Road Cycling - Suspension on a road bike?

I love speed a whole lot, just wondering if it is weird to place suspension fork on a road bike and whether if it is even possible?
I intend to get a bike from Litespeed, not sure which model yet though.

Anyway, my area is still rather bumpy and there is an area I like to ride on which is quite uneven.

Asking for opinion if a road bike is suitable when I like to ride over bumps and stuff. What kinda fork should I get anyway, carbon fiber or titanium?

Don't do it!!! :eek:
I ride a Litespeed Tuscany with a carbon fiber fork on the roads and streets of Atlanta.
I would NEVER consider putting a suspension fork on this beauty.

Here are my opinions. I went through a similar process a few years ago before deciding that I wanted a mountain bike instead of an additional road bike, plus my budget was $1200 which means off the shelf, already assembled. With your budget you can pick and choose a bit.

If you love to go fast, a conventional suspension fork will definitely slow you down except for on steep downhills.

Since you're considering a premium priced bike, you can afford and deserve one tailored for your needs. Discuss the fork with the builder and/or dealer. The drive for stiffer bikes over the last many years has created bikes that are rather uncomfortable on real (crappy) roads. A conventional curved steel fork gives over 1" of "suspension" travel with little energy loss. A titanium or carbon fork can certainly be built to do the same, but most racer wannabes want stiffer, not more compliant.

A bike set up more like a winter trainer than a summer racer will give you a more comfortable ride with little loss in performance.

Make sure that your chosen bike gives you an appropriate riding position. If your bars are set at the correct height, you will have a very pronounced bend in your elbows, letting your body absorb the shocks. If the bars are too low, your arms will be straight with too much weight on your hands, sending the bumps right up your arms. If you have a conventional threaded steerer and quill stem, you can adjust the bars based on your changing fitness throughout the season. I like to use the drops on rough roads. This gives better control and spreads the load on your hand better than riding the hoods.


Accessories/parts for a smooth ride:
-Tires: Winter training tires, at least 23 mm, preferably 25. I like Vittoria. Run them a bit soft at 90 or 100 psi. You will loose very little rolling resistance on good roads, and make up for it on bad roads. Make sure your frame & fork can accomodate 28 or 32 mm tires, just in case.
-Wheels: Conventionally laced wheels, not super-stiff composites or radial lacing.
-Spare Wheelset: If you really want composite wheels and super narrow, hard tires, get a spare "winter training" wheelset with larger tires as described. Use the fancy wheels for races and fast club rides, the training wheels for daily riding.
-Bar wrap: Use cork, foam, or neoprene. Try double wrapping the bars.
-Gloves: Neoprene or gel padding, nothing too thick. Replace often.
-Saddle: Look for titanium or hollow steel rails, elastomer mounts. A bit of padding is okay, but a soft seat is uncomfortable to me.

Frame material:
-High-end steel or titanium are very strong materials. They loose very little energy when they flex since they spring back.
-Aluminum and many composite constructions may be compliant when they flex, but some energy is lost to heat and fatigue.
-A great titanium bike is best, but a good steel bike is better than a mediocre TI bike.


Frames/forks/whole bikes:
-If Litespeed, I'd get the Tuscany, with whichever fork the recommend to complement the character of the frame with its swept seat stays.
-Look at bikes made by Softride, or at least their suspension stem.
-Flex-stem suspension stem and seatpost if they're still around.
-Ritchey Swiss Cross frame with swept seatstays.
-Custom steel or titanium frames/forks with "classic" geometry.
-I think Rock Shox "Ruby" is or was their road bike suspension fork. It won't hurt to check it out.

Conditioning:
-Pushups and grip exercises let you use your arms to absorb shocks. Weak arms want to be straight.

Let us know how it turns out.

Jim

It is possible. Back in the mid-90s, some of the pros rode on rockshox suspension forks in Paris-Roubaix and a couple of the other cobbles classics. Johan Museeuw even rode a full suspension road bike in the 1994 P-R.

You don't see it much anymore and even RockShox discontinued its Ruby road fork. For one thing, the weight penalty is immense, particularly when you think of how infrequently you might need suspension have front suspension].

The other thing is that carbon fiber forks provide almost all the dampening you'd need on the road without the weight penalty.

