I went into Halfords yesterday, just for a laugh, and noticed that from the lower end bikes upward, rigid forks rather than cheap suspemsion, were starting to reappear. No doubt it was Halfords scrimping as usual, but as someone who rode bikes with rigid forks in those far-off misty days before suspension, there are advantages to riding a rigid fork rather than dragging around a non-performing shoddy suspended version. I wonder if the trend will grow?
Bike Forum
The return of the rigid fork?
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Posted 5 months ago #
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A good rigid fork is definitely better than a cheap and nasty suspension fork. Lower weight, nowt to go wrong, tracks better.
Posted 5 months ago # -
And more trail feedback. In those far off days if you wanted a softer ride you let some more air out of the front tyre, or bought a tyre with a greater air volume, or did both.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Mackem has got it,a ridged fork is better than a cheap sus fork and it lighter. I'm setting myself up for one of these when Genesis launch them.
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/mountain/fortitude/fortitude-adventure
Posted 5 months ago # -
Nice but HOW MUCH!!!!
Posted 5 months ago # -
With the Alfine hub they are £1500 but they start at £850 for the singlespeed, sorry I missed you humour after reading the thread again....
Posted 5 months ago # -
Rigid forks ? Your kidding right ? I had heard of people actually using them off road but I assumed it was just an old skool legend from way back when
Posted 5 months ago # -
Rigids never went away a fair few people still use them in anger.
don't really see the novelty unless you believe that all MTB forks cost at least £400 and must have fox plastered all over them...
Posted 5 months ago # -
Return ?
I can't remember what it's like to ride with suspension forks.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I can see the benefits on cheap bikes that will be used on roads and smooth trails but for a proper MTB they arn't for me. I would much rather my 160mm of smooth travel thank you very much.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Believe it or not, people did manage to ride off road without motorcycle amounts of suspension...
Posted 5 months ago # -
Are you sure you weren't just looking at the town bikes like carrera subway?
Posted 5 months ago # -
Suspension forks make the front of the bike feel funny.
I've tried
Rockshox Psylo
Pace Hollow Form
Fox Vanilla
Magura Durin RaceAll flawed in one way or another.
Big front tyres sem to just work.
Posted 5 months ago # -
or motorcycle style disc brakes
Posted 5 months ago # -
A good rigid fork is definitely better than a cheap and nasty suspension fork.
There are forks that cost more than my entire bike. I have a cheap set up that I'm sure some on here would sneer at. The fork is pants, and I tend to leave it locked rigid much of the time. I don't notice much difference. It would make sense to replace it with a rigid.Posted 5 months ago # -
When I lived in Belgium, my favourite bike had a carbon rigid fork. Had enough give to smooth out a lot of trail buzz.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Where does the Jones Spaceframe (and other similar) fit in then?
Posted 5 months ago # -
ohnohesback - Member
Believe it or not, people did manage to ride off road without motorcycle amounts of suspension...Funnily enough I 'managed' to ride off road without suspension and out of my two bikes I much prefer my 160mm F+R to my 80mm F it is just so much more fun and capable. I cant imagine riding seriously bumpy trails with a rigid bike.
A good
rigidsuspension fork is definitely better than a cheap and nastysuspensionrigid fork.FIFY
Posted 5 months ago # -
carbon rigid?
Posted 5 months ago # -
I also have a bike with a rigid fork and love it. It does have clown wheels with bouncy tyres so does tend to ride over things better, but it does make you think about the route you take as oppose to bouncing over everything in sight. Nothing wrong with either!
If you can afford it, have a good set of suspension forks and s good set of rigid forks and swap then around or even better, have two bikes!
Enjoy!Posted 5 months ago # -
A good
rigidsuspension fork is definitely better than a cheap and nastysuspensionrigid fork.You're very probably right. But at the bottom end (which is what's being discussed), a rigid fork with a biggish tyre is going to piss all over a poorly damped pogo stick. Rigid forks also don't need maintenance (is it 2011 Fox forks that are meant to have a damper oil change every 30h?) and if I was building a bike for winter riding, I'd definitely think about it - speed (and thus bump absorption) less of an issue in the slop.
Now if only someone would bring out a through axle rigid fork that didn't weigh as much as the anchor off a Type 23...
