Mountain Biking - First Trail Ride On My Rigid

Damn was today jaw jarring. i completely understand the luxury of suspension now. i rode this same trail before with a bike that had suspension and everything about that ride was great.. todays ride SUCKED way to rough for me. so i will be changing out this fork as soon as my wallet allows.

TRAIL: White Tank Mts Competition Track, Arizona
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn297/LiftedSport/Photo-0013.jpg

Eh, yeah, sometimes rigid can be painful. Really, for me though, it's the challenge of it that makes it fun. Although, I suppose it's not for everybody. For the time being you should try dropping your tire pressures as much as possible and wearing thicker gloves. Or, just get used to it.

Riding rigid takes a skill that has to be aquired. Line selection is very important- Knowing when to get out of the saddle is even more so and fast downhills require a different hold on the bars- Hand and arms held firm to retain grip on the bars but NEVER allow them to take your body weight over the jarring bits. But uphill and technical is where a rigid will score. Nice light front end to lift and place wherever you want. No need to use the suspension over lumpy bits- taking momentum from the bike when you can put that front wheel wherever you want it to go.

Have to admit that I now ride with front suspension but only 80mm travel and set up very firm- just to take the sting out of the trail. But if I want a real experience- it is back to the rigid for anything up to 4 hours of XC.

I liked my rigid bike........that was when everything in the bike shop was rigid.Now,not so much.

my first 2 bikes were both rigids and i don't believe I saw but maybe one or 2 bikes in the store with front shocks back then. I liked mine as well but that was up north where the terrain was more forgiving

Maybe you can get some decent money for your purse on eBay and put it towards a new suspension fork

Does "line selection" equate to "trail braiding"???

Maybe you can get some decent money for your purse on eBay and put it towards a new suspension fork

:lol:

But seriously, give it more than one ride. That's not enough time to make a decision.



Best combo I found was a 2.2 or larger tire run about 20 psi, oury grips (not lock on), and 661 Raji gloves.

definitely give a couple more times. It's like going from a full suspension to a hard tail. You need to use your arms now for bump absorption. You may also want to switch to different grips to help attenuate the bumps. Oury's made a big difference on mine.

haha i actually run oury's right now.. the only times the vibrations bothered me were on the descents.. other than that it is tolerable are there any tips or tricks to a more comfortable ride other than the obvious(Suspension, & choosing a smooth line)? all right i'll give some more tries.. when i rode yesterday i actually had a 15 lb pack on no gloves and was running 40 PSI Front & Back.

You're not a real mtb'er unless you've been christened by rigid.

haha i actually run oury's right now.. the only times the vibrations bothered me were on the descents.. other than that it is tolerable are there any tips or tricks to a more comfortable ride other than the obvious(Suspension, & choosing a smooth line)? all right i'll give some more tries.. when i rode yesterday i actually had a 15 lb pack on no gloves and was running 40 PSI Front & Back.

That's a lot of PSI there. I'm tubeless on mine so I can get away with low pressures - I run 24 front and 28 rear, and I'm 190-200lbs depending on time of year + a camelbak. I also use a 2.2 tire (Spec Capt Control). It's going to be rough without suspension, so you just take some stuff slower, try to pick the smoothest way through the obstacles and just keep loose. If you are tense on the bike, you're going to feel it more. Just float :D

Now that you've chipped your teeth on rigid, get that suspension fork. I grew up in S. Phoenix so I know the terrain your talking about. Those stones are pretty unforgiving. Vegas trails are "blessed" with the same knarly rocky tracks.

you can't change your bike. You have the bike everyone wants, rigid SS 29er. anything different will be inferior.

High volume tires and tubeless (below 30psi) is what makes rigid work. Anything else makes it suck. Thank goodness for Stan's tubeless.

yea im running Race king 2.2(Great tires by the way). what the safest psi i can run mind you i ride very rock trails and i weigh 235 and normally have a 10-15 lb camelbak

You're not a real mtb'er unless you've been christened by rigid.I was crestfallen to learn today that I've spent the better part of a decade being a fake MTBer.

I was crestfallen to learn today that I've spent the better part of a decade being a fake MTBer.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?607608-What-You-Really-Want-is-a-Rigid-Steel-Singlespeed-Twenty-Niner

yea im running Race king 2.2(Great tires by the way). what the safest psi i can run mind you i ride very rock trails and i weigh 235 and normally have a 10-15 lb camelbak

With tubes, I would expect you to get pinch flats at not much below 40psi (depends on the terrain of course).

Again, the key is running tubeless. Are you running tubeless? If so, go to about 30 rear, 25 front. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes from the 40psi you've been running....and if you're NOT running tubeless.....do it!-

With tubes, I would expect you to get pinch flats at not much below 40psi (depends on the terrain of course).

