I’ve been window shopping bikes for ages, researching this and that bike – some I just look at, like some of the new Transitions and just think ‘nope’.

I’ve worked it out, I just don’t like bikes with vertical rear shocks – there’s no practical down side to them is there – just an visual thing yeah?

I’m not sure if it’s got something to do with patents? Or Unsprung weight or linear curves or the fact that they just look shit, but I don’t like them either.

I’m fine with horizontal shocks, vertical shocks, shocks parallel to a slanted top tube, and even ones with the top of the near vertical shock further forward than the bottom. 😮

But ones like this are just wrong! 😡

I read somewhere that one of the key benefits of horizontal (horst link style) is you have less hassle of shock and mounting positions across different sizes of bikes in the range, and you get predictable behavior from the shock.

I’d like to think that manufactures do all sorts of complex computer modelling to ensure the suspension platform is at its most efficient, before worrying about aesthetics – but then maybe not!

I’d like to think that manufactures do all sorts of complex computer modelling patent searching to ensure the suspension platform is at its most efficient legal, before worrying about aesthetics

Its a spring attached to a wheel
Pick the one you like the look of 🙂

I have a thing about faux bar designs. I’m sure they ride just fine but to have all those extra bits and just end up with a single pivot on the wheel seems wrong.

Evil are the same
For all the fancy linkages its a single pivot
Yet very fashionable at the moment

Hideous.. burn it with fire

Lovely

I think it depends really- it’s a mixture of the tube profiles, frame size and linkage size.

i don’t know why but I tend to associate vertical shocks with more XC orientated bikes and horizontal to the downtube with longer travel trail type bikes. Ones with shocks stuffed up parallel to the top tube normally make me think of weird german XC/race bike.

There’s normally plenty of room for a bottle cage with a vertical shock even when it’s a piggyback which is something I rather miss with my current bike. Aesthetically I think they can look as good or bad as other orientations.

These just look wrong to me.

Aesthetically, bikes like the Airdrop, Transition etc. look the best.

Nice clean lines; a clearly defined front and rear triangle, no odd intersecting angles etc. Weight of the shock nice and central and low down.

You can have an alternative opinion, but it’ll be invalid.

Looks normal at rest….

[url=https://flic.kr/p/mCvjRX]Liteville 301[/url] by ritcheyp20, on Flickr

Looks quite odd when compressed…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/EzkRLf]Liteville 301 compressed[/url] by ritcheyp20, on Flickr

I think it really depends on the overall aesthetic of the bike. There are gopping frames with vertical shock positions and gopping frames with horizontal shock positions. Those Litevilles have always put me off exactly for the reason of the second photo. You have a part of the frame swing directly upwards in the direction of your gonads!

The shock position on this bike does my head in! It’s built by a friend of mine who is a framebuilder. He assures me it is a kind of VPP linkage but I just can’t get my head round how the shock works. 😕

I get the idea. It’s just that it makes me sick a little bit in my mouth.