Rigid Steel vs Hardtails

Apologies if this has been done before, but this week I decided to basically thin out my collection to just be rigid steel and no suspension. (I'm thinking of putting my '97 Specialized Rockhopper FS and '02 Scott G-Zero FX1 into storage for my little boy to have when he's older; he's only 2 but he loves bikes already!)

I took the Specialized out the other night (it's too big for me, please see my other post), I found the front shocks (standard Rock Shox Indy Cs) really annoying and all I could think was "This would be much more fun on a rigid steel bike." Not to mention one in my size!

(I've also got an old Raleigh Ogre with the child seat on the back; sure it's a heavy bike already, but it's done a few thousand miles over the years and has been absolutely bulletproof).

Anyways....I ended up buying a '93 Specialized Hardrock Ultra on eBay, which is currently on its way.

All this happened because I was trying to bleed the brakes on the Scott ready for a planned ride in the mountains this Friday, but the Magura Julie calipers are broken....the threads in the bleed ports seem to be stripped; the Allen bolts were just going round and round. I was going to replace them with Avid BB5s, figuring a mechanical set up would be less hassle, but then I took the Rockhopper out for a spin and changed my mind....which led me to remember why I love the old rigid bikes with their "old fashioned" brakes etc....and now I question why I ever bought those suspension bikes in the first place....to be honest I've always been happier riding with rigid forks and never really felt 100% comfortable with any kind of suspension...perhaps it's just my age!

I do think that for me at least, riding rigid bikes makes you a better rider in that it forces you to pick your lines better, but maybe that's just me?

So what are your thoughts?

Sorry for rambling.....

At the moment I'm having more fun blasting across the countryside on an MTB frame made from road tubing, '531 Club Sport' tubes, so I get your point. But just be aware that there will be cornflakes spat across keyboards by those that swear blind everything is better than everything else.

Its build is quite springy without being all floopy as some steel frames can be. Many Raleigh 531 frames such as their Thunder Road ride very very well too and are more widely available.

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Hey

Thank you for replying. Wow...that is a beautiful bike. Your photo just reinforces to me why I personally prefer the older bikes; they are beautiful in their simplicity, with clean lines and no clutter.

Thanks for sharing the photo.

I think it all depends on what/where you are riding and how you are wanting to ride it. The older longer steel rigids (as above) are lovely for fire road traily type stuff but try doing anything requiring fast bumpiness and they get a bit jarring after a while.

All my retros are now rigids as are most of my 29ers but if I want to pretend i am a riding god I pull out my full sus 29er with dropper post and proper brakes etc. The main point is enjoy what you ride and ride what you enjoy.

Relaxed and ragged. Both get you there smiling though.

There's a whole world of suspension forks a million times better than a rockshox Indy. I'd definitely say a rigid fork beats an indy every time.

for me, a decent air fork with a lockout is ideal for the bulk of riding I have locally.

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Off-roading is undeniably good fun on a fully rigid (ohh err ) bike - you won't go anything like as fast as on a modern full suss, however it will certainly FEEL fast and technical. In the midst of today's world of exotica, hi-tech and strava KOM competitions, it's just pure FUN, which is why most of us do this?

I do ride a more modern hardtail with disk brakes (2000-ish), which I run quite small and slack, so it's great for hitting jumps and is actually my go-to mtb for the sort of off-road terrain we have in the North west.

Luckily most of us are in a position where we can have a couple of bikes :roll: and enjoy them all!!

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Thanks everyone for your replies; yeah the reason is FUN, you are absolutely right!!

Apologies for the delay, the courier arrived with my 'new' '93 Hardrock. I know this isn't the top of the Specialized range, but I have to say, I've just taken it for a spin and I am like "Where have you been all my life!?" I instantly felt at one with this bike. And yes, we do well to remember how blessed we are to own more than one bike...I have to say, if I drop to one bike only, I think this one is it.

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A nice lively retro steel frame is a joy to ride. Ti frames as perfect for more comfort and really long rides over jarring terrain. Obviously you need a modern disk full susser if you are into the RB Rampage style.