..and ever felt you didn’t miss your suspension fork?

Got a tight budget for forks – top drawer rigid fork or lesser sus number? Most of my riding’s in surrey and more tea and cake than gnnaar.

Erring on the side of suspension – or is a carbon rigid number a good idea?

I got some good advice on this forum once, “Never Google ‘fully rigid’ at work”!

APF

I went from 180mm front and rear to rigid.I got used to it pretty quick……about 2 years.

I like fully rigid and the local stuff is very ridable with no bounce. However after a week around the Welsh trail centers my wrists were in tatters.

What’s the budget.?

i have ridden a rigid carbon fork, it is noticably ‘softer’ than a normal steel rigid fork.
IMO easily a match for a cheap suspension fork.
and of course, a fair bit lighter too.
the one i tried was an on one fork on my mates carrera.

Budget is £200 +/- for the right fork. Got my eye on the on-one rebas for £229 if I can persuade the boss

“Never Google ‘fully rigid’ at work”!

Or “interesting things to do with vegetables” like I once did 😳

And don’t spell Hotmail wrong.

Crc are doing sektors for 229 IIRC. Very good forks.

I was considering it at the start of yesterday’s ride.
5 hours later I wasn’t. Not the roughest of rides, but 80mm of Foxes finest didn’t go astray.

I really like my rigids, and I’d definately agree that it’s better than a low-end fork like a dart 2 or XCR. But, I wouldn’t want it as an only fork, despite that- it’s great for variety but there’s just too many times that it’s a pain in the bum.

But, o’course, your riding may not be the same as mine.

Yep; my Rebas leaked oil from new so when I sent them back to the importer I fitted some rigid carbon forks. They are so good that the Rebas are sitting unused in the garage and I will be ebaying them in the Spring. With carbon forks and seatpost on a Ti frame the bike is super lightweight and really comfortable – you only notice the lack of suspension on big hits like kerbs or brick-sized rocks.

On a High Street/Ullswater trip last summer my three pals on heavy FS bikes were absolutely shelled by the end but I still had plenty left in the tank as I had done so much less work than them. At no point was I any slower on the downhills either.

Don’t be afraid of losing those suspension forks: those of us who started mountain biking in the late 80s rode full rigid for at least the first seven years and I didn’t get my first suspension forks, a pair of worn-out SIDs, until around 2000. They definitely made a difference to fatigue on a long hard ride like the MTL but I’m sure a set of carbon forks would have been better than a Project 2 or a Tange Big Fork for comfort, had they been available at that time.

Did it on my old 26er Inbred & coupled with non O/S carbon bars, thicker grips & a nice big front tyre it was better than the knackered old Pace RC40’s that were on there. Also, compared to most modern suspension forks it can feel like they have dropped the front quite a bit, so I went for a 29er fork. Was very happy with it.
Rigid front works much better on a 29er though. If you’ve £200 to spend though get some Rebas. I only had about £120 to play with, & resurecting the Pace forks was close on £250.

Been riding this for a few months, perfect for the winter on local trails

365/2 2/1/12 Sunny Muddy Bridleway by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

Currently set up with a steel niner fork. Really impressed with it. Prior to the steel niner I had a pace carbon 29er fork plugged in. Tbh cannot really tell the difference between the carbon fork and the steel one other than slight weight difference when I pick the bike up. I do run a 2.25 or 2.35 up front though.

I ride mainly on Cannock Chase and can honestly say I have not felt the need for a sus fork when riding there. The only time I really feel the need for a sus fork is on long rutted and lumpy descents, or possibly if I went to a trail centre.

With carbon forks and seatpost on a Ti frame the bike is super lightweight and really comfortable – you only notice the lack of suspension on big hits like kerbs or brick-sized rocks.

Big hits?

Personally I ride an MTB with a short sus fork on the roads around the city and would not want to be without sus even on gentle XC riding. I find the limiting factor to the speed I can do is often the jolting from the hardtail and no way would I be able to go as fast / in as much comfort without the sus

On a High Street/Ullswater trip last summer my three pals on heavy FS bikes were absolutely shelled by the end but I still had plenty left in the tank as I had done so much less work than them. At no point was I any slower on the downhills either.

You are glupton and I claim my 5 pounds – or your pals are rubbish

your pals are rubbish

If they can’t show you a clean set of heels, they are rubbish.

