Very true.As far as archer vs arrow? It’s kind of the arrow at least when it comes to dh speed. Triplets, equal skill: brother on FS Enduro beats brother on FS Trail beats brother on Hardtail. A FS Enduro is capable of going so fast it’s scary. I’ve nicknamed mine the Valkyrie because if I’m not careful it will take me to Valhalla. It’s going to take years to even come close to unlocking it’s full potential.
That said Hardtail will 100% make you a better rider/easier to learn wheelies, manuals, and bunny hops than a FS. They do kind of beat you up though so I can see why anyone over 40 might not want to go there. I put Cushcore in my tires and it made a big difference in dampening, traction and speed.
My Megatower tried to kill me a few times.
A bit too much of a bike for me at my age.
I can enjoy it on a good day when everything just comes together, when I have solid confidence and good feel for the bike.
Sometimes I just feel the bike is taking me for a ride and I'm just a passenger. That's the worst.
It's kind of like riding a slower car on the limit vs riding a fast car at half throttle. Smaller car will always be more fun because you're hitting the rev limiter.