Hardtail vs full suspension: Choosing your perfect e-bike

The word hardtail has a long, and surprisingly aquatic, history. It first entered the English language way back in 1704, describing the blue runner fish in North America. The Oxford English Dictionary traces its first appearance in relation to motorcycles to 1971, describing a motorcycle without rear suspension. This predates the first mountain bikes, but the burgeoning sport soon adopted the word as its own to describe a mountain bike with a rigid frame and a suspension fork at the front.  

Whether you need a hardtail or a full-suspension mountain bike is one of the oldest debates in mountain biking. Insert a motor into the equation, and it can become even more difficult to pick a side. Do you want the simplicity and directness of a hardtail, or the comfort and performance of a full-suspension bike? This short guide will help walk you through making your decision. 

In the simplest terms, a hardtail e-MTB is one with front suspension, while a full suspension e-MTB has suspension at both the front and rear of the bike. This fundamentally changes the riding experience between the two types of bikes, affecting the efficiency, weight and handling of the bike. Suspension can be a double-edged sword for some riders. If you are focused on conquering technical trails, then full suspension is a big advantage, but if your riding includes miles on the road or gravel tracks, then the rear suspension featured on full suspension e-MTBs may be an unnecessary complication and expense for you. 

Hardtails are where mountain biking begins for many people. With a suspension fork at the front and a simple, rigid frame, they are the most affordable and accessible of all mountain bikes, and that is no different for e-MTBs. 

A hardtail e-bike like our Grand Canyon:ON is perfect for beginners and people looking for a simple, easy-to-live with bike. With its rigid frame, mudguard mounts and optional kickstand, it is ready to be your everyday ride, while its 120mm suspension fork, fat tyres and powerful Bosch motor mean it also has everything you need to get out and start having fun off-road. It is also our most affordable e-bike, making it a great point to enter the world of e-bikes and assisted riding.  

For most serious mountain bikers, full suspension is their preferred type of bike. Even our elite cross-country racers generally prefer the Lux with front and rear suspension to our speed hardtail, the Exceed. The extra control and comfort that front and rear suspension brings make such a big difference in the technical sections, and when the Lux and Exceed weigh almost the same, the tradeoffs in hardtail vs full-suspension get smaller and smaller. Today, the biggest deciding factor is often budget, because the price difference between a simple, aluminium-framed hardtail and a carbon fibre World Cup race bike is significant.  

Having suspension at the front and the rear of the bike means the bike can absorb impacts much more effectively than a bike with only a suspension fork, making for a more composed, comfortable and fast ride. You also get a lot more grip with a full-suspension bike, so it can be a definite advantage climbing as well as descending. 

Full-suspension e-MTBs aimed at different riding disciplines will have different amounts of suspension travel to help them cope with more or less demanding terrain. Usually, an e-MTB with less suspension travel will be aimed at less challenging terrain, and bikes for more intense trails will have more travel. Taking a bike with a lot of travel on easy trails can make the riding feel uninspiring and maybe even a little boring, while a bike without enough travel for difficult terrain may feel a little scary and out of its depth. This is why it is important to match your suspension travel to your riding style.

Where and how you ride your bike should be the biggest factor in deciding which bike is right for you. What do you find fun and where do you like to ride? If your answer is that you like riding technical trails in the mountains, then we think buying a full-suspension bike will prove more fun for you. 

However, if you don’t happen to have the Alps on your doorstep, how far are your nearest trails from you? How much do you plan to ride on the road? Might you want to use your bike to commute too? If you live in a big city, and would like to use your bike every day on both trails and streets, an e-hardtail will likely be the perfect bike for you.

As you can see, a hardtail is likely a better bike for less demanding riders who prefer riding less technically demanding trails, while riders who are looking to develop their skills and push into difficult terrain may be better served by a full-suspension e-MTB. 

A full-suspension e-MTB may use a little more battery over the course of a ride than a hardtail, and this is especially noticeable on smooth surfaces. Having a rigid rear end means that a hardtail will be able to apply power to the rear more effectively than a full-suspension bike. Our engineers work hard to make sure that the difference is small, and getting smaller, but there is a good reason we don’t see full-suspension road bikes.  

If you do have a full-suspension e-bike and need to go on the road, there are a few simple steps you can take to maximise your battery life. First, check your suspension and tyre pressures - having these incorrectly set up can make your bike less efficient to pedal. Many of our bikes come with suspension that features a lockout - a small lever that allows you to stiffen the shock to pedal more efficiently. When you come to a smooth surface, you can flip this lockout lever to make your bike more efficient. Just remember to switch it off again when you get back to the trails! 

The new Spectral:ON CF, equipped with the Avinox M2S motor, is our most powerful e-MTB ever. By coupling the class-leading motor with a thermally optimised 700Wh battery, this is one of the few bikes to offer the full 1500W performance of this motor. Of course, the motor only makes a difference until you stop pedalling. 

