Changing front suspension forks to rigid forks

I've currently got a pair of front suspension forks on my Mari
Muirwoods bike. I've got the suspension turned off as much as possibl
i.e. with max stiffness but there is still a great deal of give in it

I'm thinking about changing to a pair of rigid forks

Will this make the bike quicker

Will I get a noticeable stiffness in the arms and shoulders as a result

What if I get carbon forks

My left elbow has a tendency to get stiff - perhaps I should keep to
front suspension


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dannyfrankszzz wrote:
I've currently got a pair of front suspension forks on my Marin
Muirwoods bike. I've got the suspension turned off as much as possible
i.e. with max stiffness but there is still a great deal of give in it.

I'm thinking about changing to a pair of rigid forks.

Will this make the bike quicker?

Depends where you're riding it. On roads, very probably

Will I get a noticeable stiffness in the arms and shoulders as a result?

Depends where you're riding it. Rough stuff, very probably.

My left elbow has a tendency to get stiff - perhaps I should keep to a
front suspension.

Depends what sort of riding you're doing.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

in message , dannyfrankszzz
') wrote:

I've currently got a pair of front suspension forks on my Marin
Muirwoods bike. I've got the suspension turned off as much as possible
i.e. with max stiffness but there is still a great deal of give in it.

I'm thinking about changing to a pair of rigid forks.

Will this make the bike quicker?

I don't think so. Not much anyway. If you're getting much bounce in your
suspension on flat roads as you pedal you're probably mashing - using
your legs as pistons - rather than spinning (using lower gears and
moving your feet in circles). Learn to spin, it's more efficient.

Will I get a noticeable stiffness in the arms and shoulders as a
result?

Probably not. I've ridden a lot of miles on road bikes and on mountain
bikes with rigid forks. I used to suffer a bit from tingly fingers, but
good track mits solves that problem (and are a lot cheaper than new
forks).

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Age equals angst multiplied by the speed of fright squared.
;; the Worlock

Most of the roads I go on are tarmaced and flat. I don't do an
offroad stuff

So in your opinion, it's worth changing over

Would carbon forks be a good compromise between the two althoug
probably a little pricier


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dannyfrankszzz wrote:
: Most of the roads I go on are tarmaced and flat. I don't do any
: offroad stuff.

: So in your opinion, it's worth changing over?

Ah. In that case rigid is the way to go.

: Would carbon forks be a good compromise between the two although
: probably a little pricier.

Carbon forks aren't a compromise between rigid and sus. They are rigid
forks. Full stop. They may ride a bit smoother than a cheap Al rigid fork,
but they are in no way comparable (for good or bad) to a suspension fork.

Arthur


--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

dannyfrankszzz wrote:
Most of the roads I go on are tarmaced and flat. I don't do any
offroad stuff.
So in your opinion, it's worth changing over?
Would carbon forks be a good compromise between the two although
probably a little pricier.


Quite interesting. It sounds as though you are converting your bike int
a hybrid like the Marin Point Reyes

If you are going to get a set of rigid carbon forks (e.g. PACE) the
presumably you will be getting a set of slick tyres as well

The resulting frame will be a lot more responsive because less of th
power that you put through the pedals will be dissipated by for
compression

I doubt that you'll notice any marked increase in arm / shoulde
stiffness if you are going to be riding mainly on roads, because of th
"sit up and beg" posture that mountain bikes typically require - thi
tends to alleviate weight being put on the arms and shoulders, unlik
road bikes where you are in a "tuck" position

Let us know what you decide ;


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dannyfrankszzz wrote:
Most of the roads I go on are tarmaced and flat. I don't do any
offroad stuff.
=20
So in your opinion, it's worth changing over?
=20
Would carbon forks be a good compromise between the two although
probably a little pricier.

Wot Arthur said. Plus if you want to go faster then you may wish to=20
assess different handlebars as well as a fork change (though you may=20
need to change your gear shifters and brake levers too...). Drops=20
and/or aero bars should allow you less air resistance in a tuck, and=20
that's what will affect your speed most as you get progressively faster.

If you want just a wafffeeeeere of suspension effect then something like =

a Pantour suspension hub may well be worth looking at. These give you=20
12 mm of travel and are there for road type continuous bump-ettes, not=20
absorbing Big Air. I've not tried one though I've heard good words=20
said. But they ain't cheap at =A3135 each :-( (see=20
http://kinetics.org.uk/html/pantour_hubs.shtml)

Pete.
--=20
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

On Wed, 26 May 2004 11:35:02 GMT, Simon Brooke
wrote:


I don't think so. Not much anyway. If you're getting much bounce in your
suspension on flat roads as you pedal you're probably mashing - using
your legs as pistons - rather than spinning (using lower gears and
moving your feet in circles). Learn to spin, it's more efficient.

Spinning is "More efficient". That's a big bold claim: Care to back
it up somehow?

Cheers,

Vic.

Vic. opined the following...
I don't think so. Not much anyway. If you're getting much bounce in your
suspension on flat roads as you pedal you're probably mashing - using
your legs as pistons - rather than spinning (using lower gears and
moving your feet in circles). Learn to spin, it's more efficient.

Spinning is "More efficient". That's a big bold claim: Care to back
it up somehow?

Basic principle follows:

High gear, low cadence: Force applied vertically (Up and down movement).
Dead spots at top and bottom of crank motion. Equivalent to low leverage
(Large force over a small distance). Bad for your knees.

Low gear, high cadence: Force now applied in a more circular manner.
Dead spots at top and bottom of crank motion significantly reduced.
Equivalent to high leverage (Small force over a large distance). This
makes it easier to pedal in circles rather than up and down. Much much
better for your knees.

There is a point at which you are no longer able to apply a useful force
to the pedals when spinning. With training, you can make this point
faster, but an optimum will usually lie a little slower than this point.
Be kind to your knees.

Jon

Mmm, interesting reading. Seems a little gimmicky the Pantou
suspension thing

I'm beginning to lean more towards a rigid fork

Any recommendations

Cheers


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