Full sus road bike?

ben@31

Was browsing through the Canyon website earlier and stumbled across this...

https://www.canyon.com/en/eurobike2014/ ... ected.html

Gimmick or is it the future? I could do with one for all the pot holes / gaping chasms in Edinburgh.

simon_masterson

Just get bigger tyres (28-32 mm are fantastic for the road). I have no doubt that suspension will become commonplace if not standard in time, however. Personally, I like the simplicity of the bicycle, and have reservations about putting too many gizmos on it...

chris_bass

I could never own a canyon because I can't read the down tube without tilting my head, it'd make my neck ache

MountainMonster

Simon Masterson wrote:

Just get bigger tyres (28-32 mm are fantastic for the road). I have no doubt that suspension will become commonplace if not standard in time, however. Personally, I like the simplicity of the bicycle, and have reservations about putting too many gizmos on it...

There are bicycles with front and rear suspension you know? They're called Mountain Bikes.

Or do you mean road bikes?

Monty Dog

+ weight
+ decreased mechanical efficiency robbing power
+ added complexity likely to go wrong
+ added cost

The pro teams tinkered with suspension on bikes for Paris-Roubaix in the early 90s until Mapei completely bossed-it on rigid Colnago C40s whilst many of the suspension bikes simply broke: suspension on road bikes was consigned to the dustbin of history.

simon_masterson

MountainMonster wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

Just get bigger tyres (28-32 mm are fantastic for the road). I have no doubt that suspension will become commonplace if not standard in time, however. Personally, I like the simplicity of the bicycle, and have reservations about putting too many gizmos on it...

There are bicycles with front and rear suspension you know? They're called Mountain Bikes.

Or do you mean road bikes?

Really?

ben@31

Monty Dog wrote:

+ weight
+ decreased mechanical efficiency robbing power
+ added complexity likely to go wrong
+ added cost

The pro teams tinkered with suspension on bikes for Paris-Roubaix in the early 90s until Mapei completely bossed-it on rigid Colnago C40s whilst many of the suspension bikes simply broke: suspension on road bikes was consigned to the dustbin of history.

Is it true that the C40 was the first carbon race bike and was painted to disguise it as an aluminium frame with lugs? Or was it half the peleton in the Tour were on C40s, oftentimes disguised as their sponsors bikes ? I read the other day that Lance Armstrong sometime used a Litespeed bike painted as a Trek.

Crampeur

Been tried before.

simon_masterson

ben@31 wrote:

Monty Dog wrote:

+ weight
+ decreased mechanical efficiency robbing power
+ added complexity likely to go wrong
+ added cost

The pro teams tinkered with suspension on bikes for Paris-Roubaix in the early 90s until Mapei completely bossed-it on rigid Colnago C40s whilst many of the suspension bikes simply broke: suspension on road bikes was consigned to the dustbin of history.

Is it true that the C40 was the first carbon race bike and was painted to disguise it as an aluminium frame with lugs? Or was it half the peloton in the Tour were on C40s, oftentimes disguised as their sponsors bikes ? I read the other day that Lance Armstrong sometime used a Litespeed bike painted as a Trek.

Not at all. Hinault and LVC were using carbon frames in the early 80s, and weren't the first to do so.

LycraVirgin

Moulton have been making Full sus road bikes for years. Great little bikes even if you do look like a bit of a prick on one.

http://www.moultonbicycles.co.uk/

ben@31

LycraVirgin wrote:

Moulton have been making Full sus road bikes for years. Great little bikes even if you do look like a bit of a prick on one.

http://www.moultonbicycles.co.uk/

If it's not a folding bike, why the small wheels? Apart from weight, I cant think of any advantage?

lostboysaint

oxoman wrote:

Trek Domane has a trick rear suspension system already called Iso speed decoupler, been out a fair while.

Not connecting the top of the seat stays to the seat tube isn't "trick rear suspension". It's a very, very old hat way of using flex/vertical movement in the chain stays to aid comfort by allowing it and managing it rather than actually having any real control of damping, rebound etc. (and any real travel distance!).

Proflex, among many others, used it along with elastomer bumpers on MTBs.

LycraVirgin

If it's not a folding bike, why the small wheels? Apart from weight, I cant think of any advantage?

According to the Moulton website , this:-

'Small wheels with high pressure tyres have been integral to the Moulton design from the beginning. The combination of the lower rolling resistance of high pressure tyres and the lower aerodynamic drag of small wheels, allows the bicycle to go faster with less effort.

In contrast to large bicycle wheels, the smaller Moulton wheels are immensely strong. Their lower moment of inertia allows faster acceleration and more responsive steering. Smaller wheels also reduce the overall length of the bicycle, making it compact and easier to transport'

They certainly are nippy, nimble bicycles. Incredibly they are banned from use in competitive cycling! I'm serious:-

'As a radical design, the Moulton bicycle - the first small-wheeled adult bicycle - needed credibility in the market and Alex Moulton realised the importance of this when planning the launch of the bicycle in 1962. Aided by his Marketing Manager David Duffield, himself a record-breaking cyclist, several riders were actively supported by Moulton. Coventry CC pursuit team were unstoppable on the track, their Moultons allowing them to keep in a tight group to reduce aerodynamic drag; road riders benefited from the reduced aerodynamic drag of the small wheels and, with reputation established, the Moulton became acceptable to the most discerning club cyclists. Following the introduction of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) rule 1.3.018, Moultons are not permitted in road-racing events - this is why you never see them in events like the Tour de France - but they are still used in time-trials and for ultra-distance events'



Designed and built in the west country. Amen

LycraVirgin

Hmmm some more digging sheds some interesting facts on these little machines. I think I have talked myself into buying one. I may even get the one with body kit, what do you think?

MountainMonster

LycraVirgin wrote:

Hmmm some more digging sheds some interesting facts on these little machines. I think I have talked myself into buying one. I may even get the one with body kit, what do you think?

If they make that in hot pink, i'll have one!

Monty Dog

LycraVirgin wrote:

Hmmm some more digging sheds some interesting facts on these little machines. I think I have talked myself into buying one. I may even get the one with body kit, what do you think?

Betcha he's glad he's not riding that in Ghent-Wevelgem today!