Appropriate suspension fork for commuting?`
 

Hi all

I live and bike in NYC. I commute to work and probably log about 100 miles/week total. I haven't ridden a mountain bike in the city since I was a kid. For the past six or seven years I've been riding a few different track bikes, a 700c single speed, and a geared road bike on occasion. Since July I have been toying with the idea of building up an older hardtail mountain bike. Lots of sore wrists and lower back. The streets here honestly suck and I would love to stop having to dodge small obstacles. My idea is either a 1x9 set up or possibly a single speed. I thought about rigid forks but to be honest I want a suspension fork for just plowing through potholes and small surface irregularities as well as aesthetic reasons. I plan to run 1.25" slick tires so I would not necessarily be getting a lot of cush from tires alone. Build concept is as follows:

- Hardtail 26" bike
- 1x9 drivetrain
- 1.25" slick tires
- Total weight 23 lbs TOPS

I've been looking a tiny bit but don't know anything about suspension forks. Some of these cheaper things weigh like 6 pounds!! I want a lightweight super simple bike. I know cheaper tends to be heavier and also stronger means heavier. I am just seeing if anyone has any recommendations on how to go about doing this build. I'm thinking early 90's Cannondale frame, hunt for lightish wheels, etc. Any advice appreciated.

If you are looking at an early 90's Cannondale, this could severely limit you fork choice, if a frame originally designed for headshok, unless appropriate adapters are used.

The range of 1 1/8th 26" forks out there that are light enough to keep the bike at your proposed weight are getting fewer every year, if you want light weight, would go with a rigid carbon fork rather than suspension, and look at higher volume tires to give some comfort, this should be cheaper, and probably lighter overall.

Suspension forks suck. It would be much better to build up a rigid forked MTB with fatter tires, bigger tires will act as suspension. Also remember that your legs and arms make the best suspension, much better then any suspension fork out there.

Suspension forks and skinny slicks is not a very aesthetic combination....Skinny slicks are not made for "plowing through potholes", you need fatter tires for that.

I was thinking the same thing. Moreover, I question the whole idea of plowing through potholes. Even with suspension, I would think jumping over or riding around potholes and other obstructions would be a better idea.

I have an old Trek 930 with a solid fork and 26 x 1.9" tires. The True Temper frame and fat tires make for a very comfortable ride, but no way the bike is anywhere close to 23 lbs.

Dream On ... Not To Your specs .. (the Cannondale Head shocks may be one approach) ..

Moulton APB APB | Moulton Bicycle Club
A Leading link Fork . smaller wheels . triangulated truss frame.. Just cant Leave it locked up on the streets of NYC..
https://www.google.com/search?q=Moul...w=1808&bih=916

Rock Shox made a special fork to race Paris-Roubaix but stopped .. making them.. long ago..

http://www.bikehugger.com/post/view/...ty-years-later

If you want to impose a 23lb weight restriction then a cross bike with 32-35mm tires is your best bet.

Even if it didn't have a headshok, it would be tricky with an early 90's Cannondale, cause most of them had 1 1/4" forks, not 1 1/8". I had a M2000 with the rigid Pepperoni fork, which was a great bike, but expensive to change the fork or stem since they are non-standard size.

BTW, that bike was a great bomb-proof commuter in factory spec. Light, tough wheels, XT drivetrain, Ritchey and Easton cockpit. It was probably in the realm of 25-26lbs with slick tires. I seriously doubt you are going to find ANY 90's MTB much lighter than that, rigid or suspension fork.

Only suspension fork I'd run on the street would be a Headshok,but thinking you're going to bang through potholes with skinny high pressure tires without bending a rim is a dream. You'll save weight and improve pedaling efficiency by going rigid and running a quality set of 2" tires. I'd recommend Schwalbe Marathon Supremes if your budget will handle them,Kojaks if you don't have alot of debris on your streets,or Big Apples.

Save your energy, time and thoughts for something that has a possibility of existing.

First of all-----CHEAP-LIGHTER-STRONGER

These three words DO NOT describe ANY single item in the world of biking.

