Rigid Forks….

Ok…probably been posted about to death on here so apologies for another rigid fork thread! (im new to ST forum!)

Never ridden a rigid fork MTB, seen some positive reviews and negative reviews about them, intrigued to get some views from everyone on here….

Key question for me is does it batter your wrists and therefore making rides uncomfortable?

cheers

Don,t use carbon bars as these are too stiff and give you wrist ache ime.
Just flex more in the arm and enjoy!
Next!

Key question for me is does it batter your wrists and therefore making rides uncomfortable?

Yes, but you quickly adapt and start riding smoother/better lines.

Cheers for the swift reply’s!

Looking at Genesis Fortitude SS 29er for blasting local trails…

I recommend some carbon forks, I have used ones from exotic cycles and now have some pace rc31’s. I prefer rigid to hardtail and to full suss, no need for faffing around with setups and servicing. Both forks are suspension corrected either 100mm or 120mm, I get more fun and enjoyment out on the trail with rigid, than letting a hardtail or full suss do all the work for me and full suss seems to be too much wasted energy

In these days of bikes fully loaded with this suspension and that suspension people shouldn’t be shocked there’s a back lash of folks raving about riding rigid. It does as others have said and it clearly shows you that bikes really don’t need all that technology… But all that technology sure makes things smoother, faster and lets you get away with poor line choices.

I wouldn’t ever ride rc31’s, they snap, and that’s not good. But there are other forks out there.

I have a rigid bike and I’ve just put a 29″ wheel at the front and that’s made it even better. It now feels like my hardtail does when I forget to unlock the forks and have just a few mm of movement. I’ts not a lot but it’s appreciable.

I havent seen a pair of snapped rc31s, but seen others and other materials can fail

I’ve recently built a rigid bike with an onone scandal frame. I’ve also got a full suss Boardman which I’ve not used since I built my rigid. Absolutely love it – not got expensive forks – picked up a set of orange p7s for £30 second hand and they are superb. Like an earlier poster said its just so much less faffing around without servicing and setup. It took no time at all to get used to it just feels so much faster and lighter. Got a 1×9 setup on mine and never needed more than that.

as others have said, obviously you are going to feel/notice more of the characteristics of the terrain, but you will quickly learn to choose a more suitable line, where such a thing exists of course.
the upsides are weight (less of) servicing (none at all) cost (a fair bit less) and faff (none).
many experienced riders will tell you ‘back in the day’ etc, but its not quite that simple, frames in those days were actually designed to absorb shock, whereas more modern frames are designed to be stiffer to allow the suspension to work properly.
bottom line= you can try it yourself for about 65 quid. if you buy 2nd hand and dont like it net cost could well be zero if you resell.
go for it is my opinion btw.

Yes… But get a big arsed front tyre, get some style, pick a line, hang on… And enjoy.

They also knock a lot of weight out of the bike and make climbing easier.

I’ve owned three pairs of RC31s and I’m alive to tell the tale. Rigid forks; go for nice quality butted steel or carbon, combined with a large volume supple tyre and a nice pair of wide carbon bars – cushty!

rigid forks are ace! do it.

At the moment, i’m riding 100% rigid, but it’s what I grew up with so probably not too much of an adjustment. Line choice becomes a bit more important. You need to keep it a bit loose and let your legs and arms act as suspension rather than gripping on for grim life. With a bit of practice you can nail stuff (admittedly a bit more slowly) which people will tell you in all seriousness you can’t ride without 4″ of travel. If and when you go back to suspension it will benefit your riding style hugely.

Go for it!

Some great advice which it is appreciated! Defo going towards the rigid 29er, look forward to seeing the difference in the riding styles.

Cheers

Awesome pic tazzymtb

Going 29er definitely makes a difference when riding rigid. I find it a bit trickier climbing slo-mo techy stuff with big wheels. But so much smoother and faster over more flowing trails due to the bigger tyre footprint.

My Handjob is rigid and I love it. Just need to build up the replacement wheels!

Don,t use carbon bars as these are too stiff and give you wrist ache ime.
Just flex more in the arm and enjoy!
Next!

Beg to differ. I changed from alloy, (Answer Hyperlights, various other alloy bars) to carbon years ago, and they made a big difference to my comfort levels on the bike, and I’m prone to wrist problems, like carpal tunnel damage and RSI, so I have real experience.
I would also go with carbon forks; I built up a singlespeed just to try it, and fitted a pair of Planet X steel rigid forks. Hammered my wrists terribly, so bought a pair of On-One Carbon forks. That was back around ’07-ish, and that bike gets ridden more than any of my others.
The thing with carbon, it damps the high frequency vibrations that numb your hands, and carbon bars and forks are flexible, unlike rigid steel forks and alloy bars. Or rigid alloy forks for that matter. I’ve done all day 30+ mile rides with the carbon set up, that would have had me chewing painkillers by halfway using alloy/steel.

onceinalifetime – Member
Don,t use carbon bars as these are too stiff and give you wrist ache ime.
Just flex more in the arm and enjoy!
Next!

I would completely disagree with the carbon bar bit.

get bars with the angles that suit you first off. Most problems are due to incorrect wrist angle.

Carbon bars WILL dampen out vibrations compared to metal ones. They make axe handles out of wood or fibreglass and not metal for this reason.

If your budget stretches to it I would go for some nice carbon forks.

Failing that a set of steel ones will be different but should still have a bit of compliance. But they will also be a lot heavier than the latest carbon forks.

This is my budget rigid 29er:

Uses some cromoly 29er forks I had lying around on a scandal frame with 700mm wide carbon flat bars with 9deg sweep.

Everyone who tries it loves it. They are just so simple. They go over stuff with so little drama and it’s so refreshing not having any suspension to pitch the bike forward and change the angles. It just feels like pure riding.

Is it more harsh on arms? Yes it can be, until you learn to adjust your riding style. Riding that has made me a lot better on my 26″ wheeled hard tail as I am now positioning my body better and not putting all my weight down through my arms and letting the fork do all the work. I ride it a lot more relaxed and let my arms bend at the elbow and follow the terrain.

But I would advise you to have a decent front rim and a well built wheel so you know it will last. And larger volume front tyre will help.

many experienced riders will tell you ‘back in the day’ etc, but its not quite that simple, frames in those days were actually designed to absorb shock, whereas more modern frames are designed to be stiffer to allow the suspension to work properly.

I had a lovely Roberts White Spider back in 1989 hand built with skinny Columbus tubing which I rode till I got full suspension in 98. My current steel framed carbon forked rigid bike is far more comfortable to ride.

Its good to see the pics people have uploaded of their rigid 29ers – look the part and a good ride also

My rc31s snapped in the steerer tube. 48 stitches, of which 28 were inside my mouth. Alu steerer. Wasn’t the carbon. Don’t ask me to like pace. Before then I owned five sets of different pace forks. Wouldn’t go near a pace product ever again. When was the last time you checked the steerer inside the headtube? 😉

… And I still ride rigid! Just now it’s with something I trust not to send me to A&E.

@ avdave, i dont doubt you at all, however my experience going from a ’92 marin eldridge to a ’08 orange P7 was different, the P7 is a fair bit stiffer in comparison. could your experience be due to the forks? my mate has a carrera kraken fitted with on one carbon forks and its noticably softer at the front. (in a good way)

@andyl: nice fergie!

great thread, very interesting as im new to this rigid lark. ill start a rigid photo thread and people can post their pics there – should be good!