Are front shock-absorbers overkill, for Bangalore roads?

[Prashanth Chengi]

I've seen many, many, discussions, originating from people wanting advice on a new bike,  mentioning the need for a bike with shock-absorbers. Personally, I'm of the opinion that shock-absorbers are only needed if one wishes to do technical MTB trail riding, over rocks, tree roots etc. I recently did a 95 km off road MTB ride, which involved riding hard over gravel,  rocks and small roots. It was not a very technical trail, but had high speed downhill runs on extremely rutted and pot-holed dirt roads, with loads of stones etc. I did it on my 29er, with a Surly Karate Monkey rigid fork, and found it perfectly okay.   Sure, if I'd had shocks, my hands would have felt lesser vibrations, but people, this was not a commute on Bangalore roads; it was a proper MTB trail.  

So, are shock-absorbers really necessary, for Bangalore roads? Would it not be better and cheaper, to have a bike with a rigid fork instead? I can think of the following cons, for shocks on bikes, for commuting in Blr.

1. Makes it heavier.

2. Makes it more expensive

3. Even in reputed brands like Specialized, shocks are probably where they scrimp on; my Hardrock SE 29er came with Suntour shocks, which don't even have a hydraulic lockout. Less said the better about quality of shocks, on cheaper/lesser known brands.

4. Higher cost of maintenance

Am I wrong in thinking that if one only wishes to do mostly road riding, in and around Blr, with the occasional foray off-road (not on technical MTB trails), a rigid fork is more than sufficient? Thoughts?

/Prashanth

[Chidambaran Subramanian]

These days I've got fairly comfy using my road bike with 28c tires and front carbon fork in Bangalore

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[Blackmamba]

Technically for rides on bangalore roads one doesn't require front suspension, wider tires above 25c will do, anything lower and hitting pothole at high speed should be ready for pinch puncture which i use to face a lot while riding 23c.  but again by the time one understands this we would have jumped the gun and bought bikes with shock absorbers because thats what we fancy at the beginning 

[Vinay Rao]

Amongst other things, I mod'ed my urban trail UT2.1 (more hoi polloi, less posh, for what that matters) from shocks to a rigid fork from another cycle (110/Neo). It resulted in some change in geometry, mostly a little more aggression in the stance, and an increase in the wheel base. But I like the ride and it continues to be my preferred commute bike to work. 

So yes, I'd vote for-rigid, not-shocks. 

Of course, it helps if the rigid fork is slightly pliant. 

On Sun, Aug 28, 2016 at 9:37 PM, Prashanth Chengi <prashant...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Cheers
Vinay

[Vinay Rao]

, anything lower and hitting pothole at high speed should be ready for pinch puncture which i use to face a lot while riding 23c.  

Keeping it at 100PSI should prevent pinches? 

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Cheers
Vinay

[berkeleydb]

Steel or carbon forks will provide some inherent shock absorbtion. If one is looking for an bike upto say Rs25K, carbon forks are ruled out. There might be some bikes with steel forks. Otherwise, it's how aluminium forks handle bad roads, that one needs to take into account.

With some riding experience, one can get a fair idea of how to reduce the vibrations that even an aluminium fork may transfer to the arms.

I have_not done much riding with aluminium rigid forks; wondering -- how do they compare with riding MTBs with front shocks locked out? I find the latter to be very bone jarring on bad roads. (with 1.5-1.75" tyres @ 55-60psi.)

I would say if one is_not looking to do a lot of riding, & is looking for a bike which one can ride w/o having to worry much about road conditions, an MTB with lockout front shocks are something to consider.

If one is going to be doing a lot of riding (but not much offroad), then one is going to get experienced, & also probably going to do long rides. Then a rigid fork would make more sense. Steel fork (or carbon, if budget is_not tight) would be preferable, to cover for bad roads.

I don't have experience of using carbon forks; but based on reading, I suppose they are fairly good at absorbing vibrations. Aluminium forks -- not much experience; but again, based on reading, I take it they might be quite hard on the arms, on bad roads.

-{db}.