Downhill on a Hardtail?

[Niko]

I got a hardtail and i really want to go to actual mountains and start shredding downhill and hopefully start racing. All ive ridden is local trails that are steep and fast with some small root/rock gardens but nothing as gnarly as downhill courses. Im totally fine with riding my hardtail im just wondering if its gonna slow me down way more than if i had a gravity bike.

i ride lake fairfax in va, and im digging my own trails, i want to go out to snowshoe soon

[englertracing]

Slower. Destroys Wheels.
Can get wild with the lack of beaking traction from frequent loss of contact with thr ground.

Fun as hell tho if you dont mind buying wheels.
I would suggest some downhill spec tires.

[Verskis]

Yes, it will be quite a bit slower than a full suspension DH bike when the going gets really rough, but if you are okay with that, go for it.
I've been riding a couple of enduro races on my hardtail, and it's fun, except the rough and pedally bits. I think that's where a hardtail is giving the biggest advantage to full suspension bikes, the steeper but rough parts are not that bad, cause you keep on moving even if your legs are fully dedicated to suspension duties.

And englertracing is right, use the most heavy duty rear tire you can (large volume and stiff sidewalls), cause the rear wheel and tire are going to take a beating. After one enduro race my rear rim had eight new big(ish) dents because I was using a single ply tire (luckily I didn't get punctures cause I had a massive DH tube inside the tire).

[HardtailHack]

I raced my hardtail for a year and a half and I think my best result was just outside the top 25% which for a fat bloke on a cheap frame was pretty good. I had so much more fun racing the hardtail than the Dually but no one else raced them so I bought a dually.

[marshalolson]

Just make sure you stick a super monster up front.

[dublindh]

https://vimeo.com/46460490

this is a friend...he owns a ancillotti dh bike but prefers to live the hardtail life....

that track he is on is actually quiete rough and steep (irish wc riders training track)

frame is a cotic and yes he is on flats

a longer edit is in the makes so ill post it once its out

[was?]

Im just wondering if its gonna slow me down way more than if i had a gravity bike.

It depends, a full on dh rig may be faster and safer in certain situations, but overall a decent hardtail isn't a poor choice for exploring the gravity fed side of mountainbiking.
hardtails are fun and can be ridden fast as hell, if they are in capable hands.

[ZoRo]

https://vimeo.com/46460490

*uck yeah! That vid was sick. Hardtailzzzz rulezzzz. They teach you to ride like anything out there!!