michaelm101

Car accident victim here ---seeking some type of mechanism to alleviate rattling my brains out. I have a 1 mile journey through a PITA section of road that's just nuts (old paved, crumby road), but saves 20 minutes... I'm contemplating a front susp bike, but the rest of the journey (8 miles) is smooth road bike material...Please help! Is there a quick fix? Thanks in advance!

CrimsonEclipse

Front fork suspension, or, in a pinch, suspension riser (goose neck), or bigger tires (if they fit)

Consider a more upright posture if possible.

Ironfish653

Which bike are you riding? (You have a lot of bikes listed in your signature)
1990s Vintage MTB would probably be the easiest one to set up;. Big fat 26" BMX tires can provide a lot of cushion for rough surfaces, but still roll smoothly on good pavement.
Shown here in 26x2.1" on my old Klein:




A suspension stem , like the SoftRide shown here can be a good retro fit for a road bike; much lighter than a fork, an the bike won't loose as much of it's character. The Kinect linkage stem would be the closest modern version; it has the most travel and best tuning options.

chaadster

Geez, some rides aren’t worth it man. If you have to take that section of road, take a car and spare your brain/spine. You can get the ride time elsewhere on better roads.

Lombard

This would be my choice. But if you really need to ride that section, use the bike you have that will fit the widest tires and run them at the lowest pressures you can without getting pinch flats.

Iride01 

Wider tires at a lower pressure if they'll fit in your frame. Maybe sit more upright and pedal slower.

I don't think adding suspension to the front end will be worth the cost even if it does help your condition. Try out and purchase a bike that already has suspension on it.

If part of your issue is from a bad concussion you may have gotten in the accident, then that might take months to get over. I didn't have pain from my concussion, but I did feel like I was in a fog for over five months afterward. And during that time I didn't like laying on my back or being upside down .

Keefusb

I have a Softride stem on my 1994 Cannondale Hybrid. It works well. Lighter than a suspension fork, and i have adjusted the damping so it takes the edge off of chip seal or other bumpy/lumpy surfaces.

biker128pedal

If they have one that fits the PNW Coastal suspension seatpost will help. The have an external cable version I put on my hard tail. 40mm of travel.

Or get a full suspension mountain bike. 29er and out gravel tires on for road use.

LesterOfPuppets

I'd just stand as much as possible personally.

But maybe a Thudbuster would help and you may not mind it for the rest of the route if you have a smooth pedal stroke.

I imagine an ass-end suspension would work best. Standing for some portion of the rough stretch should answer that question though. If standing through it is OK, then you'll need suspension in the rear more than in the front.

79pmooney

A suspension with lock-out sounds like the answer. And, no, I've never done suspension so I cannot help you find it.

I suffered a TBI 46 years ago. Loosened my brain "anchors". Every hard crash I've done since has loosened more, even crashes with no head hit. 5 years ago I was riding a rather rigorous gravel event when I crashed. No real damage to either bike or me so I went on. Next morning: easy gravel to a moderated dip and some washboard at the bottom. As soon as I hit the washboard it was obvious - I shouldn't be doing this! Rode gently to the next rest stop and dropped out. End of my gravel days. (Well, I've been on gravel, but no gravel "events", nothing long and nothing aggressive.)

I call my condition "loose brain syndrome". Yes I made the term up but any NFL lineman would know instantly what I am talking about. It doesn't go away. We don't rebuild those "anchors". As we lose more, concussions come more easily. And like I said, with enough damage, concussions start happening in hard, no head contact crashes. It's that brain rattling inside its skull. Treat your skull and its contents nicely. It's the only one you are going to get.

Lombard

Or you could go with one of these:

https://redshiftsports.com/products/...32562046926927

michaelm101

This looks perfect, but I have a very short, and 35 degree upwards stem on the bike...

The shortest they make is 80mm...

Lombard

This one is 30D. If you need shorter than 80mm, you probably have a bike that's too big. Granted a longer stem increases reach, but on an upright stem like this, it also increases stack.

Fredo76

RedShift StopShock stem plus Kinekt Active Suspension seatpost. They actually do work; whether they're enough depends, I guess. Both will need tuning and experimentation with spring rate or elastomer choices, IME.

Carbon bars can help, too.

michaelm101

I'm a difficult fit for two reasons, 1) longer bottom to top ratio half ratio, and 2) car crash neck injuries. Also, I don't like much exposed seatpost.

When a bike fits in the reach department, the standover makes it feel like a child's bike. When the standover is perfect, I'm reaching for the bars with elbows locked.

My 1st "actual" road bike back in the 80s (aside from my Schwinn Manta Ray, and dad's Schwinn Varsity) was a Peugeot - 57cm (across the top tube, but is was still relatively equivalent in the seat tube). That bike fit me like a glove.

They made commercially available bikes in 1cm increments back then, as opposed to S, M, L, XL, to help the bottom-line. The reach and stack on all my bikes had to be tweaked since dealing with neck issues.

I'm comfortable on all my bikes now, even the drop bars!

Iride01 

I use to ride 64 cm frames, a 25" Varsity was one, that were much bigger for me than I should have been on. The seat was very low on them too. However when I got to using more properly sized bikes with a lot of seat post exposed, the ride seemed to be a tad smoother. The long seat post absorbs some of the road shock. However with a low saddle you have that double triangle keeping all that road shock so it gets transferred to you in higher doses.

I'm now on a 56 cm bike with lots of seat tube exposed. And enjoying it!

Lombard

Not sure what your objection is to this. Unless you have the post above the safe limit, there is nothing wrong with having some seatpost exposed. As Iride01 said, some have found more exposed seatpost absorbs some shock.

My concern with a smaller frame would not be standover height, but stack. You're in a tricky situation of trying to get more upright without also extending your reach. I myself have some spinal issues where as I age, I need to be more upright. You have the double whammy of both your unusual dimensions and having been in an accident. No easy solution.

Comfortable except for trying to ease road shock?

michaelm101

Center of saddle rail to top of seat tube is 11-18cm on all my bikes. Would this be considered a little or a lot?

79pmooney

So average height above - roughly 6 inches. BITD, totally normal. Now, that's a low seat/high crossbar.

michaelm101

Thx. I'm not understanding the bolded text...

Polaris OBark

They make an up-angled one, too. My wife has it on her e-gravel bike.

I have their 7° stem and their seatpost on my touring bike. Well worth it.

Also, the widest slick tires you can fit, supple and run at low pressure, can really help. (I have 55 mm Rene Herse tires on that same touring bike.)