When did suspension bikes get good?

I was a fully-rigid luddite until about 2006, and I sometimes wonder how much fun I missed out on.

When would you say FS bikes got good? As opposed to being heavy, flexy and unreliable, I suppose.

'97 ish? When the original Marin Mount Vision and SC Heckler came out?

Well, my 04' Stumpy SFR was brilliant, certainly a well developed bike, as were the earlier Enduros, so a long while ago at least!

I had an Intense Uzzi SL in 1998 which I had for about 8 years. I also had/have a 2001 Intense Tracer which is still a well regrded bike even by todays standards and that is the same design as the Uzzi SL.

I had a full suspension Manitou in the first half of the 90s I think it was. It wasn't flexible or heavy or unreliable. Didn't have an awful lot of travel though.

hi Chakaping, sent you an email the other day, but no response, can you send me one, my email address in details
cheers R

oh and around 2003 for dh and 1400 3.6.04 for xc? prob a Turner or some thing…. but no one noticed
– and depends on good at what – my ss ht is good at having fun in the woods for a short ride, which most of my fs bikes were/are not so good at!?

Late 90s was when decent XC FSers started to become reasonably common. Some were still awful at that time though.

Remember ogling a Proflex in the window of Ghyllside Cycles in Ambleside, early '90s 😯

The Marins were the ones that really took off, at least in the Lakes anyway. Around 97/98 suddenly they were everywhere.

There were earlier bikes that were good too – GT LTS, Proflex 855 (basic but effective), Turners, etc.

When the shocks became good.

Lionheart – email in profile works – try again mate

I quite enjoyed my FS in the late 90s, in fact it was as nice as my current bike (NRS) if not more plush and controlled, but pedal feedback was a big concern due to it being single piv.

Amazing how far things have come in ten years though. I've still got a copy of WhatMTB from 2000 and it's a real eye-opener…

There's even a two-paragraph news item about an interesting new singlespeed frame with a white paint job from a small company in Yorkshire 🙂

When platform damping became readily available

In about 1999/2000 I really, really wanted a Marin Mount Vision. I baulked at the price and got a Trek VRX instead. I think it is fair to say that only some full-sussers were remotely good at that point. 😀

'97 ish?

Yeah, that'll be it.

I baulked at the price and got a Trek VRX

Wow – still got one of those in the garage. If anyone fancies some retro fun being reminded what it was like to ride a bike that felt like a water bed full of blancmange, feel free to PM me with a reasonable offer. Or not…

The platform/pedal bob problem has only really been sorted by the majority of manufacturers in the last few years hasn't it?

My Rocky Mountain Instinct was a fab bike – 1999.
Some of the Cannondale single pivot stuff came out before that and were good bikes.

The platform/pedal bob problem has only really been sorted by the majority of manufacturers in the last few years hasn't it?

No, that was mostly a rider problem 😉

The Marins were the ones that really took off, at least in the Lakes anyway. Around 97/98 suddenly they were everywhere.

I'd agree with that, I had an East Peak with the coil shock which was a bit crap but the frame handled ok, i'm told the MV pro was miles better.

I think the early designs that actually worked (eg the Marins) generally had geometry designed to counteract pedalling forces (ie high pivot points). The big difference platform shocks have made is allowing longer travel trail bikes with geometry optimised for suspension action per se.

there may have been a few that were going in the right direction, but the 1997 Marin Mount Vision changed the game. Lifetime warranty on the moving element bearings certainly helped along with its simple, reliable design. A total classic really. Not getting one at the time is something I regret, when I look at my now mothballed carbon Scott. I'd still like a single pivot one.

I had a profelx 859 (i think, big red alu frame made form round tubes, big pivot, carbon swingarm) was still going strong when I bought it in 2005 and felt very much like a yeti asr-sl does now.

Biggest improvements (IMO)

A bit more thought going into the design rather than pivots+bushings+spring= £1000 pogo stick

Fox float and vanilla shocks, now we had proper dampers

'platform' valves (abeit short lived, they seem to have died out now), now we could pedal the things.

Fox DHX5, over complicated, but worked better than anything else at the time. The current RP23 takes most of the valving though without the diving mid stroke.

CCDB then BOSS (or RS and Marz if your on a budget) Back to simple shim damping we started with.

I'd say more a series of incramental steps rather than waking up one mornign and all bikes were suddenly good.

After this….

Don't forget the early specialized FSR, like JMC rode, they developed about 1992/93-ish, good at the time, but yeah it was Marin in the late 90's that started making them affordable, I think up til then they were out of my price range?

I had a Heckler mark 1 and it seemed pretty sorted to me. Not too much bob and pretty stiff it was 97 I think.