suspension bike for everyday trail riding.
Personally I only own hardtails, but I was invited by a mate on a trail to ride a FS E bike recently. Compared to my hardtail it was like a flying carpet, it had much more travel than my XC hardtail and you could go much faster over obstackes. The bike had a smooth Fox 38 fork which alone costs more than my whole XC bike. It was a completely different way of riding the bike, though my harddtail is likely more efficient on longer climbs compared with a non electric FS bike with that much travel
You seem to like the Orbea at GMBN, and especially the Laufey. I have a question. With efficient tires, does it climb well? Is it possible to do epic ride with it. And the next week end change the tires and go to the bikepark? Is it at this level of polyvalence? Thank you so much :D
would be nice to have a 3rd bike in the comparism - enduro or all mountain full sus - for this kind of terrain in order to set the benchmark.... I love your hardtail content, more videos like this one please.
Hey Blake love the videos, I recently started getting back into cycling after 10 years off the saddle. What are peoples thoughts on the 2015 norco storm 7.1, Id love to know what upgrades you would make, everything on the bike seems to be original parts so I'm replacing a lot and upgrading where I can and afford. So far I've done: - brake pads and rotors, swapped them over to galfer rotors and galfer advanced. - new Pedals jet black alloy - more robust inner tubes Will eventually replace wheels and tires so I can go tubeless and replace the front forks to something with more travel. Riding conditions are country Victoria Australia very dusty and rocky as well as steep and hilly, xc/enduro style.
just putt xc tyres to hardttail trail and downhill time will be the same, but how about uphill or flat terrain? hardtail ttrail is beter xc than sttandard xc bike
hmmm not the same tires.... that's a bummer... how could you compare that...there is more difference in the traction and all ...senseless...just an orbea add... love both bikes. orbea is one of the nicest brands
For me the question is on the seat angle. I have both types of bike and I often feel the super steep seat angle of hardcore hardtails is heavy on the knees if you are pedalling in the saddle for a longer time.
I agree, I think some trail hardtails are going too far with extra long reach and steep seat tube angles now making them compromised for anything that isn't really steep up/down. Its like some designers just copied fashionable enduro geometry numbers without considering that a hardtail gets longer and steeper as it sags, while a full-sus does the opposite. My 140mm hardtail has a 75.5 deg seat tube and I wouldn't want it any steeper.
Tires matter.....My Honda Element with good snow tires will beat any Ford Raptor with mud tires in a snowstorm. How do I know? Lol.....I have experienced that raptor in the ditch many times and asked if he needed a ride. Tires tires tires!
I find on my home trail, lots of old school single track, roots and short punchy climbs the Supercaliber was hands down faster than my Procaliber SL! On the Procal, I need to pick my lines and the SC I don’t. The Procal climbs incredibly easy but so does the SC. I feel the Procal is only faster on straight/flat spots. The Supercal is an all around beast! Funny thing is, I had a 19 Top Fuel and I felt that was faster, but Strava says the Supercal is faster!
And next we will test an f1 car on ice vs an old Skoda on the road. Oooo there's only 1 second in it,. Is the Skoda faster? Yes it is. FFS at least test on the same tyres in the same weather.
