Mountain Biking - Go fork myself?

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VABikerGuy
05-26-08, 08:14 PM
So I have a Gary Fisher Gitche Gurnee. It's pretty much a once or twice a week commute bike (10 miles or so one way, 20 round trip), ride around town, maybe every once in a blue moon, take her out on some of the crappy off-road options Virginia Beach and the surrounding area offers (think flat, but curvy trails).

Thing is, my bike is completely rigid. Now, I don't do anything extreme with my bike by any means. We have no hills to downhill on, I can't bunny hop, and the most "mountain-bike" thing I do with my bike is jumping occasional curbs or doing the 20 yards of single track-ish trail I have to play with to get to work.

While that's the case, I think that getting some forks in the front could soften up the jolt of joints in sidewalk, curbs, potholes, etc.

Am I being ******** and looking to waste efficiency and money at the price of a mild gain in comfort?

Lemme know your thoughts.

BenLi
05-26-08, 08:29 PM
So I have a Gary Fisher Gitche Gurnee. It's pretty much a once or twice a week commute bike (10 miles or so one way, 20 round trip), ride around town, maybe every once in a blue moon, take her out on some of the crappy off-road options Virginia Beach and the surrounding area offers (think flat, but curvy trails).

Thing is, my bike is completely rigid. Now, I don't do anything extreme with my bike by any means. We have no hills to downhill on, I can't bunny hop, and the most "mountain-bike" thing I do with my bike is jumping occasional curbs or doing the 20 yards of single track-ish trail I have to play with to get to work.

While that's the case, I think that getting some forks in the front could soften up the jolt of joints in sidewalk, curbs, potholes, etc.

Am I being ******** and looking to waste efficiency and money at the price of a mild gain in comfort?

Lemme know your thoughts.

You don't need a fork. Dropping a couple of psi's in pressure would effectively achieve the desired effect.
imcrushingyerhd
05-29-08, 06:47 AM
For what you're doing, just grab the cheapest fork that's compatible. Keep in mind though, since your commuting with it, you gonna get some compression/bounce out of the fork when you don't want it, like when huffing up a hill. Unless you buy a fork with a lockout, which would probably stay locked out in your case. I certainly wouldn't put a suspension fork on a commuter myself, I would put a fatter tire and/or reduce air pressure a bit. That will help with traction in the sand I would guess that VA Beach has.