Originally Posted by
Steve B.
Just curious if FS bikes of the last 5-10 years are better at reducing chain induced rear suspension activation, than my ‘04 Specialized Stumpjumper FS ?. Are the newer FS bikes so good that there’s no activation from pedaling ?.
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Rear suspension design has changed a lot since 2004. Even bikes that use the same basic design (Horst Link) as that bike bob MUCH less today. But even in 2004, that design was not one of the more efficient ones. It had other advantages (remained very active when pedaling over bumps) but it relied heavily on shock damping to control bobbing.
Do bikes today have NO suspension activation? No, there is still some, but it is much, much less. One of the things that has helped is that as drivetrains have moved from 3x to 2x to 1x, the chainlines are far more consistent at the crank end, and this makes it easier to tune the suspension path with fewer compromises.