Andy
Posted 5 months ago # -
It's not for me, but I see plenty of folks enjoying riding technical/DH trails on rigid, weigh-next-to-nothing XC bikes, albeit slowly. Carbon forks are ~ half the weight of the lightest £££ suspension forks.
Posted 5 months ago # -
For downhill or bumpy stuff I get it but honestly how many of us ride that type of thing day-in day-out.?
How many of us have locked our fork-out and not noticed for the next 4 miles?Posted 5 months ago # -
I ride full suss and full rigid. Both are great just very different. I find I can ride the same routes and have a different experiance with each bike. Keeps things interesting
Posted 5 months ago # -
Mackem - Member
A good rigid fork is definitely better than a cheap and nasty suspension fork. Lower weight, nowt to go wrong, tracks better.
After nearly 2 years of taking the micky out of him over a stupid headset question he has said something sensible All I would add is that round here (South Lincolnshire) suspension of any kind is a needless extravagence. TBH knobbly tyres are generally not required either 
Posted 5 months ago # -
Such a funny thread.. Oh how times have changed. I recall that the naysayers 15 odd years ago were very much, oo that new fangled suspension stuff will ever take off, too heavy and the darned forks don't work anyhows... Now it's reversed.
SS ?ooo it'll not work
Full sus? Nooo it'll never work!
29ers?, your joking, that won't work?
Belt drive? Crazy idea!We're all just riding bikes don't ya know!
Posted 5 months ago # -
if you're trying to make a £300 bike, rigids definately make sense... I'd far rather have a rigid fork than a Suntour XCM or similiar, and it frees up budget to spend elsewhere. But unfortunately, it seems like suspension sells, so they have to cater to that- people who'll never ride off road think they need suspension for potholes.
Looking at Halfords, their Subway's always been a great entry level mountain bike- it's sold as a commuter but a swap of tyres made it better offroad than any of their equivalent-priced mtbs.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Back in the day we rode off road on racers with skinny tyres & cowhorns on them,or Raleigh Choppers & the like.We just rode what we had,off road bikes were just normal bikes that were rode off road....We fell off a fair bit as well tbh,you wanna try riding through mud on a chopper bike with a stupidly small front wheel & a tyre that has no tread on it from new !
Would I do it now when things have moved on so much, would I ****.When I see someone riding with a rigid fork over bumpy terrain or whatever, I'm not in awe of them regardless of how skillful they think they are,I just think what an idiot.......Posted 5 months ago # -
When I see someone riding with a rigid fork over bumpy terrain or whatever, I'm not in awe of them regardless of how skillful they think they are,I just think what an idiot.......
nice...
When I see someone riding a bike, I think, "Cool, another rider...."
not everyone wants/needs/can afford/can be bothered with a lot of the tech that gets pushed down our throats day in day out.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Oh get over yourself ..........
Posted 5 months ago # -
I'm surprised this is even being debated.
The trouble is, at the lower end of the spectrum (say sub-£200 bikes) suspension is useless. But the customer that those bikes are being marketed to don't understand this.
It's like if you buy a car, or a computer, or whatever...you want all the bells and whistles. You don;t necesarilly understand them, you just know you want them! And at the end of the day, rigid bikes are obviously not a good seller. Which is a shame, because at that price, you could get a perfectly good bike, with good components, when you subtract the price of a cheap suspension fork.
Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but not everyone can afford, or necesarally wants to pay for that choice of opinion.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I am able to ride both rigid and forked with equal amounts of skill but I do prefer the rigid flapping bingo wing sensation that only carbon forks can bring on. Come on each to their own and lets play nice.
Posted 5 months ago # -
I also ride with rigid forks, at times
Just always makes me smile on these type of threads when you get all the rigid die hards start spouting off........ Posted 5 months ago # -
I like both - makes a ride on the same route completely different. Can ride most stuff rigid, just slower when it gets bumpy - although still traumatised from the final downhill at mayhem on rigids this year.
If you where there you would know.Posted 5 months ago # -
I have a pair of SID World cup and Pace rigid carbons to swap depending on where I ride, except the SID's have been in a box for 2 years, each to there own. I don't throw myself down cliffs, but if I did wouldn't dream of doing it on rigid forks.......
Posted 5 months ago #
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