Hardtail versus full-suspension mountain bike: what's best with a £1,000 budget?
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Loading... - Beatrice Serra
- 05 Jul 2022
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In the past few years, budget full-suspension mountain bikes have improved to the extent that a small number now deliver sorted performance for not much over £1,000.
The Boardman MTR 8.6 is a case in point. Its modern geometry and sizing equate to trail bikes costing way more cash. While some of its equipment may be cheap, it’s fundamentally up to the job.
Previously, when looking for a mountain bike at home on proper trails, your options would have been a front-suspension only bike with a superior parts spec – such as the other Boardman machine on test, the MHT 8.9 hardtail.
The reason being brands always struggled to spec forks, brakes, gears and tyres capable of hacking it on modern man-made trails because they had to foot the additional cost of pivots, linkages and rear shocks.
Balancing budgets between spec and suspension also tipped the scales in the wrong direction for efficient climbing. This frequently resulted in bikes with poor-quality parts unable to keep pace with aggressive or racier riders.
On top of kit compromises, budget hardtail mountain bikes seemed slower to move on from old-fashioned angles and cockpit setups than many contemporary hardtails.
This meant they didn’t benefit from recent advances in handling, ushered in by calmer-feeling, more relaxed geometry and more precise steering.
Far too many cheap full-suspension mountain bikes still had narrow handlebars, long stems, steep head angles and short reaches. Conversely, the confidence-inspiring kit and measurements on modern trail bikes keep you safe and egg you on for the fun stuff.
Thankfully, the Boardman MTR 8.6 tested here kicks this outdated attitude into touch. Its bang up-to-date shape is ready to go toe-for-toe on any terrain or trail types with its better-equipped MHT stablemate.
What you’ll want to know, though, is whether, at roughly the same price, the hardtail – benefitting from cash saved on the frame and reflected in some higher-quality parts – makes for a better all-rounder than a machine with bump-absorbing suspension at both ends.
We reckon the answer to this depends on the kind of riding you enjoy, so read on to find out.
Hardtail mountain bike
Boardman MHT 8.9
- Retro ride: The bronze-and-black colour scheme and gumwall tyres look the business, but the aesthetics are spoiled by the old-school SRAM PowerSpline BB with its exposed plastic shell
- Slippery devils: Vittoria’s Barzo tyres roll fast but aren’t the grippiest in challenging conditions
- Forked up: While the RockShox Reba is an alright budget fork, Boardman have gone with the largest available offset (51mm), which reduces fork trail (a stabilising force on steering), places the front-wheel axle further out in front and increases the bike’s twitchy steering feel
Boardman’s top-tier hardtail looks fantastic in a retro colourway with gumwall tyres. With a lightweight aluminium frame, the 8.9 is designed to walk the line between trail and cross-country, with a 120mm-travel fork and wide-range 12-speed gearing.
Components are generally a step up from those on its full-suspension sibling, with the money saved by not having a rear shock and complicated machined parts being put back into better equipment.
The top-value Boardman MHT 8.9 is no slouch, either, but unless you live purely for climbing and fitness challenges, a hardtail with more slacked-out angles will likely suit you better.
Full-suspension mountain bike
Boardman MTR 8.6
- Reliable rubber: The bike comes with tubeless-ready, dual-compound Maxxis Minion tyres, which are excellent for the price
- Bottling it: While you get frame mounts for a water bottle, you’ll require a side-entry cage and smaller bottle, to avoid it interfering with the shock
- In a jam: SR Suntour’s expanding Q-Loc thru-axle isn’t the most intuitive system and can get stuck inside the hub – something to bear in mind if you plan to regularly remove the front wheel to transport your bike
The Boardman MTR 8.6 is a full-suspension mountain bike with top-of-the-range geometry at a budget price. It pairs lesser-known kit, such as Tektro brakes and an SR Suntour fork, with instantly recognisable parts including top-tier Maxxis Minion tyres and an air-sprung RockShox shock.
Now the Calibre Bossnut is no longer on sale, the sorted Boardman MTR 8.6 is the go-to entry-level full-suspension mountain bike. It blends the trail-taming geometry of a pricier trail bike with a functional spec list at a great price. Read More...