If you want to smooth out your ride, invest in a carbon fiber fork.

Mountain biking is, theoretically, done on rough terrain with pedalling occurring in spurts. Suspension adds to control as well as comfort and its affect on pedalling efficiency is more than offset by the benefits. A suspension fork also weighs considerably more than a standard fork. Again, the extra weight is an acceptable penalty on punishing terrain.

Road cycling is a steady state exercise. Generally one is pedalling constantly, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but constantly. Any flex in the frame absorbs a little of the energy that would other wise go to the pedals. A certain amount of flex provides some comfort and can be tolerated. More serious cyclists factor frame flex into their choice of materials to select a frame with the amount of flex they are willing to tolerate for comfort on long rides, trading off against the greater efficiency of a stiffer frame. Suspension on a road bike would divert more energy from the pedals than most road cyclists will accept. The extra weight of suspension becomes a small penalty on every pedal stroke that can add significantly. For these reasons, suspension forks are not used on road bikes. Steel and carbon forks provides some shock absorption without the weight penalty.

Cannondale has some modified road bikes with a "springy thingy" already installed in the head-set--------weighs quite a bit more than a standard road bike---after I picked one up and felt that weight--that was enough for me---I set it down and moved on.

Does a carbon fork really last? I heard that it is really lousy especially when used for quite some time. I really don't wanna hurt my good and potential body, I'm still young at 15.

Why on earth would somebody want to slap a 5 lb suspension fork on a 3 lb road frame? And, why would anybody on a road bike want to have a bike that bobs up and down when pedalling?
If you are worried about ride, get a set of tubulars. Leave the springs to the dirt riding crowd.

Originally posted by oxologic
Does a carbon fork really last? I heard that it is really lousy especially when used for quite some time. I really don't wanna hurt my good and potential body, I'm still young at 15.

I didn't realize you were so young. Your body can handle rough roads just fine.

Question: Are you still growing? If so don't blow your money on an expensive new frame. Either get a used bike or a moderately priced one. It would be a shame to buy a $3000 bike and grow 2" over the summer so it wouldn't fit.

Jim

I realise there is a weight penalty and some loss of efficiency. But I think these could be minimised by good fork design and adjustability.
On rides of anything over 75 miles on my Marin Tiburon (carbon fork) my wrists and hands are really suffering. This is regardless of whether I am on the road or on trails/ paths. (I've done all I can re my position on the bike).
I would appreciate any advice re 700C suspension forks or how to solve this problem.

Lets have revival of the RockShox Paris Roubaix for all these hybrid 700C bikes coming around.

If your wrists and hands hurt you, you may be gripping the bars/hoods too tightly. Relax your grip a bit, loosen your elbows and just relax. Your bike isn't going to fly away from you.

You might also try double-taping your bars. Use synthetic foam [like Profile design tape] on the bottom layer, with cork on the top layer. That's what they do for Paris-Roubaix.

One last suggestion... I'm not familiar with the Marin Tiburon [I know of a Gary Fisher Tiburon, ehich is a hybrid bike]. If it does have 'cross geometry, then you can use fairly fat, low-pressure tires, say 30c tires at 70-80 psi. This will smooth the ride, soak up road shock, etc., quite a bit without resorting to a costly, heavy and complex component like a suspension fork.

I probably will try different bars / maybe stem and certainly bigger tyres. The bike has 700C / 27 inch rims - - there are not many big tires in this size but the frame certainly has plenty of clearance. I was thinking of trying a 700C x 37 tyre like a hybrid tyre eg panasela but I will look at cyclocross ones too. Cyclocross ones seem too specialised though, might not be good on pavement.
Thanks for the reply.

I am currently doing lots of jumps to reach my maximum potential height, actually I don't think I have much to grow probably, defnitely not 2 inches just over the summer. I am buying the bike late this year, so I don't think I really have to worry about outgrowing my bike. Feel like getting the Litespeed soon but still very unsure about the carbon fork since I really want it to last, at least 5 years.

Omaharider is right Cannondale makes a line of road bikes with about 25mm of suspension in the front fork. I test road one for about 3-4 miles and it seemed quite comfortable. The one I would choose is the Silk 900 weighing in at a stealthy 20.75lbs. Not a bad trade off with the extra few ounces...:beer: