Hardtail or Gravel Bike?

Having returned recently from a trip to Scotland on their gravel bikes, a couple of my mates are now frothing at the thought of getting a hardtail. They both had an amazing trip and said that it should 100% be on my list of future travels. However, they both came back from the trip saying exactly the same thing. “I want a hardtail!” This was a surprise to me as neither of them had shown a particular interest in them before they had set off. Their reasoning was that gravel bikes left a little to be desired on trails that weren't gravel or fire roads.


I'll start by saying one of the most used pieces of consumer advice ever, it depends what you want it for. Very useful. This could not be more applicable to the world of bikes. As I'm sure most of you would agree, in an ideal world we would all have 4 or more bikes to cover every type of riding under the sun! My advice to my mates was that there is a delicate balance between an all out hardcore hardtail and a cross country mile muncher. But a hardtail is a bit like a Swiss army knife, there isn't an awful lot it can't do. It's more likely that your body will give up before the bike does. Of course I’m not claiming you could win a world cup race on one, but you get what I mean. On the other hand a gravel bike will undoubtedly provide you with better performance for road miles and gentle trails.

The concept of gravel bikes is still fairly new and many manufacturers are yet to produce a bike that sits in the gravel category. Although, I want to make it clear that in this post I am by no means slating gravel bikes, I am merely taking you through the information I gave to my mates. Gravel bikes are great but you are definitely restricted on what you can do, whereas a hardtail can provide you with a bike that is capable of doing pretty much everything well if it is specced right.


Today, hardtails look very different to what they used to, from some of the slackest looking bikes on the market, to the most cross country, pedally looking bikes around. However, there is a mid category, the 130-140mm travel do it all hardtails. This appears to be a sweet spot for those that are looking to be able to cover a fair distance but also get a bit loose when necessary.


Having owned a Commencal Meta HT a year or so ago, which was probably one of my favourite bikes to date, I have an appreciation for the hardtail heroes and what the bikes can do. It was super fun to ride, climbed incredibly well and looked the part. I ran a 160mm fork which was brilliant for me as I used it purely for going down, but the frame could run a shorter fork and be used as a more cross country orientated rig. The only reason I sold it was due to a niggle from an injury.


Hardtail or Gravel Bike? It's a tricky question and of course I am completely unbiased, but come on, surely it's got to be a hardtail! They are just better. They provide you with such a versatile bike that can do everything a gravel bike can do, and then if you want to, you can throw it down some nuttier trails and be fine.

This decision is made harder though, as more and more suspension manufacturers are beginning to produce front forks for gravel bikes. A concept that shoots straight over my head, but I'm sure will make perfect logical sense to those gravel bike aficionados out there. Could this development in gravel bikes make them a more viable option as a bike to ride more gnarly stuff? I don’t think so, but it provides those who are interested in gravel biking a bit harder, the option of beefing out their bike a little to deal with some more gnarliness.