Can A Hardtail Be Faster Than A Downhill Bike?

Today we are riding two bikes that are at completely different sides of mountain bike tech and worlds apart in performance! This is a hardtail Vs downhill mountain bike!
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[@gmbn]

If you could pick one of these bikes which would it be? Are you team hardtail or team DH bike? 🤔 Let us know 👇

[@jpandriesse3954]

The Nukeproof for me please :)

[@YavorM-Yash]

Already have a Scout. 😉

[@terrydemoe7653]

Team DH

[@theycallmebernd]

The DH is a specialist versus the hardtail is way more versatile: so thats hardtail for me!

[@fennfamilyvideos7056]

hardtail ALL the way

[@dakshrokadia_MTB]

blake's always shredding his hardtail, nomatter the competition

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

Blake is a hardtail stress test machine...

[@vitoonto]

Why is buttercup now blue?

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

Why is blue now buttercup? 🤯

[@SummitMTB]

you know, if you think about it.... no

[@rickmortyson4861]

Streets, hardtail is faster. Dirt, downhill.

[@jeffreydzialo]

Keep up the hardtail content! Would love to see a video covering two different sizes for a given rider, and the benefits/negatives of upsizing/downsizing

[@ericl6460]

They've definitely done that before. Doddy and Blake switched bikes I think

[@gmbn]

We certainly did! We uploaded one where Rich and Anna swap bike as well! Here are the links 👇 Blake and Doddy - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHKag2OipMd9hLc Rich and Anna - kzbin.info/www/bejne/amjQdHmNfdBmf9k

[@nowrideyourbike-nyrb]

That's why I love hardtails, pretty much yo can do anything with it, any type of rides will do such as long rides, bike packing, jumps, trails and downhill, unlike the suspension that you're limited to what it can only offer and it's more expensive and lots of maintenance to do. 🇵🇭

[@lisapet160]

#metoo

[@my2017raptorhardtail]

Just proves once again that a hardtail can do it all. No monetary excuse for not getting out on the trail. 💪🤙

[@daviddetweiler7658]

+1 to the hardtail in my book. only a few seconds slower than a bike thats mighty more expensive, and you can still go ride it around your local trails or do other things. You wont find the downhill bike anywhere other than somewhere with lift service!

[@pawelall7032]

Hardtail and full sus, love them both

[@TheSamwhyte]

Would love to see Blake shred on a retro hardtail from the 90s… Narrow bars with 100mm stem. 26” wheels. Canti brakes. No dropper. GMBN - I’ve got several old steel Konas up here in Edinburgh if you wanna borrow one for such a vid - so no excuses! 😜

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

That would be fun but you're a courageous man Sam 😂

[@yengsabio5315]

Blake representing us in the hardtail category, sweet! Lots of love, cheers, & mabuhay, from my end--the Philippines! #RideOn #KeepBiking

[@Doc_Raphy]

Imagine if Rurok Industries sends a Kanlaon to Blake to play with. That would be awesome!

[@adrian_veidt]

Blake on a unicycle or a Walmart bike made from shopping carts will probably be still hella faster than me. 😅

[@ZOB4]

Downhill is WRC, XC is Formula 1.

[@stevehunter7402]

More about the pilot than anything. I couldn’t catch these guys if I was on a motorcycle. I seem to 1.7 every double I come across.

[@edward1591]

Intersting - now add in climbing and see what happens. Sadly for most of use we need that bit too! Neil's lorry might not be as friendly slogging up a two-mile fire road...

[@richcrompton6891]

The winner is the viewer. Watching you guys shred is always a total pleasure. I am a hardtail guy, but can fully appreciate the DH bike is the weapon of choice when heading over the knarliest terrain at warp speed! Awesome!

[@KenanTurkiye]

...and more dangerous if you don't have enough skillzzz.

[@crankshoptv8141]

Depends who and where. I'm mostly interested in why Blake is running 175mm cranks 🤔

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

If the bottom brackets height permits it why not longer cranks?

[@crankshoptv8141]

Because you increase the risk of pedal and crank arm strikes. Modern bikes have very low bottom brackets. Maybe if he was running it with a 29 up front I'd understand as this would increase the bb height. Blake has strong legs, I very much doubt he needs the extra leverage.

