Exactly.

Also, do you ride much after dark? Even with a good light there's times you're not sure exactly of the surface you are riding, at least I ain't.

'Nother thing... there's times when I for one prefer to bail entirely off of the asphalt to allow a truck or some such to pass on a narrow road. Amazing how much better control one has when bailing onto the unpaved road margins when equipped with a good set of fat tires and a sprung fork.

Mike

Exactly.

Do you commute much I the dark? There's times you're not exactly sure of your footing, especially in the lower-end urban areas I commute through.

Also, if you have to suddenly bail off of the asphalt to the roadside dirt a fat tire and suspended fork up front sure makes that maneuver feel a whole lot more secure.

MIke

I think it's just a what-you're-used-to thing. I don't ride hardtail much. I've been riding almost all full rigid since the '80s. I ride a road bike with 28mm tires on gravel roads quite a bit. Ride intermediate MTB trails on full rigid bikes, all kindsa fun stuff like that.

Suspension fork on road, even rough road, for me, just means slightly slower, slightly less precise steering.

If I was riding rough stuff at night like you're talking about on the OP's bike I'd be more worried about all the rear rims I'd be destroying by not being able to bunnyhop unseen potholes and the like.

To each his own.

I invested in Hub Dynamo lights , now the act of the wheel rolling makes plenty of light to see by ..

I too have bumbled over parking stop blocks ... dark college campus in the 70's taught me a lesson [buckled the frame . ploughing over it]

[MENTION=142025]LesterOfPuppets[/MENTION] - Travel can be set to 80 with 100 optional on this fork. The steering is quite neutral once on it.

I expect to be riding in the dark soon. Days are getting shorter. Today I will try the lower air pressure in the front. I don't use this bike hard which does not justify the fork, but the price was right. As far as the HT cracking, don't forget this is a steel bike not AL. With my mild riding and the long HT due to the size of the frame, I don't have any worry's about the HT cracking. I am too old to do bunny hopping!

Performance really hasn't changed, even last nights ride. The pack was 21 lbs and I was still able to muster 16.4 mph, which is slightly above my best monthly average of 16.3.

I must confess I am interested in a hub dynomo but just haven't gotten that far yet. N+1 would apply for this to happen.

Finally took a picture of the bike as it is being ridden today, or this week:
[IMG]P1020526 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]