A motorcycle or bicycle with no rear suspension, having a rigid frame; also used as an adjective describing such vehicles.
Compound of 'hard' plus 'tail' (referring to the rear end), motorcycle terminology that emerged in the 1950s-60s as riders modified bikes.
Hardtail motorcycles became iconic in counterculture—Harley hardtails featured in Easyrider and became symbols of rebellion partly because they forced riders to feel every bump, making the road an intimate experience.
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