One of my buddy’s has a carbon fork on his 456SS, he likes it but if it’s at all rocky…, wrists suffer and speeds drop.

He does though run a huge front tyre.

So many factors. I went from poor suss forks to carbon rigid and was mightily impressed. The bike rode better in every way on my local trails…but my local trails aren’t very rocky or bumpy. That said, you can get some great suss bargains for £250 that give you far more versatility than a rigid fork. I got some tapered steerer Revelations this time last year for £250. More fork than I’ll ever need/want on my hard tail, not too heavy and I can lock them out for the road bits.

As for the comment about High Street, to be fair most of that would be great on a fully rigid, but the Ullswater singletrack at the end would be hard work I reckon.

Summary? Decent rigid forks are better than poor suss but it all depends where and what you ride. Helpful, I know 😆

I always thought I’d never want to ride fully rigid but a bike breakage meant I had no choice, and now I’ve not ridden with any suspension for 6+ months. For the most part I don’t miss it, especially for Chilterns trails where I generally ride as a lack of suspension is really not a problem up there. Sure, it’s slower on rocky technical bits but there aren’t too many of those round my way. It’s particularly good for getting up hills as mine’s also a singlespeed.

Here’s my new fun machine. First ride yesterday ’round Cannock. I took a bit of a battering on the rough bits but it was an absolute hoot…

I’ve got an old fully rigid Kona and love it. When I first switched I remember finding it a bit unpredictable in rock gardens – using my old technique of just ploughing on through often led to your front wheel bouncing out to one side. But after a few weeks with some more considered riding I loved it.

I’ve ridden some natural trails on Arran, lots of Surrey Hills, and also Grizedale trail centre on it and I’d almost say it’s more fun than my hardtail in many situations. There’s just something more rewarding about the amount of trail feedback you get, and being able to complete uphill sections with greater ease. I definitely think you start to ride better by putting more thought into your line choice.

Having started on a rigid mountain bike I found a Girvin Flexstem (yeah, it was that long ago) to be a huge improvement never mind suspension forks. A rigid forked MTB would only ever be a spare occasional use one for me.

I just built my on one summer season, into a rigid single speed for the winter,,,
ON-ONE 456 Winter Season… 😕

Will report back on how it rides once it clears up out there,,,,,,,,,,

Was fully rigid but the wrists took a beating
Merlin doing 2012 29er Reba’s for – £240 (discount code & cash back) before Christmas means I’m an ex-fully rigid rider

I have used a fully rigid around the local forest a few times and while i enjoy it, i do like suspension!

Does CX bike count?

Often ride HT fully locked out. Especially on uphill trails, hardpack, etc. Often forget to unlock it on downhill sections, too, which can be fun 🙂

I’ve got a steel Rochopper with steel Kona P2’s.

Gets used as a tourer, commurer and ‘local’winter bike.

Light, fun and makes you think.
Foam grips and a big tyre really helps.

Used only for shorter rides, TBH, as I prefer the skill compensation of a fork when im knackered and not paying full attention.

I ride my rigid scion around the lakes with no dramas. Not as fast as the am hardtails or full sussers I’ve had in the past but just as much fun.

Stupid phone.

My Handjob has carbon forks. Rode round the W2 last year and I was a mess at the end. Huge fun though. Won’t be changing it back to sus forks any time soon.

Often ride HT fully locked out. Especially on uphill trails, hardpack, etc. Often forget to unlock it on downhill sections, too, which can be fun

+1 andytherocketeer. I often forget to take my forks out of lock out on the local trails after the climbs. That said, my forks still have a little give, even on full lock out which helps.

I’m planning on keeping my HT with sus forks, but switching to carbon forks on my 29er HT for racing – the trade off in weight and therefore speed outweighs the benefit of a heavy fork on that particular bike for me.

I had an inbred on carbon forks for a yr or so, no problems with wrists, but couldn’t seem to trust the bonty switchblade when dropping off anything over 2ft or so.
I put a talas on in the end.

which was fine: 100 for local trails, 120 for rockier stuff or 140 for bigger drops and freeriding.

The SS is now fully rigid. Half of me loves it and giggles like a school child, although this is probably the same half that found two crashes on a muddy night ride maiden voyage amusing. 🙂