Are single pivot full sussers obsolete now?

The last time I rode a single pivot was about 2004. I know Orange and a few others still do them but have other designs evolved so much as to make them feel a bit “numb” or basic compared to newer designs?

I’m thinking of buying one on the cheap but can’t decide if its cheap for that reason.

only 26″ wheel ones.

Oarnge still manage to charge a premium price for their “obsolete” design!

have other designs evolved so much as to make them feel a bit “numb”

They were never ‘numb’ surely? One of the reasons people like them is that you get lots of feedback.

geometry / head-tube / wheelsize have more to do with ‘obsolete’ (or not) than the number of frame elements.

(example: santa cruz bullit, frexample)

My Jekyll seems fun.

Outland released the VPP in 1996 (before going bankrupt and selling the patent to SC and Intense a few years later).

Three years before Orange made the Mr.O DH bike.

Maybe it’s the idea you need 8 pivot bearings rather than 2 that’s outdated?

They are quite popular on the XC front (Scott Spark, Cannondale Scalpel), but I suppose those are not considered ‘real’ full suspension bikes.

It really doesn’t make a fat lot of difference.

Buy the bike based on how it rides for what you want. Gemoetry and style of kit make far more difference.

They are quite popular on the XC front (Scott Spark, Cannondale Scalpel), but I suppose those are not considered ‘real’ full suspension bikes.

There’s some crap spouted on this forum sometimes, but………….

Ridden most versions and really prefer VPP, FSR next but most people should probably read this before posting any more
http://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=146074

Spark and Scalpel are link driven single pivot to me.

I’d love a Superlight again if I was in a position to buy a full sus. The Superlight thread here is good testament to the love people have for single pivots.

Oh, and numb is the last word I’d use to describe a single pivot

I wouldn’t change my Single Pivot bike for anything. It’s a 2010 Heckler, still on its original bearings, high chain stays for mud clearance, and certainly more “Fun” than “Numb”

imo for years they have designed linkages to provide designed in characteristics for things like rubbishly damped rear shocks or multiple chain rings. Most new bikes are now single ring with good shocks id suggest.

I couldn’t think of the right word, agree that “numb” probably wasn’t it.

“Simple” was too literal.

Maybe I was thinking it was hard to get small bump sensitivity but still good for bigger hits?

Not saying the one I had was rubbish, just can’t remember in the first place why I went on this endless cycle of trying other designs and brands….

imo for years they have designed linkages to provide designed in characteristics for things like rubbishly damped rear shocks or multiple chain rings. Most new bikes are now single ring with good shocks id suggest.

For me the way my vpp bike hugs the floor wins for me

Got an SP that I use as my main mtb and a proper 4 bar on my bestest bike. 4bar is more supple on climbs and doesn’t stiffen up as much while braking. The SP is a nice bike and it’s a piece of piss to replace the bearings. Those are my pros/cons, but there’s lots of other arguably more important stuff to base your buying decision on.

2 bearings in 3 years on my vpp bike…

VPP Blur LT I had until it got nicked last week was very nice but my trigger seems equally capable and easier to pop off stuff. Not much in it tbh.

Never liked the chain-growth through the pedals on SP. And what happened when you put the back break on.

I suppose there are markets for all types of bikes/suspension.

Best riding bike I’ve owned was my ASR-SL, was gutted when I cracked the frame after they’d gone out of production.

I ride a Heckler should i get a new bike?

VPP Blur LT I had until it got nicked last week was very nice but my trigger seems equally capable and easier to pop off stuff.

I went sp to vpp, relearning to pop off stuff was key but a good thing to learn again. As I said holding ground on the rough stuff is much nicer.

TBH Molgrips has it, demo the frames you like, and decide based on that.

I really like Giant’s Maestro frames for their stability, Specializeds Horst link for it’s ‘dead’ feeling (it just did it’s job without flaws, I did mine and the bike went very fast), single pivots for their ‘lively’ feeling (lean back it squats, lean forward it extends, bad if you’re writing marketing spiel, good if you want to feel involved in the riding).

I’ve never ridden a VPP I liked, but maybe that’s just me.

In terms of acronyms and small-fiddly-parts count there’s nothing between VPP and FSR, but they make different bikes, and there’s plenty of different ways to arrange a FSR frame as well (Nicolai put the top link upside down, making it more like a VPP, but still doesn’t feel like one).

Got a superlight 29. It’s ace!

I’ve tried a few linkage bikes and they are better (a lot less bob when sprinting out of the saddle), but not enough to bother me. I’ll take changing only 2 bearings a year over 8+ any day.

Would have thought four-way adjustable shocks make single pivots a more viable choice now than before.

