Originally Posted by
daven1986
When thinking about how to increase my comfort while riding on bad roads, I wondered what is the point of front suspension? Surely it would be better to just have rear suspension or a suspension seat post?
So what actually does front suspension do?
Thanks
Daven
Front suspension is there (on mountain bikes) primarily to keep the front wheel from being thrown off-course. There is less need for rear suspension because the rear wheel will tend to follow the genaral path of the front wheel. Basically, the rear wheel is being pulled by the rider's mass (which is ahead of the rear wheel). Even with suspension, mountain bikers need to use the same suspension that riders without suspension use: their legs.
I'd guess that suspension doesn't work as well at higher speeds. Road riders deal with bumps by getting off of the seat. With dropped bars, this is easier to do because less weight is on the seat.
What size tires are you using?