[@judechandler5102]

As the person who put down the fastest time in all categories on the black stage 3 of the Malvern's enduro on my 2014 26" vitus sentier hardtail, a hardtail can be fast AF on the right lines. Never selling mine.

[@BOONERBOYO]

A hard tail called Terry? Should be called Harry: Harry Hard Tail. Just makes sense!

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

Terry the Hardtail Or Hardtail Terry. One might be a exotic dancer.

[@thescerigai]

if you prefer going downhill, a dh bike with a dropper and wide range gears is a comfortable and sustainable do it all bike

[@hardtailharry6812]

When i see hardtail and blake i do a like .

[@floydblandston108]

Next up; jogging in wellies! Save your dough- keep your hardtail- and if you want to try life on the big travel side, pick up an old 26" DH bike to do your DH/Enduro riding at a lift serve or shuttle park. Spend more time riding and less on paying for bikes, and *remember*....if we could ride as well as these two we could prolly get by poaching shopping trolleys from the local market.😁

[@vrwgq3q]

Not going to lie, Neil looked great out there! SMOOTH The trick to hardtail speed is speed. Limiting the braking, rolling through the chunder, braking bumps and washboarded sections is the only way to lessen the overall impacts and allowing the compliance of the frame to handle the oscillations. The rest is then technique and using the 8 inches of travel that is your legs is key. By technique, its impartive that you drive in the 'modern' aggressive way. Alot of arm and hip bend to weight the front end and ride that bastard like a pogo-stick. Lean on that Fork and pump with those legs. Its up to you to get smooth out that track and get the most speed out those rollers and landing. The best way to be 'fast' and to avoid impacts is line choice BUT even moreso is to just be brave, let go of the brake, compress, jump and clear obsticals. Try not to case ;) As to the bike itself - Geo of course is #1, #2 is a good stout fork with good travel that is properly tuned to be progressive, and doesn't turn your bike into a see-saw #3 frame compliance. It goes without saying brakes and wheels are ALSO incredibly important, and especially so with a hardtail.

[@llongttower]

Where is yellow scout, Blake?

[@8o8ertmtb]

Has Blake retired Buttercup?

[@fugoogle9757]

they're both top notch riders but you could see Neil was flyin down the Blackadder trail like a demon.. tho Blake is slower, he's slightly more stylish.. Fair play t ya both!

[@MoriTouge]

I think it would be very interesting to make a comparison between bikes of the same category and purpose, but with different config and travel (Stoic, Spectral 125 and Spectral 29 for example) 😊

[@piast99]

Riding uphill - for sure it can!

[@RalphBrooker-gn9iv]

2007 I did Les Gets 1 & 2 (Steve Peat won the World Championship on 2 I think in 2005) on a Turner 5-Spot. Lyric with Avid Code stoppers. I shredded a few poseurs on SC V10s. I rode flats. Always flats since MTB moved away from XC, early 1990s. Would love to see you have swapped bikes and a rerun.

[@floydblandston108]

I like that. The first time the 'skill vs. gear' equation burnt itself into my brain was watching a club pro take an entire nine holes at marching pace, shooting under par on everything, armed with only one ball and a putter. A bunch of us kids were doing our usual job of ruining his fairways playing football when he came by and winked at us. We followed him over the rest of the course, slack jawed, and had new respect for his usual request that we "keep in the rough, please".

[@john_ridesbikes]

Was this on the Friday? Rest of the weekend was an absolute scorcher! Was nice to speak to you guys! 👌🏼🤙🏼

[@Maleko48]

10% performance difference is neglible when the difference in hitting the trails or not is 100% to a population of riders who cannot afford more than a humble hardtail!

[@metalheadfarmerrugbypunk2698]

I am going to be racing hardtail for DH this summer, we will see how this goes 😂

[@gmbn]

Keep us updated! 🤞

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

I'm not faster on my hardtail but it feels faster, in fact with numbers I'm definitely faster on my full sus. It's a bit like driving a brand new bmw m4 vs a econobox. The bike fits better in the econobox tho, so I'll probably be at the trails sooner than with the m4 😂

[@FoxRob93]

Not having room or cash flow for multiple bikes hardtail for the win here.

