Bikes with remote front and rear lock-out?

kingsleysmith

I posted a question about bikes with rear remote lock-out about a year and a half or so ago when I was very new to MTB'ing. Most of the responses I had said there are no full-sus bikes with remote rear lock-out. I've since seen the Scott Spark which has this feature. I read a review on this model on Bike Radar and there was a quote with a regard to the rear remote lock-out saying "why didn't anyone think of this before?". Well considering I was knew to all of this and it was pretty much the first thing I thought of, it really does beg the question; Yeah, why the hell did no one think of this before?! Seems a pretty obvious thing to do to me.

ANYWAY. So there obviously are bikes (unless the Scott Spark is the only one to feature it) out there with remote rear lock-out. Maybe the people who responded to my post just didn't know about it. I now want to upgrade to a full-sus bike and I know I want remote front and rear lock-out. Can anyone please give me a list of bikes that feature this? Or can anyone inform me of the best way to go about installing it on a bike without remote lock-out? i.e. Do you need to change the complete shock or is there a kit that can be installed on an existing shock (front and rear).

Any information greatly appreciated.

Thanks

taffygriffiths

Theres not many out, because there is no need for it....

Most reasaonable suspension items dont have a 'lockout' anyway. they increase the damping, in an effort to decrease movement under load.

Add to this, the better design on modern frames that help to alleviate pedalling 'bob' and such annoyances, and you find yourself in a situation where you usually only need to use the 'climb' or 'pedal' modes in severe circumstances. if at all.

lets be honest.. it only takes like a few seconds to reach down and adjust locally placed levers rather than having them remote.

You'll find remote lockouts MOSTLY come on the lower end suspension where there is no damping adjustment.

just get a normal setup and learn to use you. you open up... every other bike to you..

rockmonkeysc

My bike has front and rear lock. It did have a remote on the front. Lockout is shoot off road, suspension improves traction, when I have tried the lock on my rear shock for climbing the only difference it made was much less grip. This is why rear lockout is rare, well controlled suspension is much better.
When you have remotes for front and rear suspension and a hydraulic seatpost remote and two gear shifters and brake levers thats an awful lot of cables to route around the frame and you're going to need metre wide bars to mount all the controls.

stubs

If you want the disadvantage of a fully locked out rear buy a Hardtail. I have a Mongoose Canaan which has no rear lockout just a damping knob and it is never missed. I had a Canyon with a 3 position propedal lever and I never touched it unless I was on the road.

bartimaeus

Scott have their Twinloc on the Spark and Genius. I'm also a leave-well-alone advocate when it comes to suspension, so I never use any sort of lockout.

kingsleysmith

Thanks for the responses. I find I flick lock-out on and off quite a lot. I have Rock Sox Tora's on the front and the reason I use the lock-out so much is because I do a daily circuit which has quite a few varying terrains and climbs. I wasn't aware of suspension that helps alleviate pedal bob. I guess I need to look into trying out bikes and getting a feel for the suspension and finding a set-up where I don't have to constantly mess with the lock-out all the time.

Thanks again

taffygriffiths

kingsleysmith wrote:

Thanks for the responses. I find I flick lock-out on and off quite a lot. I have Rock Sox Tora's on the front and the reason I use the lock-out so much is because I do a daily circuit which has quite a few varying terrains and climbs. I wasn't aware of suspension that helps alleviate pedal bob. I guess I need to look into trying out bikes and getting a feel for the suspension and finding a set-up where I don't have to constantly mess with the lock-out all the time.

Thanks again

I had RS Toras on my old Cube hardtail... particularly, a coil sprung pair!

In that instance i would have been in the same school of thought as you. Poploc was used for everything.

I then moved to a full sus with fox CTD front and back, and found myself using the climb setting only really for climbing out the saddle on the odd occasion. Didnt miss the remote at all!

njee20

I don't like the way the Spark pedals, you really have to use the lockout a lot to make the most of it. I'd rather just have a bike that pedals well in the first place.

There are plenty of bikes that do have a remote lockout, my Top Fuel had one, but I never fitted it, on the odd occasion I wanted to change the setting it was within easy reach between my legs, but it pedalled perfectly well regardless.

It's not universally a good thing.

stubs

My first full suss bike was a Saracen Rush in about 2000 that bobbed so much I would have killed for a rear lockout. Fortunately frame design has improved.

Get a load of that stem and bar ends those were the days

The Rookie

My sons 2006 Scott Genius RC20 has a remote lockout, but then as the (DT Swiss made) shock is low down behind the seat tube where it would be a pain to get at from the saddle, that said it pedals perfectly well in the normal mode with the damping set right that the lockout is pretty much redundant.

ilovedirt

I use my propedal lever quite a lot, but I just lean down to use it, and I don't miss having a lock down on the forks. These things just make the bike too cluttered.