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.

1) This year’s xc with fox 34 is an aggro trail bike from 5 years ago. 2) it’s the rider not the bike

Wonder how the comparison would have been ridding the same tire. Great video! Love what you guys do here, been watching for many years.

@flowstateofmind

6 ай бұрын

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.

@gmbn

6 ай бұрын

It could be interesting to see if the results change in anyway! We'd have to get Blake out in the wet again though 🤘

@robwales5987

6 ай бұрын

Hardtails are fun!

@ifitrollsrideit530

5 ай бұрын

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).

@flowstateofmind

5 ай бұрын

@@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 love aggressive hardtails!

@colincoulthard3021

6 ай бұрын

Me too.

@underbikedoverconfident1142

6 ай бұрын

​@@colincoulthard3021Me three! I have a Stif Squatch.

@edsilver8098

6 ай бұрын

True bro 👍

@Whyusadd

6 ай бұрын

Soo good!

@RobertAmine

6 ай бұрын

yes.. im in on hardtails too... sold my double sus 2 years ago. no way back

Great video 👍

So good. Thanks!

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

You should swap tires and go again 😛

@numbers7905

6 ай бұрын

Swapping tires on each bike would be fun. Laufey on an XC wheelset vs Oiz with the enduro wheels.

I love this channel 🇿🇼

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!

Did i miss the jump on the cover still in the video? Great content, no rain would stop the show 😂

@gmbn

6 ай бұрын

Unfortunately it's not in the video, sorry! Just some gnarly riding instead 🤘

I love Blake´s videos with hardtail bikes!

I like the idea of this video, but the only thing it showed was that the hardtail was slighty better at going downhill in muddy conditions.

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.

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 🤓.

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

6 ай бұрын

Depends what you ride. And you also need to go slacker with a HT since it loses slackness as the suspension compresses.

@ShadLife

6 ай бұрын

@@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.

@WilliamLevesqueineX

6 ай бұрын

@@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 :)

@ShadLife

6 ай бұрын

@@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.

Would Blake choose the laufey over the scout? That's a competition😵

Hardtails are so much fun, and I definitely wouldn't have made the choice to go with mine over a full sus if it hadn't been for Blake's vids

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,

@JeffMTBinVA

6 ай бұрын

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.

@gmbn

6 ай бұрын

It would be interesting to see 🤔 The Oiz does have a full lockout which makes it a climbing machine!

@renzarnolf9505

6 ай бұрын

@@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

@renzarnolf9505

6 ай бұрын

@@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.

Great video Blake 🤘 Both those bikes 🤤🔥

I was about to order an Oiz to replace my yeti arc. Decided on a Lapierre Spicy.

Blake is such a rider

Been waiting for this video for ages!!

@gmbn

6 ай бұрын

Did it live up to your expectations?

@maxdesancha6025

6 ай бұрын

Yea! Was great! Keen to see the matchup again at Dyfi though 😅@@gmbn

What about the fall, did you do a re run? Good job mate. Next one do in the dry. 👍

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...)

Harking back to the mixed tire videos, have you considered doing a mullet gravel bike?

We need a comparison of the nukeproof scout vs orbea laufey, similar price point & geometry

No one gonna talk about how high Blake jumped in the thumbnail?

@gmbn

6 ай бұрын

It's very majestic!

I'm seeing the Z2 on a lot of aggressive HT's these days, my rig included.

@kamasu4222

5 ай бұрын

Good fork?

@furleyforever

5 ай бұрын

@@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.

Love the vids ❤❤❤

Love B-Lake!

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?

I wonder what Blake would pick, Orbea Laufey H10 or Nukeproof Scout 290 Comp, he seems to love both of them.

@colincoulthard3021

6 ай бұрын

The Laufey’s got a few more features than the Scout.

@thelittleewokboss9929

6 ай бұрын

Blake loves scout more

@Ka0Zltd

6 ай бұрын

@@thelittleewokboss9929 Yea, was thinking the same

@kamasu4222

5 ай бұрын

Why though? They're extremely similar

Ha.... a test with a Laufey.... I love mine 😎....Upgraded the brakes...now its nearly perfect

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

is it gold tho.. way more zingy than the dark purple..!

@HerrKarliseppel

6 ай бұрын

@@fugoogle9757 jep.... gold 😅

Aggressive hardtails are imo mostly suited to tight, low speed janky trails, rather than smashing into things at speed.

