Bike porn

I don't like numb wrists, but fully rigid can be fun.

That's what she said

I don't like numb wrists, but fully rigid can be fun.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Raleigh-Suspension-stem_W0QQitemZ150419979653QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR?hash=item2305babd85

Agghh! Suntours are my favourite crank ever! They are on the wish list.

I don't like numb wrists, but fully rigid can be fun.

I just let go of the bars for the technical bits. Makes it easier to cover my eyes anyway. Never had a problem with sore wrists, but.....

those suntour cranks and ring are of the most beautiful made, imo.

huge dorky post but here we go...

surely you can go faster on a rigid mtb? stiffer & more aggressive?

unless you mean you cant ride as aggressively because it would hurt more?

late to the party, but..... i'm talking suspension fork, but really most modern XC squish frames are very efficient and you won't lose much there.

You just cannot rail coners with a rigid fork like you can with a suspension fork.

Conduct this experiment next time you're in a bike store. take any MTB with a suspension fork, lift the front to about a foot in the air, and drop it. It will land like a sack of potatos. now try that with any rigid bike in the store. then think about taking a corner that is washboarded with roots.

this conversation is making me feel like i'm back in 1998 trying to convince my folks to help me buy a marzocchi.

anyone that disagrees here just doesn't have extensive experience on both rigid and squishy bikes off road.

Theoretically front sus improves control and front wheel traction. Allowing more speed on winding trails. Rear suspension maintains rear tyre contact, giving more efficient drive over bumpy trails.

I could'nt really give a shite if this is true or not TBH.

Ride what makes you grin the most!

Obvisouly. BUt that wasn't what we were talking about... anyways... to that end, ever ride a fully suspended bike on tight fast singletrack? It's seriously dreamy. it's the closest feeling on a bike you can get to skiing deep powder. You will grin more than blazed clown.

I love riding fixed/road/casual through the city, but barely a day goes by that I don't think about how much it pales in comparison to ripping on a decked out MTB down some tight trails. Even the best fast lines through traffic on a fixed gear just don't come close. I just don't have it in my life any more because of where i live.

I love the direct feeling of a fully rigid bike personaly. But that doesnt mean I would'nt also like a full squish in my life. I like the deep powder analagy a lot :)

At the moment if I had the cash (and time to use the bike). I'd like something like this...

Ugh.

what frame is underneath that mud and celeste monstrosity?

I keep picking them up and thinking shall i polish 'em right up nice 'n shney like.But there again i've got some pedals,seat pin,saddle and Sansin hubs (njs shit) so could do another build in the summer.

You were serious? That makes me sad.

@ Jersey - i dont doubt that suspension makes for a better off-road ride, and undoubtably faster as you can take more risks on rough tracks (which is arguably what mtb's are for).

I meant purely from a geometry perspective the suspension would dampen the stroke on the flat, no?

Apparently they're made by Sugino. All of the Suntour NJS group was made by other people.

Hubs were Sansin
Pedals were MKS
Cranks were Sugino

Not sure about the rest.

The hubs are beautiful, they look like DA 7400 crossed with Shimano AX stuff.

@ TomBurtonart .You were serious? That makes me sad.

I've just had another look at them They're in better 'nick than i thought so i'll leave them.

You were serious? That makes me sad.

@ Jersey - i dont doubt that suspension makes for a better off-road ride, and undoubtably faster as you can take more risks on rough tracks (which is arguably what mtb's are for).

I meant purely from a geometry perspective the suspension would dampen the stroke on the flat, no?

i know a lot about the side effects of suspension for MTBs and what they do about it (for pedaling, steering and braking), but i don't know what you're drivng at here.

what frame is underneath that mud and celeste monstrosity?

looks like a dolan or something similar.

i know a lot about the side effects of suspension for MTBs and what they do about it (for pedaling, steering and braking), but i don't know what you're drivng at here.

as you are pressing down on the stroke the suspension will absorb some of the energy meaning that you aren't getting the same efficiency from each stroke.

a rigid frame would be stiffer and would be more efficient on the flat.

there are two reason that Rear suspension compresses with pedal strokes.

one is that you are bobbing up and down and that moves the bike through it's suspension compression. This happens. Specialized actually came up with an interesting bike that allows the suspension to move ONLY when the wheel is unergoesing a change in acceleration. they put an accelerometer on the rear axel and unless it's activated, the bike is rigid. therefore any forces which are from you sprinting on the flats are completely blocked. any forces the are from the wheel slaming into root are allowed to compress the suspension. LIterally if you put the bike on the floor and press on the seat, you can't budge the suspension. If you pick the bike up and drop it, the suspension compresses. very clever. Called the "intertia shock" or something. It really does work.

Other companies have other designs, but really this isn't a huge issue to begin with. The main issue is as follows and was really only a problem in old old designs.

If the chainline become changes length with compression, then pedaling will actually work to compress (or extend) the suspension. This is is main way suspension robs you, but luckily a much eaiser thing to correct. This is really an older issue and lots of companies have gotten around this with various designs. The most basic desing is putting the main pivot around the BB shell and this eliminates the variable.

Front shocks are almost a non issue with this stuff. it's mostly in your hands and psychological

^^ yes, of course a rigid frame would be more efficient on the flat. Something like a flat road, for example, then a rigid road bike would be the best for it.

However, off road it's obviously better to have a bit of bounce (not necessary of course, and I like a rigid off road bike as much as the next man); yes energy loss but this is more than made up for in the other benefits of the suspension. If it weren't faster then all the XC riders would be rolling with fully rigid frames.

I was riding a lot of MTBs when the chain compression problem wasn't quite sorted out on suspension bikes - I had a Proflex which bounced all over the place; my mate had a Trek Y bike, with both the BB and the rear wheel on the swing arm (Unified Rear Triangle they called it I think).

The difference between the two was amazing, the Trek was great sitting down, but as soon as you stood up you'd put all the weight onto the swingarm so it really stiffened up.

^

@ Jersey - i dont doubt that suspension makes for a better off-road ride, and undoubtably faster as you can take more risks on rough tracks (which is arguably what mtb's are for).

I meant purely from a geometry perspective the suspension would dampen the stroke on the flat, no?

That specialized design sounds interesting. Nothing annoys me more about riding on sus-frames than inefficiency, thats why stiff fixed gear bikes are my thing :)

perhaps my technique is bad but i tend to throw quite a lot of weight forward on each stroke (to aid in forward propulsion) so front shocks do enter into the equation.

here. it called the "brain". Back and to the left.

marketing aside, it really does work

http://cdn.specialized.com/bc/microsite/suspension/suspension.html

I was riding a lot of MTBs when the chain compression problem wasn't quite sorted out on suspension bikes - I had a Proflex which bounced all over the place; my mate had a Trek Y bike, with both the BB and the rear wheel on the swing arm (Unified Rear Triangle they called it I think).

The difference between the two was amazing, the Trek was great sitting down, but as soon as you stood up you'd put all the weight onto the swingarm so it really stiffened up.

proflex was the WORST. hahah

thats pretty cool stuff jersey.

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