Would have thought four-way adjustable shocks make single pivots a more viable choice now than before.

wasn’t the swinger 5 way about 10-13 years back? For me the modern shock preserved the single pivot bike, suspension design overtook it. Hows the stiffness out the back of those long swingarms?

Got a Starling Swoop with a single pivot and it rides really really well with a coil shock (X-Fusion Vector coil HLR if you want to know – and I’m really impressed with it)

its been designed to have a linear suspension profile, and the pivot point is just above the top of the chainring, slightly forward of the BB

On the “user” side, there is very little noticeable pedal-bob and it climbs pretty well – 1×11 on it and you just sit and spin. Fireroads, technical climbs and short, sharp “out of the saddle” bursts all seem to be handled quite well. Standing and seated pedalling on the flat seems to be fine too – nothing seems to be too “bouncy” even in lower gears.

Downhill seems fine too – there’s a little bit of brake-jack (as you’d expect) but no more than I’ve ever had with the DW link on the 5-spot or the Horst link on the old Enduro.

rear triangle is pretty stiff too – its not just a swing-arm; there’s a bit of design has gone into keeping it from flexing too much, and its nice to look at too 🙂

Got a Starling Swoop

you can count the minutes before he is here telling us its awesome

YOU’RE awesome 🙂

It’s all about the GEO, the damping, and the execution. Not the number of pivots IMHO

That PB article is interesting! I have discovered my bike is a single pivot design! Now I can be on the lookout for all the things I have never noticed whilst out just riding it 🙂

I am a very ordinary rider, so happy to accept I would have to be shown (repeatedly) what is meant by pedal Bob and brake jack! It would seem in this case ignorance is bliss 😉

Similar to phil40 – I know what pedal bob is and get a tiny bit of it by frame design and then less again because of the platform valve.

I understand brake jack but have never knowingly experienced it.

I’m too busy pottering having fun 😉

Dam have to sell my Orange now even though it’s great in the Alps and UK.

Obsolete – no longer produced or used

Given they are still being produced, sold and used by definition clearly not obsolete…pretty sure my ‘obsolete’ 26″ Orange Five isn’t the limiting factor when it comes to my speed…and I’m not to slow

Five 29 is still one of the best bikes I’ve ever ridden. Though ironically, no bugger bought one. Clever shocks have made single pivots better than ever imo. (and 1x drivetrains are doing interesting things for pivot location, tyre and chainring clearance)

Oarnge still manage to charge a premium price for their “obsolete” design!

guessing you’ve not looked at a
5 recently?
Similar outline but there’s a lot of manipulation of tubing going on now.

I understand brake jack but have never knowingly experienced it.

<engageWormCanOpener>
Can somebody with more of a brain than me actually draw a resultant force diagram to show what the resultant shock force is on something like an orange 5 with 100N of brake force applied to a 180mm rotor?

I may well be wrong, but I suspect it’s naff all.
</engageWormCanOpener>

hot_fiat – Member

I understand brake jack but have never knowingly experienced it.

<engageWormCanOpener>
Can somebody with more of a brain than me actually draw a resultant force diagram to show what the resultant shock force is on something like an orange 5 with 100N of brake force applied to a 180mm rotor?

I may well be wrong, but I suspect it’s naff all.
</engageWormCanOpener>

Applying the front brake can fire the rider into space. Do you really doubt that applying the back brake can influence the suspension?

There’s single pivot and then there’s single pivot.

My last bike was an Alpine and it was like riding a sofa (in both good and bad ways). Point it at anything rough and it just soaked it up. Sit and spin on climbs in low gears and it found grip everywhere, stand up and mash a big gear and it was truly horrible to climb on. Never really noticed any big reactions under braking but that’s probably me rather than the system. The back end was a bit flexy, but that only bothered me when I rode behind someone else on an Orange and watched the lateral flex with horror – while riding I actually think the flex helped with grip.

My current bike is a Rocket, definitely described by Cy as a single pivot design (albeit with some linkage trickery going on). Couldn’t ride more differently to the Alpine – where the Orange just ploughed through stuff, the Cotic needs to be ridden more actively to get the best out of it. Climbing is similar, with seated spinning being fine and stood up stomping a waste of energy. With the linkage, the rear end is stiffer than the Alpine, so the ride feels a bit more ‘rattly’ as the suspension moves up and over obstacles rather than the back end flexing round them.

Both bikes have VERY similar geometry and weight and the same shock, so I put the difference in feel down to the different approaches to building a suspension platform (although I guess the steel vs aluminium thing might also play a part?).

So I guess from my point of view the answer to the OP question is no.