Again, the key is running tubeless. Are you running tubeless? If so, go to about 30 rear, 25 front. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes from the 40psi you've been running....and if you're NOT running tubeless.....do it!-

I rode a 2.2 nevegal at 18-21 psi on my rigid over rocky rooty north and south carolina trails for about 2 years until I replaced it recently... not ONE flat, pinch or otherwise. I'm not super heavy but I'm not a featherweight either... 170 lbs without gear. You should be able to run A LOT lower than 40 psi.

Don't know about AZ but 40 psi sounds REALLY high.

I rode a 2.2 nevegal at 18-21 psi on my rigid over rocky rooty north and south carolina trails for about 2 years until I replaced it recently... not ONE flat, pinch or otherwise.

I'd say you are very fortunate.

BTW, the OP weighs 65 pounds more than you do.

I'd say you are very fortunate.

BTW, the OP weighs 65 pounds more than you do.

That's true... 40 psi just seems like a lot of air pressure. And yes I've been fortunate. :D

High volume tires and tubeless (below 30psi) is what makes rigid work..............

These make rigid work as well..
http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/309.php?cmd=ShowAsset&assetID=461&nosurround=true&fakeExtension=.jpg

40 psi just seems like a lot of air pressure.

I completely agree. That's why I encouraged him to go tubeless.

My mountain bike background is this:
Started mountain biking on not-so-great fully rigid mountain bikes before suspension. Got more serious about it later on, got a bike with front suspension. Became sold on the value of suspension, and got a full suspension bike about ten years ago. Liked it, but was discouraged when the pivots developed extreme slop after just one year of riding. Went back to hardtails. Got even more into it.

Started using Stan's tubeless in 2002 and loved it, allows very low pressures and prevents punctures as well. Then got back into road riding, which I had abandoned for mountain bike years earlier. Did very little real mountain biking for a few years. Now, I've built up a fully rigid, steel 29er (almost the bike EVERYBODY wants, except mine has a full compliment of gears) and am completely baffled as to why I would have EVER stopped mountain biking.

Like the OP, I felt like I was bouncing down the trails and getting beat up a bit at first, but because I'm running tubeless I just kept lowering the pressure until, WOW, this thing rides pretty plush. And I could definitely go lower with the tire pressure, I'm running about 30 rear, 25 front. My current tires are 29 x 2.2 Geax Saguaro 29's.

Riding with a fully rigid bike isn't for everybody, but I love the simplicity of the bike and the way it makes me choose my lines carefully, and pay attention to what I'm doing, to the extreme-

Here's my bike.The tires I originally had on it were Maxxis Ardents (shown in the pic), but I've really liked the Geax Saguaro's better since I put them on:

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp226/wellbiked/ImportedPhotos00038.jpg

You guys like experiencing parkinsons or something?

The last time I came off a really bumpy descent with my fork locked out I could still feel my hands moving up and down...

rigid = do not want

Every now and then I pull the Fox F29 100mm fork off of my SIR9 and put the rigid fork on. It's great for climbing and I like the way the front end tracks through corners. However, sometimes there is no such thing as a smooth line when the entire trail is nothing but pointy rocks.

You will get shaken, jarred, and otherwise abused if you insist on riding as fast as you did with front suspension. Sure, Oury grips and low tire pressure help, but they still can't equal the cushion of a suspension fork. With the rigid fork, my riding buddies start to catch up to me, so I usually put the Fox back on after a few rides.

For people who ride on lots of rocks, rigid forks are pretty masochistic. Some people like pain, and that's okay. But for most of us, suspension forks are nice to have.

All I've ever ridden is my GT rigid. I started a thread a week or so ago about installing a new fork on it but have since decided against it. I don't usually ride long(2.5 hrs), but it's always with 40 psi, 160 lbs, and no gloves so I know the feeling. I don't think it's nearly as bad for me since I've never ridden with any suspension, so I don't know any different.

P.S. I don't ride rigid because I'm hip, I ride because I'm broke. Haha

These make rigid work as well..
http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/309.php?cmd=ShowAsset&assetID=461&nosurround=true&fakeExtension=.jpg

Or..could that be called a "fully"?

I'm all about SS 29ers, I love mine. But I don't think I would be down with full rigid. Hip or not. I love the feel of steel, but not enough to rock a fork with it. The only real benefit I am seeing with a full rigid is the weight savings over a suspension fork. I'm sure the handling is somewhat different, and maybe even better, but is it worth not having the benefits of a suspension fork? I would like to be clear that I am a hardtailer for life so I'm not trying to push any more suspension than necessary. On the other hand, ride what you like not what the hipsters are riding.