[FoShizzle]

What I do know is that I am gonna get a new fork to replace the Karate Monkey I currently have on my One 9.

What I don't know yet is which fork.

I REALLY, REALLY love the weight of the bike as is. However, though I dont know exactly how much a KM fork weighs, I am guessing that putting a REBA or other susp fork on wont actually ad too much weight since the KM is probably not very light in comparison.

On the other hand, my original plan, which is still strongly being considered, is to get the Ninerbikes rigid fork in January. As such, I am wondering how many of you racers actually use a rigid vs suspension fork on your 29er. I have done one race (24 hr) on the One 9 rigid and I loved it but then again, the course was not terribly difficult so the abuse was not too bad.

I would appreciate input on rigid vs suspension forks for your racers and do you use rigid for one type of racing (eg, XC) and suspension for say endurance type racing.

Cheers,
FoShizzle

 

[peabody]

rigid for cx,

suspension for xc

 

[Walt]

It all depends

On you, and how/what you race. I raced on a rigid fork for years as a pro, and I don't think it hurt me at all - but I was fast enough on the descents that staying on the wheel of the rider in front of me (or putting a little gap into the guy behind me) was never a problem. Around here, 80% of the racing is done on the climbs, and on the downhills (where you pedal very seldom), all you really need to do is not lose too much time - a stronger climber will pretty much always win. So if you're a decent descender on a rigid bike, you're fine.

I'd also note that at the expert/pro levels of racing, passing someone on a descent is quite rare. Most folks are good enough bike handlers that you won't see many passes happen - everyone is within 5% or so of the same descending speed, and since you usually need to be quite a bit faster than someone to easily pass them (especially when you're half-bonked) it's not common.

In, say, the midwest or on the east coast, on the other hand, lots of races are pretty flat (or rolling) terrain with a ton of obstacles. I always thought that having suspension was most important for situations where you are both pedaling AND having to do serious bike handling at the same time - suspension often lets you get more pedal strokes in on rough terrain and maintain speed, rather than having to stop pedaling to work your way over/around an obstacle. On a Colorado descent, where nobody needs to pedal anyway, this doesn't matter much. But if you're cruising along through the woods in MA and you pretty much don't stop pedaling the whole race, it's a different story.

For really long (12/24hour or 100+ mile) races, I think most folks will want suspension. The pounding will eventually wear you down in those kinds of events, and the 1 or 2 pound weight savings isn't going to matter that much.

A Karate Monkey fork, btw, weighs about 1180 grams. A Reba is around 1800. So you're talking about 1.3-1.4 pounds of extra weight. Not that much if you consider the bike+rider as a unit.

-Walt

What I do know is that I am gonna get a new fork to replace the Karate Monkey I currently have on my One 9.

What I don't know yet is which fork.

I REALLY, REALLY love the weight of the bike as is. However, though I dont know exactly how much a KM fork weighs, I am guessing that putting a REBA or other susp fork on wont actually ad too much weight since the KM is probably not very light in comparison.

On the other hand, my original plan, which is still strongly being considered, is to get the Ninerbikes rigid fork in January. As such, I am wondering how many of you racers actually use a rigid vs suspension fork on your 29er. I have done one race (24 hr) on the One 9 rigid and I loved it but then again, the course was not terribly difficult so the abuse was not too bad.

I would appreciate input on rigid vs suspension forks for your racers and do you use rigid for one type of racing (eg, XC) and suspension for say endurance type racing.

Cheers,
FoShizzle

 

[Ptor]

I would agree with Walt that the advantage of suspension is course and application specific. I would add that the shorter the race, where speeds are higher and any inefficiencies that are added by bobbing suspension are easily out-weighed by a need for control, suspenion makes sense to me.

For really long (12/24hour or 100+ mile) races, I think most folks will want suspension. The pounding will eventually wear you down in those kinds of events, and the 1 or 2 pound weight savings isn't going to matter that much.

I'm one of those other folks, the one who doesn't want to haul suspension along on a really long ride/race. It is my contention that the extra weight and the inherent energy-sucking nature of suspension becomes burdensome on typical endurance race terrain. My experience with endurance races (100 mile races in the Rockies) is that suspension is irrelevant for every 9 out of 10 miles. That rough 10 miles over the course of a century doesn't make up for the extra weight and inefficiency of suspension.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I admit to having a lot of trouble at The Endurance 100 in Park City this last August. However, I'm pretty sure my problems were due to multiple errors on the part of the "pilot" rather than the "fully firm" nature of my ride...)

 

[FoShizzle]

On you, and how/what you race. I raced on a rigid fork for years as a pro, and I don't think it hurt me at all - but I was fast enough on the descents that staying on the wheel of the rider in front of me (or putting a little gap into the guy behind me) was never a problem. Around here, 80% of the racing is done on the climbs, and on the downhills (where you pedal very seldom), all you really need to do is not lose too much time - a stronger climber will pretty much always win. So if you're a decent descender on a rigid bike, you're fine.

I'd also note that at the expert/pro levels of racing, passing someone on a descent is quite rare. Most folks are good enough bike handlers that you won't see many passes happen - everyone is within 5% or so of the same descending speed, and since you usually need to be quite a bit faster than someone to easily pass them (especially when you're half-bonked) it's not common.

In, say, the midwest or on the east coast, on the other hand, lots of races are pretty flat (or rolling) terrain with a ton of obstacles. I always thought that having suspension was most important for situations where you are both pedaling AND having to do serious bike handling at the same time - suspension often lets you get more pedal strokes in on rough terrain and maintain speed, rather than having to stop pedaling to work your way over/around an obstacle. On a Colorado descent, where nobody needs to pedal anyway, this doesn't matter much. But if you're cruising along through the woods in MA and you pretty much don't stop pedaling the whole race, it's a different story.

For really long (12/24hour or 100+ mile) races, I think most folks will want suspension. The pounding will eventually wear you down in those kinds of events, and the 1 or 2 pound weight savings isn't going to matter that much.

A Karate Monkey fork, btw, weighs about 1180 grams. A Reba is around 1800. So you're talking about 1.3-1.4 pounds of extra weight. Not that much if you consider the bike+rider as a unit.

-Walt

great feedback Walt. I really appreciate it.....makes a lot of sense.

 

[Mixtup]

Do suspension forks put less pressure on the wheels / reduce chances of damage to the wheels/frame, or does a suspension fork merely assist with control over bumpy terrain and when doing drops? Would doing a 4 foot drop on a rigid damage the bike?

Thanking in advance

 

[Padre]

Do suspension forks put less pressure on the wheels / reduce chances of damage to the wheels/frame, or does a suspension fork merely assist with control over bumpy terrain and when doing drops? Would doing a 4 foot drop on a rigid damage the bike?

Thanking in advance

Logically, yes.
Try jumping as high as you can and keep your knees locked for the landing. Let us know how it goes.

 

[bogmonster]

ventana rigid

I have a sir nine on order and instead of using the matching fork, i am going to try out the new ventana chromoly rigid fork, should be sweet!! I know your a big ventana fan as well..

bog

 

[FoShizzle]

I have a sir nine on order and instead of using the matching fork, i am going to try out the new ventana chromoly rigid fork, should be sweet!! I know your a big ventana fan as well..

bog

indeed....i thought about that one for sure. i will probably get the ventana if i decide against getting a matching colored fork, which is the plus with the Niner fork.