Ooooh ooooh, another hardtail video. I fricken love these!! 🤣🤣

My 56 year old knees love my full suspension bike…end of story.

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

my 53 year old knees are yet t xperience the wonders of the FS! love my orbea hardtail especially the goldy paint job!!

Way more time is spent climbing so I would have preferred seeing that comparison. Something like a Trek Supercaliber is the sweet spot of XC bikes.

@danvalicek

6 ай бұрын

This comparison is obsolete, a hardtail is always faster than a fully when climbing.

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.

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

@MightyFireL

6 ай бұрын

Funny, I own a Laufey and a Reactor too 😁

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

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 😉

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.

@simonm1447

6 ай бұрын

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

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.

@gmbn

6 ай бұрын

Good choice! Happy we could be of service, how does the bike feel?

@user-n0tf0und.

6 ай бұрын

Let me know how the s2 is I am thinking of getting the same as is $1875AU here 45% off…

PFP has won the last two XCO Worlds on a Hardtail.......

Thumbnail like Sho Kosugi!

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

@michaelmann3636

6 ай бұрын

The comparison wasn’t an xc race it was just a downhill section, give Blake a break. After all he is a beautiful person.🤣

Sir. try Kens tyrann x2 or Kens tyrann x3 Hardtail frame made in philippines you try to enduro ans jumps..

This literally is the best topic.

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.

@davehedgehogUK

5 ай бұрын

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.

I am curious to see how well this Orbea pedals. The standard tires are 2.6, which is not very agile.

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

i have no problamas pedlin uphill on my orbea

I love telemarketing😂😂😂😂😂

I have a question ! Dose Down hill requiere strong wrist and a good gripe😮 I have only been riding xc and gravel😮.

The Orbea xc fully looks like a 2018 Specialized Epic

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.

Ouch, my “all mountain” bike has a 67 degree head angle.

tyres are different though.. and the barzos don't grip the best from experience

You should register with that mustache.

Forgot to wear tight lycra with the xc bike

Nicolai GLF for the win!

Is Blake trying to create a drinking game by saying hatdtail as often as possible? 😂

How good would these videos be with a side-by-side POV camera? Hint hint

What was the point in that. Of course the bike with the better tyres is faster 😒

Best thumbnail 2023🎉🎉

Need control tires, yeah.

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.

@gravelben

3 ай бұрын

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.

ride rigid. thinking about 66 below rigid fork.

Comparing two bikes.... with different tires. WAT

It would drive me crazy to live somewhere, where it’s wet all the time!

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

u get t really appreciate dry trails when it does seem t rain a heckofa lot!

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.

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

sarcasm. the lowest form of wit...

@MTBEAST007

6 ай бұрын

@fugoogle9757 no...that's just a dumb saying that sheep believe in.

Where was you riding blake

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

forest of dean wd be my guess..

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

Just bizarre to do a comparison of XC bikes and not have any climbing in there. What?

Oooo yeahhhh!!because hardcore hardtail 🤘🔥🤘

👌

You lost me with no motor and no suspension! 😅😅😅😅😅

Apparently there is no difference between a ‘trail ‘ and an old drainage ditch in that part of the world. 😂😂

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 dont ride in mud so its kinda pointless to me😅

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

ur a lucky bleeder so! if ur N european then mud is what there is for much of the year.. alas.

Is biker's tea like builder's tea ?

@fugoogle9757

6 ай бұрын

bikers tea has a splash of the old uisce baugh in it!

Should of had a carbon hardtail

@ifitrollsrideit530

5 ай бұрын

Not many hardcore hardtails with a carbon frame unfortunately. Lot's of XC to pick from but not much in the

@Notaprofessionalvideo

5 ай бұрын

@@ifitrollsrideit530 True but they were comparing two different type of bikes. A carbon everything hardtail is super fast

Hardtails all day!!!

I think most people would be competely satisfied with a trail hardtail. Fullsus is way too complicated and maintanence is pain in the ass.

Ahh yes, nothing tests an XC race bike quite like a sub-one minute downhill course.

Like comparing a Harley to a mx bike.

26 inch with more/better suspension will beat 29 inch.

OMG, why do I watch this infomercial shite. I'm not getting that time back.

I am disappointed about this video. The ideas are running out?😅

The post pointless video ever