Besides that, you will do well to get a bike, any bike, that will serve you well in the conditions that you describe that weighs 23lbs or less. And that would be with a solid fork, without question.

Before you even search further..........forget CHEAPER..........or stop looking before you waste any more time.

I commuted for years on a vintage hardtail mountain bike (old Bridgestone) with 1.5" road 26" tires and a vintage suspension fork (old Rock Shox). It was a great commute bike. The sprung fork wasn't necessary but wasn't a detriment either.

Something like that is pretty common on Craigslist, if you are flexible about the brand. I also see older Cannondale mountain bikes with Headshock suspension pretty often.

1.25" tires and 23 lb may be a stretch but the general idea you have is good.

Here are some photographic examples for all the people who are having a hard time picturing what I am going for:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=427827http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=427828http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=427829


Obviously I would never ride any bike through an actual pothole. But cobblestone and places where they have ripped open and reclosed the street, the kind of stuff that sucks to ride on with a tight geometry bike like the ones I have. I realize that balloon tires as the right pressure would smooth things out but I like my bikes to look good too and old rigid mtbs are pretty boring. I really don't want to compromise on the thin tires thing. Biggest I'd want to is 1.4" but I think 1.25" would totally cut it for me.

I don't think it's recommended to switch out rigid forks for suspension forks (changes frame geometry). If you wanted to swap out parts with a new frame and fork, then the bottom bracket, front derailleur, seatpost, seatpost clamp and headset/forks would need to fit.

According to what I've read, the Suntour fork hierarchy is XCT < XCM < XCR (and Raidon etc.). For Rockshox, XC28 < XC30 < XC32 then Recon Silver and others. The ones below the Suntour XCR and Rockshox XC30 I read were not recommended. The Suntour XCR and Rockshox XC30 may be somewhat comparable but I read a message from someone saying he broke 2 Suntour XCR forks in 13 months. There are some pretty cheap Suntour XCR on eBay so it's very tempting. There are lots of replacements parts for Rockshox XC30 and this is one of the reasons I bought a Rockshox XC30 on acycles.fr

If you wanted a high quality build you could go with this fork (Marzocchi Marathon 26") MARZOCCHI MARATHON LR Fork 26" 100 mm AER LR Tapered Red - Probikeshop
with this frame Viper X-team VIPER X-TEAM 26" MTB Frame White/Red 2014 - Probikeshop Both take 26 inch wheels and tapered forks.

Or, a cheaper alternative would be this fork, Rockshox Recon Silver RockShox Recon Silver TK 26" 100mm QR Suspension Fork and this frame, Access XCL Access XCL Comp 26" Mountain Bike Frame

Or, an even cheaper alternative than that would be this frame Nashbar aluminium mountain Nashbar 26" Mountain Bike Frame and this fork, Rockshox XC30 Rock Shox Xc30 TK Coil 26'' Federgabel Canti/disc 100mm 1 1/8'' 9QR schwarz Mod. 2014

The last two choices are with standard 1-1/8" straight steering tube and V-brake compatible. I prefer the simplicity of V-brakes anyway.

EDIT: I found another you could pair, this one would take 27.5 inch wheels. Dartmoor Hornet frame http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=...gc=0;orderby=2 and S.R. Suntour Raidon fork http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=...gc=0;orderby=2 Both are compatible with tapered fork and 120mm travel.

ANOTHER EDIT: Wow, I just found a Manitou Minute Pro fork for $250 http://www.pricepoint.com/Brand/Mani...140mm-Fork.axd It's 100mm travel with a tapered steering tube. That one I'd put in first place then the Rockshox Recon Silver in second.

I learned that the hard way when I bought a new stem for my 1994 M700, and discovered it didn't fit, only after taking off the old one.:mad:
After *much* searching, I finally found a Santana *tandem* stem (1.25") that fit.

People have used 700c rims on Disc brake 26" MTB's .. The weight goal , to meet that will you settle for 1 speed ?

as, Nothing weighs less than a Part Not Installed..

Yeah, that was pretty much the only option I found when I was looking for a different stem for mine. I wasn't really into paying $90 for a stem to fit into a bike I bought for $25... So I kept it the way it came.