What makes this bike truly exceptional is its frame weight of just 2.8kg, which means we can get the weight of the CF9 model down to just 20.3kg. With carefully designed weight distribution, just the right balance of frame stiffness and a progressive suspension design, it handles like a dream. You get all the power, combined with a lightweight bike that sheds the stereotype of heavy, slow-handling e-MTBs for good.  

We find that if you are struggling to make a decision, it can help to break things down into the pros and cons. So how does the hardtail e-MTB stack up versus the full-suspension e-MTB?  

The simple, affordable hardtail will always have a place in mountain bikers’ hearts and garages. 

For riders looking to head beyond the tarmac and gravel, full-suspension bikes have become more and more popular (and affordable) than ever before.

We make a wide range of e-MTBs to suit all kinds of different riders. The best way to find the right one for you is to consider the kind of riding you plan to do. 

If you ride mostly on less technical types of riding, whether that is cross-country-style trails or commuting to work, this is where a hardtail e-MTB will shine. They are cheaper, simpler and easier to live with than a full-suspension bike. A bike like the Grand Canyon:ON with its solid aluminium frame, robust components and durable components would be a perfect hardtail e-MTB for you.

Most riders tend to choose a full-suspension bike for trail riding. You can’t go wrong with an all-rounder e-MTB, like the Neuron:ON AL. With a 150mm fork and 145mm of rear wheel travel it has a balanced, comfortable nature. This “mid-travel” bike offers just the right amount of suspension to keep you comfortable on a wide range of trails.   

More adventurous riders looking for an e-MTB might want to look at the Spectral:ON. Packing aggressive geometry, lightweight, incredibly balanced weight distribution, a powerful Avinox motor and 160/155mm suspension travel, we start to run out of superlatives to describe this bike. Suitable for everything from cruising your local trails through to demanding enduro tracks and long adventures, it’s the perfect e-MTB for a rider looking to do a bit of everything.  

A hardtail like the Grand Canyon:ON is worth considering if you are looking for a simpler, more affordable way to get out trail riding. While it won’t be as comfortable or confidence-inspiring as a full-suspension bike on difficult trails, it’s still more than up to the task. With great geometry, a good build and a big battery, it has everything you need to get out and riding

For riders who like to go in search of challenging trails and terrain, we would recommend investing in a full-suspension bike. With its ASTM 4e frame durability rating, progressive geometry and burly components, the Spectral:ON pushes how far you can take a trail bike. As an all-round bike that is capable of taking on gnarly trails, we think it’s pretty much perfect.

If downhill speed is the most important part of your ride, then the longer-travel Strive:ON is a no-compromise, e-enduro race bike. Equipped with 170mm of front and 160mm of rear suspension, it is ideal for riders seeking speed but who still want to enjoy the whole mountain.

When the downhills are what you live for, we have the 180mm Torque:ON. If you want to ride faster, jump further and get more laps, it is the gravity-hungry beast for you.

Want to get shuttle laps in on your favourite downhill track without the truck? The Torque:ON is the e-MTB for you. With long travel, DH-worthy builds, and enough battery power to lap until your arms give up, it is ready for riders looking for their DH kicks. 

One of the big downsides of full-suspension is the increased maintenance requirements. The rear-suspension damper will require servicing at least once a year to keep it in good condition. On top of this, the frame uses a system of bearings and bushings that let the rear end move freely. Those pivot bearings and/or bushings will need to be serviced and replaced periodically. Both of these jobs generally require the assistance of a skilled mechanic.

If you are just starting out riding, we would recommend our e-MTB hardtail, the Grand Canyon:ON. This bike is designed for people like you. It is the most affordable e-MTB in our range, it comes with a bunch of practical features if you want to use it as a commuter or city bike, and with modern geometry and a good suspension fork, you can have plenty of fun out on the trails. If you are exploring the sport of mountain biking and are not yet sure what sort of rider you would like to be, it is an excellent choice.  

While we work hard to make sure our bikes offer great value for your money, we also understand that buying a bike is still a big purchase. To get the best value from your investment, it helps to sit down and think about who you are and what you want to do with your bike. We think a great exercise is to write down ten rides that you would like to do in the next year.  

When you have those ten rides, consider each one and whether you would have more fun on a hardtail or a full-suspension e-MTB.

1. What surface are you primarily riding on?
2. Do you favour smooth roads or gnarly, rocky trails?
3. Do you want to cruise or charge?

Hopefully, this will give you a clear answer as to which bike would best suit the riding you want to do.  

Don’t forget long-term ownership of the bike, too.

1. Are you comfortable servicing suspension every year?
2. Do you have a good mechanic who could change the bearings for you?

If these things are barriers, it might be best to buy a hardtail that will still be in optimal condition in five years’ time, rather than a full-suspension bike that requires more frequent servicing.  

To help narrow down your options, we've created guides covering the key differences between hardtail and full-suspension mountain bikes, as well as advice on choosing the right e-MTB for your riding. If you're comparing specific models, our bike finder and bike comparison tools make it easy to see how they stack up side by side. 

For more buying advice, explore our guides on MTB geometry and sizing. So, we’ve weighed the options, now it’s time to gear up and make the mountains your playground!