[@Justkeepshredding]

Darn it, I’m still not the first to comment, maybe tomorrow.

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

One has to have a life. KZbin is a hell of a drug

[@Justkeepshredding]

I’ve been a bit worried about my scout when riding semi gnarly black runs, but this video makes me feel safer now.

[@iwanttoliveinthewoods]

The scout will be fine it's us that we need to worry about, I'm still rocking the stock 130mm 😂

[@junka1975]

Both Neil and Blake just look at home on their respective bikes and being on something you love to ride inspires your confidence and contributes to your ride being better.

[@jjv003]

Looking to run the same DMR cranks and oval chainring and run the same exact set as Blake in this video. Im having an issue find dmr cranks that run Shimano compatible chainrings. Is that a sram compatible absolute black oval chainring?

[@stefanhansen5882]

Newbie question: When you jump you often turn the front wheel in the air. Is that just for show or does it help in some way, maybe with balance or a better landing? Thanks!

[@unnamedracer9757]

I feel like downhill mountain bikes, closer to the mountain bike equivalent of Group B rally, F1 is the silly little road bikes.

[@Paganiproductions84]

Enduro mtb is more like rallycar or enduro motorbikes Dh is more like Trophy truck or Dakar racecar downhill only

[@viajeroloco6220]

Missed chance: each rider should've ridden each bike on each trail. Then there would've been a really good comparison

[@bittabike]

why isnt neil riding his brand new red 2024 nukeproof??

[@jlj547]

Hardtails are great starter MTB's. But if your like me that gets sore knees and back after riding a hardtail full squish brings back the fun.

[@smoothisfast6644]

Yes. More about the rider than the horse.

[@egazzz99]

ride a downhill bike as fast as you can, wear a full face helmet. ride any other bike, same speed, same risk, nah I won't crash 😅

[@Paganiproductions84]

I think the f1 of mtb is currently xc and xcm the rest is way to heavy to compared to f1

[@Dbz4life26]

Is there specific reason why the front is 29 just curious if it helps with the performance of the downhill bike

[@silviapabon1282]

Of course the one that makes eveyhting easy... -.- ....

[@bambamty]

Is that Blake on a brand new frame? Thought his scout was yellow!

[@chellfire]

I'm curious how many teeth does the chainring have?

[@delia50]

I ❤️ my oval chain ring!

[@floydblandston108]

I do too- as someone who never really mastered cleanly 'spinning', they really help.

[@mickhurley7305]

Hardtail or DH ... Im equally slow on both.

[@TE_53349]

is this a reupload of an old video cause im sure ive watched this before????

[@tobysemler]

DH faster, HT more fun. Depends if you're riding to save time or have a good time.

[@neilsmyth1812]

At the end of the day, both bikes are amazing. . . but only as good as their riders. . give either one to me and put me down the trails, I'd be in a tree. . .

[@ashnose]

Just be careful saying hard-packy 😬

[@alc2347]

please turn down the music during the rides :(((

[@johnhabben121]

Is there a 27.5+ vs 29s out there. If not I would like to see it

[@johnlegresley4353]

All depends on the terrain. Most single tracks, the HT is fine, but there is something missing. The full suspension bikes feel way more planted...cause they are.

[@sultanabran1]

if neil is on a hardtail and i'm on a downhill bike, the hardtail would win

[@apersonontheinternet8034]

Spoiler alert: depends what you're riding. Videos like this have been done to death. 🥱

[@Yoda-em5mt]

Good vid guys but wtf the don did not say when i was a pro mtber once not once whats going on ?

[@TheMoodyedge]

Another pointless advert. Cheers.

[@KenanTurkiye]

We can't not salute.......Blackadder, Rowan Atkinson :) ....and Red Dwarf. ;)

[@peterwait641]

A heavy rider more likely to brake a hard tail.

[@G3LDY]

blake where is buttercup?

