Your opinions of Rigid vs Suspension forks (new 29er content)

Im on the Cusp of buying a 29er frame and I now need to choose some forks.
Money is tight so I will rebuild my wheels with the cheapest rims money can buy (sun ringle 50 quid pair plus spokes..is there any better??) and the same goes for the forks

Anywhoo, I can get some exotic carbon on one stylee Carbon forks for 100 quid ish.

BUT I HAVNT RIDDEN RIGID OFF ROAD FOR 20 YEARS, WILL I DIE??

what are your experiences?

the winner at hit the north this past weekend rode a rigid 29er

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/htn-pictures-thread

Sold. I guess that without 6" forks to soften the blow, I might just learn to be more subtle on the trails…

you won't die!

but will develop a strange genetic mutation as a recessive gene suddenly gets triggered by the jostling and jolting caused by a lack of suspension.

Scientists have discovered that this results in an increased growth rate of facial hair (possibly as an adaptation to protect the face in the event of an over the bars face plant) and the potential for a secondary mutation which leads to a the horrifically debilitating disease known as
"singulus volo per a barba-itis". There are many poor crippled suffers who post on this forum 😉

below is an image of such a mutation

I've got a set of the Exotic ones that I use in the Soul sometimes, they're very nice- strong enough, and light, and cheap-ish. But I'd still have suspension as my first choice. Offroading on rigids is nice, and also IMO not only promotes really clean, smooth riding but also makes you appreciate suspension more… but I wouldn't want to do it all the time.

Absinthe again taz?

LOL. I already have my first SS injury. It seems when you are over the bars, sweating and grunting up a small slope, you chest-butt the stem if you loose grip. If I still used SPDs it would have been even more comical, Im sure.

NB That is one serious beard, man

@ swede- unfortunately not, sleep deprivation and having to be terribly professional and serious for 3 days on an exceedingly dangerous job has warped my fragile little mind. 😀

Sleep on the job. What could possibly go wrong.

LOL- nice response to the ebay joke by the way!

Hhmm?

Oh and for the threads benefit, I like my on one rigids.

I like riding rigid (steel forks) on my Singular Swift but there are times especially in places that are particularly rocky that I definitely would like some suspension (Singletrack weekender for example) however I can't see me being able to afford any any time soon. 🙁
You won't die.

tazzymtb my beard doesn't appear to be growing what am I doing wrong?
My biceps appear to be swelling though. Rigid good for the 'guns'? 🙄

My rule – from albeit limited experience – is that good suspension is better than no suspension but no suspension is better than bad suspension. For £100 – unless you get a 2nd hand bargain in the classifieds – you're not going to get a good suspension fork.

I love my carbon fork. It's made a super light responsive fully rigid that's ace for ragging around locally. The trails that my full susser made a bit too easy are now fun again. That's not to say I don't enjoy hairing down rocky stuff on the fully tho' 😀

Anyone tried a Slingshot Farmboy?

Depends where/what/how you ride, I much preferred my 29er with suss forks, though it was smoother than a 26er without.

I'd get some SH rigid forks and save for sussers. P2s aren't hugely heavier than those exotics.

Rocky terrain will always be uncomfortable on a rigid frame compared to suspension whatever you do. Buff trails or winter, just stick a big tyre in the front. Works for me and seems to make me better and faster at riding my full susser as I tend to work it more over the trail.

IME riding rigid is fine but it does limit how long you ride for, after about 4 hours I get really tired, much more so than when riding with suspension.

It'll be fine. While I ride my 26" SS rigid in the winter, I usually swap to suspension forks when the going gets faster/harder in the summer.

I inadvertantly tested a Swift fully rigid and SS at the Bikefest this year when I borrowed it for a lap and forgot to check beforehand that it had gears and suspension… anyway, while a bit slower and less comfortable than my swift is now (it has a sus fork), it wasn't anything to the point of being a problem – just meant more careful line choice and more hand battering (sounds dodgy…). I wouldn't fancy rigid for long rough days, mind. YMMV

I put a rigid fork in while my revs were being serviced..
The fork livened up my local trails to such an extent that the revs are now gathering dust in a cupboard..

Prolonged very fast descending over stuttery (roots and rocks) terrain gets a bit wearing.. hard to quantify though cos I'm carrying a hand injury.. probably not being helped at all by the rigid choice..

If it wasn't for the hand injury I probably wouldn't go back to suspension again..
I watch my mates simply bomb down quite technical stuff with plush suspension but I genuinely prefer to put a little more effort in and occasionally takes things a little steadier.. I reckon I get more out of the trail.. and I feel I have more control when I'm picking my way through really tech terrain..

Even with a big soft tyre, as soon as you hit loose rocks your bike is flying all over the shop.

