Has anyone rode a MTB Marathon on a Fully Rigid?

XTC2009
XTC2009 Posts: 115
edited June 2012 in MTB general
I'm thinking about the possibility of going back to a fully rigid as I have an option on a Boardman Team R (a.k.a. The Urban MTB) and it will save on suspension maintainence - something I just don't ahve the time for these days... Have you ridden a MTB Marathon on a fully rigid MTB recently? What's it like? What are your experiences?

I rode a marathon a couple of years ago with far too much air in my forks, and I forgot to carry my shock pump with me to let some air out, so I guess it may have been just like riding with no suspension at all. And I found it completely do-able once I'd got used to the fact that I needed to use my arms instead.
Wobbly Cyclist

Comments

  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    How much time does maintenance actually take? My Recons are about three years old, and apart from a wipe and a bit of float fluid on the stanchions have needed nothing.
    Should probably give them a service but as they are working perfectly...
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  • Briggo
    Briggo Posts: 3,537
    Agree with Cooldad, I'd love to know what suspension maintenance you think needs doing to be so time consuming.
  • XTC2009
    XTC2009 Posts: 115
    Stripping the forks down, replacing the seals and oil, that sort of thing. A proper service. Anyway, thanks for revealing the weakness of my argument. I don't really make the time to look after my bike these days with two lids and working all hours. I rarely even get a chance to ride, so a quick rinse just to keep the gears going is about it. It seems a shame to be wasting and ruining a good bike, so that was my motivation behind replacing it with a fully rigid that I could just throw in the shed after a ride knowing that the next time I got it out I could just ride away. I also do a lot of road riding.

    I'm still interested to know if there are there any riders of fully rigid MTBs out there, that ride singletrack and the occassional marathon.
    Wobbly Cyclist
  • gezebo
    gezebo Posts: 364
    My mate rode around MBR at Coed y Brenin on a fully rigid old Steel Trek bike as well as the Marin etc and she kicked the ass of a number of people on full sussers much to our amusement. So I guess the answer is yes people do!
  • Briggo
    Briggo Posts: 3,537
    XTC2009 wrote:
    Stripping the forks down, replacing the seals and oil, that sort of thing. A proper service. Anyway, thanks for revealing the weakness of my argument. I don't really make the time to look after my bike these days with two lids and working all hours. I rarely even get a chance to ride, so a quick rinse just to keep the gears going is about it. It seems a shame to be wasting and ruining a good bike, so that was my motivation behind replacing it with a fully rigid that I could just throw in the shed after a ride knowing that the next time I got it out I could just ride away. I also do a lot of road riding.

    I'm still interested to know if there are there any riders of fully rigid MTBs out there, that ride singletrack and the occassional marathon.

    How often do you think you need to actually replace seals etc etc? A clue is not very often. A quick wipe down, lube it up now and then to get any dirt from just inside the seals out and you're all good.

    Yes there are recommended intervals but trust me the forks can take much more abuse than Fox/Rockshox lead you to believe.
  • Wily-Quixote
    Wily-Quixote Posts: 269
    Do you need to maintain forks? News to me!
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I ride a rigid bike and I love it :D

    They say its a ride for the hardcore purists who want to fully experience the best outta a trail, or something like that, I got the link somewhere.

    I think rigid is great depending on what your riding for, some of my mates love the jumps and the danger and the excitement, for me I love fast trails and continuity from one track to another keeping the speed high and of course the exercise, so rigid just offers me what I need, suspension would only hold me back personally as I aint got the skill (or balls) to do jumps n stuff lol.

    Couple of links you may find interesting ?

    http://www.kingdombike.com/TheKingdom/?p=534

    Does anyone think they could catch this round ya local trail center, without bumps of course :lol:
    http://twentynineinches.com/2011/05/22/ ... al-review/
  • blister pus
    blister pus Posts: 5,780
    It's worth stripping a new fork down within 6 - 12 months even though it doesn't need it, just to check the internals over for pre-existing wear. ....I remember being bitten by leaving it too long for a service and discovering the lower, hidden part of the stanchion had a fair size patch of corrosion on it. I'm still convinced it came out of the factory defective and the corrosion got worse over time.

    ...If everything is fine then I do one strip down service every 12 months whether it needs it or not. Replace whatever needs replacing if it needs it. End of Summer outside garden job ready for Winter, usually.
  • XTC2009
    XTC2009 Posts: 115
    Nice bike there, CubeCrazy!
    CubeCrazy wrote:
    Couple of links you may find interesting
    http://www.kingdombike.com/TheKingdom/?p=534

    Does anyone think they could catch this round ya local trail center, without bumps of course :lol:
    http://twentynineinches.com/2011/05/22/ ... al-review/
    Wobbly Cyclist

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