Commuting with suspension up front
 

[IMG]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/...807c56fe_b.jpgCommuter RockHopper by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

I decided to broaden my lurking on BF by coming to this thread! I commute home nearly every day. It would be round trip but I don’t have a place to shower. That should change next week with a new job.

Here is my commute bike as it was set up since last year. I am not sure there is a “typical” commuter bike but it works well for me as it was the only option for several years. The tires happen to be Uff Da in 2.3 inch size. I know, they are way big. The issue is the MUP I travel on has a number of tree root bumps on it as well as a number of transitions that get old. I thought the bigger tires would be enough suspension. They have worked reasonably well. The other plus is they look bad ass on the bike!

Each trip is recorded when getting home so I have a decent idea of how I am improving and some idea of what contributes to good time vs slower times. Head winds are the core reason along with temperature. I like a cooler temp of < 75 for a faster run. The runs are pretty aggressive on average and the average MPH has steadily increased over the last year plus.
The bike fully loaded on the way home is about 47-48 lbs. so it provides a lot of resistance training!

One of the reasons for buying this bike back in 98 was to have a beater to use all around and as an off road or trail bike. Back then it was called mountain biking! That never happened for me. A couple of considerations in the purchase besides versatility was the fact that it was an end of year sale and the threadless fork. This model was also available with front suspension. I didn’t want to pay the extra for that so the thought was to upgrade when the time was right (financial).

In 2011, a Marzocchi SL 2003 fork was found on CL for $100 that had a steerer long enough (9.5”). It had just been overhauled and was in decent shape. The search had been going on for a couple of years but a steerer that was long enough was not found. Eventually a front wheel with XT hub for disk brakes was found as was NOS Avid BB-7. I can convert between the solid fork and suspension in about 20 min. This fork has three adjustments and a lock out, air suspension and came with a pump.

So last week I swapped forks for commuting. I know many of you say a suspension fork is not for commuting. I was curious if my performance would suffer based on the added pound of weight. So far the impact is in the noise of the data. Performance this month is no different than last month with a trend that I am still getting stronger. Perhaps a pound is too small a percentage to make a difference. I weighed the bike the other day and it is about 50 lbs with the Marzocchi.

Comments?

Given the size of the tires you have, they should have provided more than enough suspension. Bike looks nice and clean in the photo.

For the choice of fork, as long as the Marzocchi you have was made in Italy, you should get many year future use out of it (quality dropped when they moved production to TW, but is back now)

My commuter at home is a 1996 Specialized Ground Control A1 with a Quadra21 Rock Shox upfront. I honestly don't think you'll notice the extra pound because of the suspension, especially if you're moving almost 50 pounds around town. It will definitely be a good workout, I know it is with my full suspension bike, especially if I have to fight any headwind......makes riding my Addict feel effortless.....

We here commute on high end road bikes, vintage bikes, fixies/single speeds, 20" wheel folding bikes, touring bikes, cross bikes, 29ers, recumbents and some of us have more than one bike we use for commuting: there is no typical commuting bike, just "our" bike that we use to commute with.

I have a hard-tail 29er that I used to use for commuting: it is a fairly recent one that I can lock out the front suspension and for commuting, that's what I did but I commute on asphalt (with some rough patches but asphalt nevertheless) so I benefited from locking out the front suspension. I ride on a touring bike now with smaller tires (700x32 vs 700x55) on basically the same roads and I feel I don't need the suspension on this bike either.

Whether or not you put the suspension forks on your bike is a function of your need for comfort but recognize that suspension will sap some of the energy you put into your cycling so your speed might go down a bit (I suspect that front suspension saps less than rear suspension but when you stand up, you'll probably notice the difference then).

Thanks for the comments. I typically lock the fork when standing. It makes a differnence as the fork really works hard at absorbing the energy! I do run max pressure in the tires (60) but with the fork, it much more comfortable. The bonus is the disk up front, it is great!

@flyingdutch - This is a wild and un-verified data point, but when I took my 1983 Colnago Superissimo (22 lb.) for a five mile run, I averaged 26 mph on a closed course. I really can't accept the numbers and need to do it again to verify. It was nearly effortless. I don't think I could do that on this bike!

Older pic of the bike when the fork was first mounted:
[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/...d65bda53_b.jpgRockHopper_ Sprung_2012_018 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]
once on the bike the geometry settles down to normal so handling is the same as with the solid fork.

People have different kinds of commutes and different preferences. There's not really a right and wrong however it's possible you are over inflating your tires and that's why the ride was harsher than you liked without the suspension.

A lot of people think max PSI means max speed but that's not really the case. The optimum PSI depends on the size of the tire and the load on that tire. The more weight, the more PSI. The less weight, the lower the optimum PSI. Often times you want less air in the front tire than in the rear, - especially if you are carrying stuff on a rack.

I admit I haven't played with pressure yet. I do know that 40 is way too low and it rides like I am in sand. Next steps, tire pressure!

You'll have a much more enjoyable commuter bike if you try to reduce the weight. 50 lbs. is really heavy, and I assume that is with all your gear. Try leaving heavy things at work, like shoes, locks, spares, tools. Figure out what you absolutely need for the ride and leave the rest.

A prior commuter bike of mine had a cheap suspension fork that weighed a ton, and was swapped out for a rigid fork. For the MVT or 4MRT, a suspension fork is completely unnecessary. You can get an aftermarket steel fork from Surly that has disc tabs for less than $100. 2.3" tires are way more than you need and probably add a couple lbs.