A large proportion of my riding is done on rigid forks. It's harder work, and you can't go quite as fast over rough ground. Prolonged fast riding gives me rather sore wrists, stonking great callouses, and sometimes blistered palms. Obviously the rougher it is the more difference lack of suspension makes to speed and comfort. But the idea that you can't ride "ordinary" off-road without suspension is nonsense. 🙂

as soon as you hit loose rocks your bike is flying all over the shop.

That is true to a large extent.. but you quickly learn to compensate by slightly reassigning weight distribution or 'floating' over stuff..

a problem you might find is being able to see properly with all the eyeball shaking though

Aye. Even with somewhere like Sherwood Pines, when riding rigid I find myself thinking "I can see why helicopters fly into powerlines now".

Do helicopters have rigid forks too?

I like riding rigid (steel forks) on my Singular Swift but there are times especially in places that are particularly rocky that I definitely would like some suspension

me too

"I can see why helicopters fly into powerlines now"

No, it's no good. I'm completely stumped by this. 🙂

Prolonged fast riding gives me rather sore wrists, stonking great callouses, and sometimes blistered palms

Be honest, that's nothing to do with riding rigid is it…

Ride a 29er rigid a lot. Originally had steel forks. Wrist hurtage did ensue. On advisement changed to carbon fibre forks and everything in the garden has been rosy ever since. Most people who try it can't believe how comfortable a wholly rigid bike can be. Do it!

Prolonged fast riding gives me rather sore wrists, stonking great callouses, and sometimes blistered palms
Be honest, that's nothing to do with riding rigid is it…

😆 😆

rigid is o.k. but i have more pleasure out of most rides with suspension so i have given up on rigid forks. i also found it quite hard to swap between the two and blame that for a few nasty crashes.

While I love riding a rigid bike, for long riding over rough terrain a bit of front suspension is definitely welcome. As it happens, I've just got the long awaited Manitou Minute 29er forks with 20mm thru axle in stock, and very nice they are too!

stilltortoise – Member
My rule – from albeit limited experience – is that good suspension is better than no suspension but no suspension is better than bad suspension.

+1

The money spent on good suspension would have bought a lot of extra goodies for your bike.

Sam must be getting soft in his old age. The steel fork on his Singulars is one of the nicest rigid forks I have ridden. 🙂

Folk are banging on about bad suspension – do bad 29er suss forks exist?

Actually Sam probably isn't getting soft – he just rides faster than most of us 🙂

cynic-al – Member
Folk are banging on about bad suspension – do bad 29er suss forks exist?

I hope not – Fingers crossed that my bargin Suntour Epicons will hold up to some decent use.

Anyway, just to echo epicyclo, the Singular rigid fork is particularly good – you can actually see it springing back and forward (in a good way!) when riding bumpy stuff.

Well the frame is on it's way, and all i need is rims, spokes and Forks.

Im going for the Exotic carbons from Disco brakes (84 quid)which a leave a few quid left over for the wheels.

The only decision now is

leave the 456 SS and put gears on the 29er or visa versa? My gut is telling me to SS the 29er and put gears on the 456..

Big thread resurrection, here, but had my first go on the new bike this morning. Not a great test as I was hanging after night shift.

For the first 3/4 of the ride, I was thinking "Oh s**t, what have I done?" but once I had woken up a bit, I started to have fun.

The rigid forks combined with the big WTB 2.55 tyres worked surprisingly well and gave me more trouble when mincing than when going at speed. Admittedly, having the front wheel bounce nastily when hitting unseen rocks was heart-stopping but Ill get used to it I am sure. By the end of the ride I was picking lines (something that I never really bother with with F140s on my other bike 🙂 )and keeping a flow which was all good. What I loved most of all though was the climbing. being a fatty, I thought I would struggle big time, but the tyres roll well and the scandal is quite light

looking forward to having another go. A shortened stem is on now, and I have fiddled with the seat a bit.

i rode my Karate monkey framset with its ridgid fork for a year and it wasnt that bad on short rides,after 4 hours or so and the aches set in,a high bar set up with ergo grips helped alot,when i went looking at 29er forks they were so expensive, usually £100+ more for 29" TO 26" for most rock shok/fox options…then got a 100mm suntour epicon 29er fork for £190 from CRC,
its not as good as say a reba but the bike is way better for it,as are my shoulder blades and wrists on big days out…i think these steel bikes look alot better fully ridged but are maybe alot more usable with a suspension fork,alot of folk reckon carbon ridged 29er forks are better than steel so an option there for you to look at (on one?)
oh one one do cheap rims,infact they do cheap frame and forks worth a look as you have found, 😮 but i do believe riding a ridged bike will sharpen your basic riding skills as having to pick lines etc instead of ploughing into stuff, have fun 😮

Another vote for suspension.

Started out with my Scandal 29er on a steel rigid Surly fork, got my wrists shaken to bits on anything remotely rough and it wasn't doing much for my slipped disc either so, as I couldn't afford a Reba, I switched to an RST M29 which has been fine.