This week we're celebrating hardtails on GMBN, and one of the great things about
hardtails is they can be really good value for money. For a comparatively priced
full-suspension bike, you might not get as good a components. So let's say you've got
yourself your brand new hardtail, these are our Top 10 setup and upgrade tips.
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Because of the nature of hardtails, they can be said to be slightly less forgiving
than full-suspension bikes, and arguably, the bike setup is more important.
And one of the most important components on the bike is tires, choice and pressure.
So because of the lack of suspension on the rear of the bike,
the tire, especially the rear tire, is actually going to get hit pretty hard,
so you can start puncturing if you start riding a hardtail really fast on gnarly
terrain. So, first thing, I like to go for a slightly heavier tire.
There's more protection on it, more rubber in the carcass and that means you're less
likely to puncture. Also, tubeless is a really good idea, because that is going to
take away the risk of pinch puncturing. You can still rip a tire,
so you do have to bear that in mind, but definitely less pinch punctures.
One of the great things about tires is they really, really do change the way the
bike rides, so it might be a really good idea to invest in a couple of pairs of
tires. Maybe a lightweight cross- country set for those epic rides,
and a slightly heavier weight set of tires for those gnarlier rides.
Personally, I like to run about 30 psi in the rear, so pretty hard,
but then less in the front, anywhere between 25 and 28 psi.
Riding a hardtail on flat pedals can be a really bumpy experience,
and your feet can blow off them. Most of the time if you're buying a new bike,
it won't come with pedals, so now is your chance to buy a good set of pedals from
the off. Something with a big platform and aggressive pins is going to be super
grippy, and match that with a big, flat sole, so either a mountain bike flat pedal
shoe, or something like a skate-style shoe will be good. If you're a beginner,
I would always recommend starting on flat pedals, it's going to be good for your
skills in the long term. Obviously, foot clips on there, you won't have that
problem of slipping off them, but even with flats, good technique will make a big
difference to sliding around on the pedals, as well. Just dropping your heels
slightly means that your foot's going to be in the pedal, so when you hit bumps,
you're not going to go forward, you're just going to push the bike forward.
The other contact points on the bike are the saddle and the grips,
so then you might want to play around with those so it makes that your bike
comfortable for you. Grips, I always go for lock-ons, just for the ease of use.
I know they're not going to spin around if water gets underneath them.
Then, you can play around with things like diameter. You can get grips in slim or
wide, just to suit your hand size more than anything. Saddle, again,
it's a really personal thing. Maybe try out the one that's on your bike,
but it might be one of those first places where you think about getting an upgrade
to make sure you're super comfortable, especially on longer rides.
Most hardtails come with a suspension fork, so it's really important to get that
set up correctly for your front wheel control, grip, and for your comfort.
A lot of suspension forks nowadays are air, so that's really easy to set that
fork to your weight just using a shock pump. Look at getting 20% sag on there.
We've done a video on how to get this, so check that one out if you have not seen
that one already. And after that, it's then trying to set up your rebound.
There's normally a label on the fork that shows you which way you need to turn that
to speed it up or slow it down. Again, play around with that a little bit,
but also check out our video on how to set up your suspension.
It's important to check your bike over regularly. Hardtails can take a lot of
abuse in heavy riding, especially on heavy landings, so give them regular bolt
checks. You go over every single bolt on the bike and make sure they haven't
rattled loose. Also, your rear wheel and tire can take a lot of abuse,
so keep an eye on that tire tread and side wall, and also, regularly check your
spokes, make sure they're nice and tight.
Getting the correct bar and stem combination for the style of riding you do
can make a big difference to your confidence and control on the bike.
For more aggressive riding, like jumping or riding downhill, a shorter stem,
maybe 40 to 60 mill, and wider bars are going to tip you a bit further back on a
bike and should inspire more confidence. However, for cross-country racing,
you're going to want a longer stem, so maybe 60 millimeters plus, and narrower
bars to keep some more weight on that front tire.
So there's a few tips on how to set up your new hardtail, but down the line,
you might want to think about some upgrades on that bike, especially if
you've bought a bike at the lower end of the budget. As Scotty showed us recently,
wheels make a massive difference to how that bike rides, so strength and weight
are main considerations. They will make a big difference, especially as it's
rotating weight. If they're heavy, that can make a really big difference to how
agile that bike feels. So they're not cheap, but wheels are a potential upgrade
that you might want to think about.
Another major component that's worth thinking about upgrading are the brakes.
They're actually really important to how fast you can ride that bike.
If they don't work well, then you're not going to be able to ride fast and brake
late. Also, one-finger braking is really important if you want to be a good
rider, so make sure your brakes are powerful enough to let you just use one
finger on the very end.
Finally, one of the best upgrades, in my opinion, you can make to any bike,
is to fit a dropper seat post. It's going to help you get that seat out of the way
really easily so you can move around on the bike, gain confidence in steep
downhill sections especially, without having to stop and use an Allen key
or a quick release.
So you've set up your bike, you've upgraded it. Point number 10,
the final point, is to upgrade your skills. If you click up there,
that'll take you through to our full skills playlist and you can learn a thing
or two, hopefully. And if you click just about there, that'll take you through
to this week's hardtail playlist. Click on the GMBN logo to subscribe.
Give us a thumbs up if you love hardtails.