coldfeet
04-12-09, 08:53 PM
Question for those that have tried both, does suspension, front or full, offer any advantage to dealing with lumpy icy paths that have been boot trampled?
Winter Cycling - Suspension for "Lumpy" conditions?
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Severian
04-12-09, 09:59 PM
Your biggest hurdle to cover is the changing oil viscosity due to cold temperatures.
coldfeet
04-12-09, 10:10 PM
Your biggest hurdle to cover is the changing oil viscosity due to cold temperatures.
I would be planning to have a bike set up for bad Winter only, say, -10C and below? How many differences in oil grade are we talking about?
I would be planning to have a bike set up for bad Winter only, say, -10C and below? How many differences in oil grade are we talking about?
ghettocruiser
04-12-09, 10:48 PM
Yes.
http://www.dropmachine.com/media/data/500/IMG_7965.JPG
With most forks/shocks with adjustable rebound, no oil change is required to at least -20C.
I usually adjust the damping to it's lowest setting and the ride is pretty smooth.
http://www.dropmachine.com/media/data/500/IMG_7965.JPG
With most forks/shocks with adjustable rebound, no oil change is required to at least -20C.
I usually adjust the damping to it's lowest setting and the ride is pretty smooth.
rajman
04-13-09, 08:01 AM
Nice pic GC.
I haven't had the experience of riding in such conditions with front suspension, but I imagine it would be smoother. That said, I have ridden boot-trampled paths with my rigid fork with not too much difficulty (but relatively slowly).
I haven't had the experience of riding in such conditions with front suspension, but I imagine it would be smoother. That said, I have ridden boot-trampled paths with my rigid fork with not too much difficulty (but relatively slowly).
Hezz
04-23-09, 10:09 PM
Question for those that have tried both, does suspension, front or full, offer any advantage to dealing with lumpy icy paths that have been boot trampled?
Yes dual suspension is nice. However, rear air shocks don't seem to hold up too well in cold weather. So it's better in my opinion to have a coil type rear shock with oil dampening. Front air forks seem to handle cold weather better than rear air shocks. My theory is that the rear shock is under too high of air pressure due to it's small air chamber size and the seals can be easily damaged by the cold air.
But I think the ideal solution is to have something like a FOX Vanilla front and back and have thinner oil in the cold temperatures. However, down to about 20 F you would probably be OK with the stock oil viscosity. But the shocks will be a little stiffer than if they had the ideal oil.
However, in the end I think that it might be better just to run 3.5 -4 inch wide tires such as on a Pugsley or the other purpose built snow bikes. You can run them as low as 10-15 PSI and they will give good traction and soak up a lot of those bumps. This keeps the frame cheaper and more simple and reliable. Search down the treads a ways for the Pugsley winter bike build.
Perhaps the ultimate winter bike would be something like a front or dual suspension Pugsley with an internal hub transmission. Here's a picture of what might be a good setup for those bumpy icy bike paths.
Yes dual suspension is nice. However, rear air shocks don't seem to hold up too well in cold weather. So it's better in my opinion to have a coil type rear shock with oil dampening. Front air forks seem to handle cold weather better than rear air shocks. My theory is that the rear shock is under too high of air pressure due to it's small air chamber size and the seals can be easily damaged by the cold air.
But I think the ideal solution is to have something like a FOX Vanilla front and back and have thinner oil in the cold temperatures. However, down to about 20 F you would probably be OK with the stock oil viscosity. But the shocks will be a little stiffer than if they had the ideal oil.
However, in the end I think that it might be better just to run 3.5 -4 inch wide tires such as on a Pugsley or the other purpose built snow bikes. You can run them as low as 10-15 PSI and they will give good traction and soak up a lot of those bumps. This keeps the frame cheaper and more simple and reliable. Search down the treads a ways for the Pugsley winter bike build.
Perhaps the ultimate winter bike would be something like a front or dual suspension Pugsley with an internal hub transmission. Here's a picture of what might be a good setup for those bumpy icy bike paths.