Full Suspension Commuter
 

I got a new bike last week. Can't wait to ride it so I am going to commute on it tomorrow.

I am kind of excited to try it. I added some fenders, Planet Bike Super Flash, Nokian studded tires and a P7 flashlight from dealextreme.com for the headlight.
http://www.drokkus.com/images/img_4226.jpg

Back in May I had plans of getting a Raleigh Sojourn, my previous post about that http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...584&highlight=

I didn't end up getting a bike like I planned and spent the rest of the summer and fall commuting on my full suspension Diamondback XSL Trail. I love riding that bike. The only problem is that when the temperature fell to 0 Celsius the Fox float shock would get really bouncy. I didn't like bobbing around so I started riding my old Trek again. This new bike has lockouts on the fork and the rear shock, if I need it. I hope it works out that I can ride this bike year round.

Anyone else commute in the winter on a full suspension? How does your suspension handle the cold?

I've got a Rush that I'd probably ride more often if I kept slicks on it. Haven't gotten studded tires for it, though, so I'm not sure if it'll be a good idea to ride it if we ever get snow here (and, for now anyway, I can still just walk to work).

The ride was great.

I left the rear shock in pro pedal going down into the ravine I ride through and then locked them both out going up and for the rest of the ride.

The rear shock did sag and bob once it got cold so the lockout should do the trick for me.

I am really looking for a disc brake bike for winter riding. I am ambivalent on the front suspension, should I get one?

I also prefer 700c, so that I can swap around parts when I want to. How do you keep the chain from rusting? my beater bike chain has rusted more in the last 3 weeks of winter riding than in the previous 10 years.

Would I be nuts to spend a thousand dollars on a bike to abuse in the snow?

I liked this bike because of the lock out feature on the rear shock and the front fork, for a winter commuter shocks are not really great, in my experience. I live in Edmonton and it gets pretty cold, my ride this morning was around -15 Celsius (5 fahrenheit) and the ride home was about -10 Celsius (14 fahrenheit), sadly that is a warm day lately. I am guessing Chicago weather is harder on a bike, I think you guys have more slush and salt than we do. In a warmer area I would have a front shock, just because I am used to it. I haven't been on a road bike in 20 years (I think I was 15) so I am biased towards a mountain bike.

My Trek's drivetrain looks quite abused, I don't know how much you can avoid wear and tear.

You are nuts for wanting to ride your bike in the snow, even if you don't spend the money. In a good way of course.

It hasn't been that bad around Chicago the last few weeks, not since the weird weather around Christmas. It is just so difficult to motivate to clean the chain when it is cold out. In warmer months, I use a citrus degreaser followed by re-lubrication fairly frequently. I am not going to use any water based cleaners this time of year. I suppose I could just try to wipe and clean with oil during the winter?

Lately its been in the 20's farenheight for my commutes. A cheapo Giant with disc brakes and front (no lock out) suspension at the LBS is $480. The Specialized with disc brakes and a lock out front suspension is around $900. I am tempted to go cheap for the winter bike because of the abuse it will take. But life is too short to ride crappy bikes?

I might try to (pun intended) slide through the rest of this winter with my rim brake schwinn, and get the disc brake bike next fall.

Don't you find bad suspension performance in the cold?

is that a two stroke? :D

i wouldnt ride a bike that nice in the winter

i wouldnt ride a fs bike to commute either

thats just me

I think this is what I use, if not the "extreme" then one of their other lubes: http://www.rocklube.com/products_detail_extreme.html

It's some sort of waxy stuff (don't try to apply it in subfreezing temps if you can avoid it, it doesn't flow well when you're trying to get it on everything) but it sticks and my chain didn't rust last winter. And you don't have to reapply it every week.

I do both.

Sometimes at the same time.

Do you think that the temperature affects the air pressure in the shock? Or would it be the oil?

Eh, just wondering.. ;)

I really hope that bike is a part-time commuter until the trails thaw out.

Think about this, though -- on bumpy, lumpy cracked pavement, ice and snow, isn't it nicer to have suspension? I wouldn't want to drive a car that bounced over everything when the route gets rough (actually, sometimes I regret putting a sport-tuned suspension on mine..).

Not saying anything is wrong with it. I actually think the full-sus will help more with traction than comfort. All I'm saying is that bike is too damn nice not to be riding it the way it's designed to be ridden. :thumb:

Ah, I thought that you were hoping that it would only be a part-time commuter and not a full-time one.

Well, back when I had Fort-Knox-got-nothin-on-me, cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die-you-bet-it'll-still-be-here secure parking, I commuted on my Alex Moulton.

tcs

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/baldersto...Adventure3.jpg

separated at birth?

I've tried suspension, and I've tried rigid. I'm happier on rigid. For me, it is more comfortable and easier to manage on bad surfaces. On a bike with suspension, I have a hard time climbing. And sadly, I'm one of those crazy people who pushes harder if you put a hill in front of them... so losing climbing performance really bothers me. And since suspension doesn't help me be more comfortable on bumpy surfaces (and sometimes scares the **** out of me instead of helping), it's really not worth it.

It's a real YMMV situation tho. Clearly a lot of folks don't have trouble with it the way I do. I grew up riding rigid on PA's awful roads (and awful hills), and I guess a lot of the techniques stuck.

Severian and BarracksSi, yes suspension isn't great in the cold, that is why I liked the lockout on the fork and the rear shock. So far so good.:)

Lebowski and Eggplant Jeff, I noticed some rust on the 4 day old bike's chain, made me rethink riding it in the winter.:(

rydaddy, yes I can't wait to ride it on the trails. There are some really fun trails in the river valley here that I like to ride when I take the long way home. :thumb:

Torrilin, what technique do you use when you have to ride over pot holes cracks, uneven pavement and plain old crummy roads? I really don't know what the proper way to handle that is. I hate that feeling on the rear tire. The full suspension feels so much better even on the road to me.

PS, I really enjoyed riding it again today. It was -21 Celsius on the way home and it rode very nicely. My old Trek would feel like and old exercise bike that had a strap whenever it got below -17 Celsius, I can't get any momentum I just have to push against the pedals hard all the time. This is probably due to the lack of maintenance. The rust is making me think I should just stick it out on the old bike for the rest of winter though.

Yah, those fenders do give it a dirt bike kind of look.

Just for those scoring at home, how cold does it have to get to harden up the F32?

I've been able to get smoothness out of my F100RLC by backing the damping all the way off... works to about -22C. Which is about as cold as it gets here. But it's been way colder there.

And about the chain.... it's a chain, if it doesn't rust it will just wear out anyways.

I ride my bike through a daily salt bath and rinse it at the end of every day.

It's no worse than a few good muddy races in the summer.

So when you turn down the dampening the bobbing goes away? My Fox Floar R, and this Fox Triad both seem to sag and bob in the cold. I will give what you said a try.

it takes an extraordinary amount of lubrication to keep the chain on my commuter spinning. i've had my chain so rusted i could barely turn the crank, a little 3 in one oil brought it back to life.

keep all the steel parts well lubed and it shouldnt be too bad