Originally Posted by
snafu21
"Incorrect"
Not really. It's debatable how much energy is lost to 'bobbing' when cycling up city hills with modern front suspension and that also depends on the fork preload settings, fork rebound settings, spring rate, tyre pressures, surface, head angles, rider technique and tyre type.
It might be debatable how much energy is lost, but energy is lost. I've ridden the same bike with both a suspension fork and a fixed fork, and I could tell the difference.
I'm not telling anybody to not get one, but they are noticeably lossy.
Originally Posted by
snafu21
Dive on braking is not a safety issue. It occurs on every vehicle and increases downforce on the road, and therefore increases grip. Suspension reduces tyre bounce, keeps the tyre on the road, and increases grip where this would otherwise decrease due to rebound. Grip is usually taken as the multiple of the downforce and the co-efficient of friction between the two surfaces. Bounce = less contact = less grip. Weight transfer (dive) is essential.
Now, there I'm going to just flat out disagree with you. The first time I was riding my comfort bike on a trail, some idiots were walking their dog on a 30 foot leash and he proceeded to walk in front of me. I braked hard and I went right over.
Now I agree that once you know that is going to happen, you can adjust. But it is one more safety complication.
I do understand that regardless of front suspension, the front wheel supports most of the weight during braking and therefore provides most of the braking. I've never had a (noticeable) problem with tire bounce and while I agree that suspension can do many things, making braking safer isn't really one of them in my opinion.
Cheers,
Charles