[@gagegreen7798]

What happened to buttercup? 😢

[@reneh.6551]

You forgot the uphill... 😉

[@DougieFresh13]

From now on I'm calling Blake, Bubbles from The Trailer Park Boys. Bubbles 🫧 Bubs

[@MikeGlorfindel]

Then pedal back up again! 🤪😂

[@harimathur2191]

@GMBN will u please cover Titan Racing? I find them great bikes, nut not much love given on Internet

[@DiamondBoy-ud9th]

I saw you there when I went 🎉

[@reddieseled]

Me and Rachael have this discussion all the time. On some bike parks including Wales and Sherwood Forrest (UK), a hardtail is perfectly suited. However somewhere like Dalby Forrest where the track is a lot more unforgiving on the quad muscles on a hardtail!

[@edmundhodgson2572]

Defo clipped in on the hardtail as its easy to get bounced off flats. On my sus bikes though, I'm terrified of unclipping mid jump trying to whip or table. Flats for those

[@tomd1826]

Blake and Neil come from two distinctly different riding disciplines. Would have been way better to have them swap bikes and do two more runs!

[@anbudrew]

Unrelated to the bikes, I like how the kits have recently been monochromatic with little accents. Goes real well with plain Smith lids.

[@tonyo4984]

I have a Ragley Big Al Hard tail and love riding it on Blues and Reds. This is the second time I have heard Blake singing the praises of riding clipped in on a hardtail, I usually ride flats all the time but I think I will dig out my clipless shoes and pedals and give it a go. What can possibly go wrong.... 🤞🤞

[@nikipow3569]

I rode a hardtail for about a year, bought my DH bike. I can NOT go back.

[@tobysemler]

I rode dualies for 15+ years, went back to HT this year, absolutely love it. Not sure I'll ever buy another dualie.

[@nsambafrancis8033]

Wow, great stuff blake you actually inspire me to continue riding my hardtrail more ❤❤

[@phillee9651]

we have lots of trails here in west wales .. no lift .. you have to pedal back up the fire roads ..

[@PaulFlude]

Why drop the 10mm travel on the front? As a hard tail user the rattle of a hardtail will tire you out faster than the weight of a full sus will in a downhill environment.

[@ChampyOnPC]

I need a Blake playlist, i want to see every single one of

[@andrewsiasparks]

I'm faster on a DH bike for sure . Hardtails are alot more fun to ride tho

[@ShredFredBikes]

never

[@samblenkharn8099]

Come on Neil get yerself signed up for a DH race before the end of the season! We all want to see it.

[@pepeanza6187]

I want that nukeproff hardtail but 74 degrees STA make me nervius why dont make it a little bit steeper for better climbing possition?

[@VanPelt408]

What is the brand and model of glasses that Blake wore in this video on the trails?

[@jonnywalker169]

NO

[@gwynnjason]

I will assume the HT will win on a road race.

[@peterdebondt2823]

Besides rider skills of our friends here, a HT with 150mm travel 😮. I would love to see what happens with a 'normal' HT with 100 - 110mm of travel.

[@jamie.02]

3:50 love me a Willy waver

[@srstrand01]

Blake might be faster if he didn't twist his front end when he got airborne.

[@tobysemler]

Wouldn't look wicked-cool tho.

[@simonm1447]

You are funny mates, today I discovered a broken axle on the front wheel of my hardtail which was just kept togetger by the QR, and I'm not even doing enduro with my XC hardtail. Just days ago I did 60 kph with this bike and rode hundreds of km with it the last weeks

[@pretzelnuts]

I have a question. Won't locking out the full suspension bikes let it behave like a hardtail? I'm a newbie to this stuff and have been hyped ever since i started watching mtb videos

[@tomd1826]

It's still quite a different feel to a hardtail, you can definitely tell the rear shock is there even when it's locked out , Thinking of getting in to the sport? :)

[@pretzelnuts]

@@tomd1826 thanks for the reply. I would've loved to be part of the sport but afaik there are no trails or good moutain spots anywhere near me. The closest i could find was over 1500km😅

[@allblack2977]

​@pretzelnuts that's when you become a freerider 😊

[@E.T_rode_bikes_As_well]

Can a reused old content be better than some new refreshing idea?!

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

They replay the heavy hitters.. I can understand, variations on a theme

[@Jack.Higgins]

Love all these hardtail videos. I need to upgrade my hardtail. New frame I see Blake

[@h3yn0w]

Now add a trail with climbing and see who wins