Here is my bike that weighs in at 27 lbs. unloaded.

http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/...3E1F468236.jpg

I don't carry too much extra. The bike stripped of all the stuff but still ridable is 27 lbs., DB steel.

Once painted, this will likely be my commuter:
[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5472/...bb200a05_b.jpg104_PaTrek. by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

Though I am toying with using this once it is cleaned up:
[IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3838/...a978d529_b.jpgP1020408 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

Not following you...started out saying you were going to use an MTB for commuting with a suspension fork, but are actually planning to use the other bikes?

I looked up your tires. 980 grams each. Four plus pounds of tires! They might not be the plushest.

I think it's interesting there's a roughly 2:1 difference between cruiser slicks and MTB racing tires of roughly the same size.

No wonder he needs a suspension fork.

You probably lowered the HTA by 5+ degrees sticking a suspension fork on a frame not made for having one in the first place.

With himself in MTB posture and that much weight in a tail bag, and the tilt up from the spring fork, he might have 2x as much weight on the rear as the front. I'd try keeping the rear pretty high for efficiency and running the front pretty low for comfort.

[MENTION=124730]SJX426[/MENTION] - You know your commute better than anyone else, if rolling up those fatties wasn't quite enough adding the suspension fork is a logical choice although it does change the geometry of the bike as it was not designed for a suspension.

I ride a Diamondback rigid mtb that was designed for a suspension fork and uses a suspension corrected rigid fork and just changed the 2.3 tyres to some slightly faster rolling 2.2's and these feel great at 45 - 50 psi... they are Bontrager Jones ACX folding tyres and these tend to be lighter, more supple, and deliver a much better ride than most wire bead tyres.

I started commuting last year (5 to 20 miles/dayon an '80's rigid steel frame mountain bike (Rockhopper) running 26" x 2.0 tires @ around 60 psi. It was fun. A great general purpose bike.

Switched mid year to '80's steel touring bike (Voyageur), full panniers w/sixty pounds of gear and water, running 700x32 tires @ around 100psi. It was also fun, did a major tour this summer.

Currently I'm on the aluminum hardtail mountain bike we bought for my son 16 years ago (which he has since outgrown). 26 x 2.0 tires @ around 60 psi. Original Marzocchi Bomber z1 fork. No lockout option.

First impression was that this last bike unloaded was more work than pedaling the touring bike loaded :lol:

Turns out it my favorite tho, I still get to work, I get a better workout, and that (relatively) long-travel fork is excellent for navigating curbs, roadside debris and potholes. I allows me to ride with more confidence, especially at night, AND I have even more fun on this bike than I do the others.

Mike

C'mon guys! When I put my 190 lbs of weight on the bike the fork drops significantly. I have set the air pressure to mimic the geometr of the solid fork! I still get plenty of travel!
@Sharpshin - Thanks for the vote of support! Like I said, it gives me a workout, is comfortable, improved stopping, and didn't impact performance compared to the solid fork.

LOL! I could put these back on:
[IMG]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7419/...07242503_b.jpgPicture 116 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

[MENTION=104720]alan s[/MENTION] - Yup. The RockHopper is a temporary commuter bike now that I have options. It wasn't until I bought the Trek. Now that I have the Bottecchia, it is in the running for a future commuter as well except the CS lenght is a bit shorter and no bosses for the rack. So thinking out loud, maybe the Bottecchia is not in the running!

I had a Rock Hopper of that vintage and even though mine didn't have a suspension fork it was suspension corrected if I remember right. The suspension fork pictured probably has more travel than those commonly used in the late 90's though.

To clarify, when I said run the front lower and back higher, I was speaking of tire pressure. I'm sure your fork is fine.

@Darth Lefty - thanks, got that one too and I don't disagree. I will try that out tomorrow.

My understanding was the frame was designed for both solid and suspension forks as the suspension was an option. I had to create a long extension to get the fender mounted and believe the fork is equivalent to what was offered for suspension dimensions. How else would you explain the gap between the fender and the fork crown/steerer tub interface?
[IMG]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3801/...dff3dda1_b.jpgP1000034 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]

Nice.

For me its actually a safety issue too. My most serious bike wreck was caused when riding a rigid fork bike home at night across an empty parking lot, not really paying attention, looking at something across the street, then hitting an unexpected and steep speed bump. Knocked the bars right out of my hands. Went down hard. Had I had front shocks I probably wouldn't have wrecked.

Also an unexpected feature of this mt bike I'm riding now....

Despite the fact that it is distinctly small, almost too small for me, and with 26" wheels yet, somehow the set of large Ortleib rear panniers I used on my recent tour fit the rear "mountain rack" on this bike far enough back that heel clearance is not a problem. I've brung home large and hefty loads of groceries no problem. Now I'm even thinking of riding THIS bike on my next tour.

BTW it a late 90's Kona Blast, with the Marzocchi fork as an upgrade at the time of purchase.

Mike

So an equipment solution for "not really paying attention"? :roflmao:

I'd say that Bomber has a bit too much travel for that frame. I'd look for about 80mm travel if you have to go with sproing.

Probably doesn't really matter for your uses, though.

A big worry about running too-much travel for your frame is cracking the headtube, but that only happens if you're REALLY using your fork, like rocks and jumps and stuff.

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] :o

[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]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5561/...dcf63d14_b.jpgP1020526 by superissimo_83, on Flickr[/IMG]