If the question is "fun" the answer is almost always Full Suspension.

If the question is "eke every bit of efficiency" the answer is sometimes hardtail.

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I never understand this question, cannot a rear suspension be locked out when you want it solid? I have the cannonade scalpel full suspension, and if it is going to be a smoothish course I just lock it out. But if I was then going to a rutted piece of shit course from hell, I can then engage the proper suspension. Could not do that with a hard tail, so I just dont get why you would not want the ability to have one bike for both scenarios??

Maybe too much money burring a hole in your wallet and you want two bikes optimized(or more) for different conditions?

If that's the kind of riding you like, don't waste your $$ on dual. Hardtail tend to be lighter and you aren't facing anything in Florida that I feel needs dual suspension....If you have money to burn, lighten up the HT and get some other wheels......

I mean it will be one or the other for me... I've pretty much run out of room for bikes.

Sounds like you're an ideal candidate for a Specialized Epic. The brain shock rides very hardtail-like until you hit something bigger, at least that's my recollection from when I demo'd one many moons ago.

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On some models, yes the rear suspension can be locked out on the fly. On others, no.
Regardless there's still the increased weight, decreased space for water bottles etc.

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I recently bought an Epic (S-Works WC). I also have a HT Stumpjumper. On all trail types (even smooth hardpack) I am significantly faster on the Epic.

If you want to race and be as fast as possible, then a full suspension XC bike will be faster 99%of the time. It's a pretty easy choice in my opinion.

If you just want to have fun, then it's a much more difficult choice. The Hard Tail might be slower, but it is still very fun. There are sections of local trails that are difficult to clean on my HT, and it takes a lot of concentration and dialing in the perfect line. I feel good about myself when i get through a tough section. On my FS, it's almost too easy to get through those sections, so I don't have that same sense of accomplishment. But, the sense of accomplishment on the FS comes when I look at my lap times and see that I'm going faster than it feels, and way faster than I was able to do on the HT

The HT is also easier to maintain, because there are less pivot points and moving parts.

I have two Scotts, a FS Spark and a hard tail Scale.

I love them both. The Twin Lock lockout which is on the handlebar has three settings for the suspension, Fully open, 80mm travel (traction mode) and almost fully rigid. I use that all the time, it is so convenient to have on the bars.

I was and still am very happy with the hard tail but the FS is more fun for tooling around.

It's amazing how changing your bike encourages you to push your boundaries a bit and you quickly find that what seemed like the limit of the trails you enjoy become easy, and suddenly you have a whole new selection of trails to choose from! (it's happened to me a number of times in my life!). If you can see that happening to you then I would absolutely go full suspension. However, if you are confident that your current limit will always be your limit and you have no interest in pushing your boundaries then I guess why waste your money upgrading. It possibly also depends somewhat on what trails you have available for you to ride - I'm lucky and have 100's of km of amazing singletrack trails within an hour of home, with the entire range from smooth flowing to steep, rooty and technical. If all you have is the smooth stuff then again, why waste your money.

Depends on your budget and if you love Cannondale like I do. I had a Scalpel for years and is basically a hard tail that takes any harsh bumps out of the rear.

It's not that a full suspension can't be locked out on a smoothish course, it's that if you only want to do smoothish courses then a hardtail is going to do them cheaper, lighter and in some ways better. If you want the option to go on gnarly stuff then yes it makes more sense to get full suspension with a lock out option.

Bingo.

Once you go full, you would never go back. Almost for sure.

this. i got a 2018 epic expert a couple months ago and the bike is a missile. i started with the suspension dialed in pretty stiff to feel more like my old hard tail. but after a couple rides ive backed the damping and air pressure down a touch as well as further reducing tire pressures to make it more compliant. its easier on my body and the bike is faster and faster every time i take it out.

I used to have a series of full-suss MTBs but then i built up a Titanium hardtail (with 140mm front) and it's by far the best MTB bike fun i've ever had.

Ti has just enough inherent springyness to glide over the bumps but it's very hands-on and active riding. You have to RIDE the thing, not just roll over it letting the suspension do all the clever bits. And the faster you go the better it felt.

Unless you are doing big all-mountain type stuff then i'd seriously look at Ti hardtails.

i switched away from a s-works hardtail (their metal matrix aluminum frames) a decade ago when i demoed a full squish and it felt faster with far less effort. i guess im just getting old (37) lol.

For what its worth, people give credit to riding harder bikes (single speed, rigid, 26", etc... ) for teaching better lines through the trail. while i agree that knowing how to navigate an easier path is good, its most definitely NOT the fastest way. my switch to a 29" has been eye opening to say the least.

yeah, good point. I had forgotten that i'm still on the old fashioned 26" and the world has moved on.

Thanks for making me feel old.

hey, dont feel bad. i only switched a few months ago. :P

here is my highly un-scientific comparision of a 26" full squish (2006 epic) vs a 29" full squish (2018 epic).

note, that im not a super newb on the bike either, so its not just huge gains in fitness for the time differential. this particular strava segment is about 1-1:10hr long for average riders. my latest ride is 6th fastest strava time out of ~3000.

nearly 4 minutes off in only 3 hard rides with it is pretty astounding.

Ahh, mine was all before i got into Strava so i had no speeds to compare. Simpler times.

Second on the Epic. I haven’t pulled out my tri bike since I bought mine.