There were a few other options, but nothing that would fit the application.

+1
I'm in this camp on this one: commuted (did all my cycling, in fact) on 26" hardtails from 2002 to 2010, with suspension, switching tires as required. Still have my 2005 Giant Rainier (well, what's left of it -- the frame -- after upgrading things/wearing things out). With Marz. MX Pro fork, SRAM X9 d/t, BB7s, and XT/Mavic 717 wheels (all circa 2007-8) it weights around 26ish pounds. It's now been put back to mtb duties, but was a great 'dual-purpose' bike.

These bikes make very nice 'urban'/commute machines. While I agree with jyl that your 23 lb target is a bit unrealistic -- unless you were to throw a lot of money into the thing or strike really lucky on e.g. Craigslist -- 25/26 lbs all up isn't at all unrealistic. What I'd look for? Something like a C'dale F600/700, Spec. Stumpjumper, or Giant XTC from the early/mid 2000s. Just a few examples.

The only other point I'd make is re. tires. Not sure why the fixation on 1.25s; for a 559 ERTRO rim 1.5 or even 1.75 is a far better choice: lower pressure w/o risk of pinch flats will increase comfort and (if anything) will probably actually be 'faster' all else (tire quality etc.) being equal. I tried everything from 1 to 2" road tires, and settled on 1.5-1.75 as optimum (for 26" wheels). Used Panaracer Pasela TG in a 1.5 for years. Marathon Supremes are another great tire, as are these:
Compass Bicycles: 26" Tires

Piss, keep in mind that a suspension fork should have a lockout so when you get tired of wasting energy bouncing up and down, you can turn it into an expensive, heavy rigid fork. Your money would be much better spent on wider quality tires.

The vintage Cannondale sounds good, but buying used means you have to wait and wait and then pounce. There was a brief window of time where they produced 1 1/8" rigid alumium forks that did not snap. For example, this 95 M500. I have it set up for urban riding with fat round small knobby tires, a larger size for a more upright position, and useless-for-MTB cantilevers. Weighs under 23lbs, great for carrying up and down stairs. It rides super smooth with the low pressure tires. Fender and rack mounts everywhere also. I really dig this bike, as it brings back many old memories.

As for bumps, one should always swerve or jump them. Floating them is a cool technique also, where you just lift each wheel at a time. Done right, it looks like youre travelling level, hovering over the depression.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=427996

If you know your vintage MTBs, you can buy some light bikes for fairly cheap - dont limit yourself to Cannondale or aluminum. These bikes (hardtail 26" MTBs) remain one of the most versatile bikes ever made.

A lot of people over here run the SUNTOUR NEX series.

They come in both MTB/26"/559 and road/29"/622 sizes.

Forks*- SR SUNTOUR Cycling

I have a 2001 vintage mountain bike (that has a cheap Suntour suspension fork) and I recently looked into upgrading. Here's what I learned. Most if not all inexpensive suspension forks are just springs. In order to get damping you need to spend a few hundred dollars. In the current MTB market the smaller wheels are matched to longer travel, so XC is 29er, all-mountain is 27.5, downhill is 26". Only the cheapest bikes have V-brakes and they're not the ones that come with nice forks. A new cross-country fork of high quality is likely to be 29er and disk, finding a nice fork with 26" and V-brake, much less cantilever, is unlikely.

Therefore you might want to look back a few years in the used market to find what you're looking for. Five or ten years back to get before the 29ers, ten or fifteen to get before the disks.

The Manitou Match is $225 last time I checked on amazon.com

The only reviews I could find on that one were absolutely glowing. I was reading on mtbr and a lot of people say the Manitou forks are above the Rockshox Recon Silver in quality and feel. And some people don't like Marzocchi and Fox so... (If I had a lot of money and built a project just for the fun of it, I'd build a bike with a Manitou Match fork with Shimano Deore V-brakes and levers. Coil forks and V-brakes can be simpler in terms of durability, maintenance.)

Looks like disk only?

Edit: Never mind, found it. Looks like a good deal. 4" travel is plenty.

http://www.amazon.com/Manitou-Match-...=manitou+match