As a slightly different perspective on the HT vs. FS discussion, I’ve ridden off-road for a very long time, with lots of different people. In fact, it was my ‘thing’ until I got a bit poorly and switched to watches as an alternative way to spend far too much money.
Out of the people I used to ride with a lot, all seasoned mountain bikers, only 1 or 2 ever used to turn up on a hardtail. Even they (and I was one of them) would revert to FS for summer fun, reserving the HT to face the inevitable winter battering.
With a grand to spend, you’ll struggle to find a good hardtail new and IMO you can pretty much discount a new FS. Personally and given the little insight to the riding you do that you’ve provided, I’d try to do some man maths, stretch you budget to around £1500 and then seak out a very decent HT. Someone mentioned a Whyte 905. That would be towards the top of my list too.
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