Suspension or rigid?
rideslikeagirl
Posts: 63
Ok, so - i have a dahon jack (i needed a folder at the time i bought it) which is basically one of yer 'urban' mtbs with a big hinge in the middle... I've replaced nearly all of it (the last thing to go will be the frame and that's pencilled in for summer 
) in order to de-urbanise it and make it generally faster, better at braking, and better at being an mtb than it was...
'course, the better at being an mtb it gets, the less good at being urban...
The main quandry i have at the moment, is basically, to boing or not to boing? I have two forks, one is a cr-mo rigid dirt jump fork with disc tabs, suspension corrected, lots of trail, relatively light, blah blah. The other one is a 100mm (i think) suntour duro dj, makes the bike slacker but has less trail so the handling is pretty much the same, soaks up the potholes, kerbs*, off-road jolty bits, and is great for venturing on 'proper' mtb-ey detours on the way home. Also weighs a ton, soaks up out of the saddle acceleration, all that malarkey.
Relative weights are 32lb rigid, 34lb suspension**.
Ok, i know this should go in 'workshop' but nobody goes in there.... So, what would you lot do? Bear in mind also, i may be a big strong girl with a history, but yeah, upper body strength not so much... And i broke my left forearm really badly as a young person so i'm carrying metal around which makes the join in the bones hurt in cold weather and not really like being banged around...
Basically what i'm after here is for you lot to talk me into the suspension fork... I don't tend to take flying leaps of stuff these days but its nice to know i can...
*'don't bounce of kerbs' is not a helpful answer... Yes i know its the sensible one but a: i like it, b: plymouth cycle routes for bizarre reasons have kerbs and occasionally steps in them, and c: see a.
**get a lighter frame, see above. I know. Its on the list. And road bikes/hybrids, also, er, not going to happen...
) in order to de-urbanise it and make it generally faster, better at braking, and better at being an mtb than it was...'course, the better at being an mtb it gets, the less good at being urban...
The main quandry i have at the moment, is basically, to boing or not to boing? I have two forks, one is a cr-mo rigid dirt jump fork with disc tabs, suspension corrected, lots of trail, relatively light, blah blah. The other one is a 100mm (i think) suntour duro dj, makes the bike slacker but has less trail so the handling is pretty much the same, soaks up the potholes, kerbs*, off-road jolty bits, and is great for venturing on 'proper' mtb-ey detours on the way home. Also weighs a ton, soaks up out of the saddle acceleration, all that malarkey.
Relative weights are 32lb rigid, 34lb suspension**.
Ok, i know this should go in 'workshop' but nobody goes in there...
. So, what would you lot do? Bear in mind also, i may be a big strong girl with a history, but yeah, upper body strength not so much... And i broke my left forearm really badly as a young person so i'm carrying metal around which makes the join in the bones hurt in cold weather and not really like being banged around...Basically what i'm after here is for you lot to talk me into the suspension fork...
I don't tend to take flying leaps of stuff these days but its nice to know i can... *'don't bounce of kerbs' is not a helpful answer...
Yes i know its the sensible one but a: i like it, b: plymouth cycle routes for bizarre reasons have kerbs and occasionally steps in them, and c: see a.**get a lighter frame, see above. I know. Its on the list. And road bikes/hybrids, also, er, not going to happen...
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Comments
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I use the Dahon Cadenza which is basically what you are trying to build.
The rigid aluminium forks are light and agile and Schwalbe Big Apple tyres provide the "suspension".
Learn to ride out of the saddle using your arms and legs for support over kerb hops, rather than riding like the proverbial sack of potatoes.0 -
i should hope i don't do anything like a sack of potatoes!:P And i'm perfectly adequate out of the saddle too...
Actually this question just answered itself... This afternoon i have mostly been replacing the avid BB5 with the broken spring with a clarks skeletal hydraulic. Which wouldn't adjust probably on the rigid fork (its always been tight with the BB5 too, i think really the fork is intended for brakeless use) so the bouncy fork's gone back on. Then the long stem or short stem question answered itself when the long stem inner thread stripped itself..!
I think my bike knows what sort of bike it wants to be...0
