Originally Posted by
purpurite
Do you need a full-sus mountain bike for Midwestern trails?
Sure do. But if you are from flatlander Illinois...Probably not.
a hardtail is a majority of mountain biking today.
LOL. That's not even remotely close to true. There are other places outside of your little bubble you know.
Does disc brakes make for a better road bike? It's certainly debatable,
Not even debatable. Rim brakes are inferior. Take note that if you have a modern car it has disc brakes. Old drum brakes are like having rim brakes.