[Axe]

I've owned every suspension design out since the mid 90's.
Its not in your head, trust me on that.

I do not trust you on that. I own and ride various designs on a regular basis and could not care less about the difference between modern suspension designs. Geometry, fit, amount of suspension travel, shock tuning, weight, tires, adjustable seatpost, gearing - all make much more of a difference. And that is not even talking about my fitness and skills - that can not be improved by any linkage arrangement (I wish it was that easy).

 

[softailteamrider]

I do not trust you on that. I own and ride various designs on a regular basis and could not care less about the difference between modern suspension designs. Geometry, fit, amount of suspension travel, shock tuning, weight, tires, adjustable seatpost, gearing - all make much more of a difference. And that is not even talking about my fitness and skills - that can not be improved by any linkage arrangement (I wish it was that easy).

This :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
All of said above will make more differences on ride feel as compared to different suspension type if they are well-executed-design-with-correct-shock-tuning.

 

[half_man_half_scab]

Shock tuning is huge. There are definitely DW bikes with botched tunes.

 

[aph72]

+1 on shock tuning. Even a sophisticated linkage bike can feel like crap with a bad shock tune. I had a 2006 Iron Horse MK III Expert with a 5th Element air shock and a Pike fork. This was one of the early versions of the DW-link. From what I could tell, the shock and fork came factory tuned with almost no compression damping. At the time, marketing talk for the DW-link said the link system didn't need much compression damping because the link system was so efficient. Well, it certainly needed more than what my bike came equipped with. That bike would bob, hobby-horse, and brake-dive like crazy. I had to sit and spin a fast cadence to get an efficient feeling ride. Standing and pedaling a big gear felt like trudging through a foot of fresh snow. I played around with sag and the shock's platform settings, but never really got the ride I wanted. Neither Iron Horse or 5th Element are around anymore, so my statements shouldn't concern the newer and higher end versions of the DW-Link. I now have a 2010 Santa Cruz BLT2 with a boost valved RP23 and Fox Float RLC and the ride is much more controlled. It doesn't have the 1970's Cadillac plush ride of the old Iron Horse, but I'll take the firmer, tauter ride of the newer bike any day. I can now pedal out of the saddle again and the compression control on the fork is great for dialing out brake dive.

 

[thesacrifice]

Enjoy the Mission, when the Knucklebox is setup properly it performs very well.

The only DW Link-ed bike I have experience with is a Ironhorse Sunday. For me it braked and peddled very well thru chattery/studder bumps.

These days, geometry is much more important to me than a suspensions name.

 

[bing!]

Of what I understand, DW is designed to primarily be a pedaling platform, and so is VPP.

I find DRCV plus ABP quite interesting.

DRCV is Two Shocks in One - YouTube

Not saying any one tech is better, but I do appreciate the high speed video and testing

At the end of the day, what feels good isnt necessarily better. Better at what? Climbing? Descending? My old Toyota feels good on the road, better than my VW. But after a certain speed, its not the case. Testing and reviews help a lot when making a buying decision. You can't really assess a bike with a 15 minute ride. Especially with a bike that is not stocked at the LBS. Fit is adjustable. If youve owned a couple of bikes and ride them hard, you normally would be able to see if something can fit you or not.

 

[Mt.Biker E]

Yes fit is very important & most companies have geo pretty much dialed in. Feel of the bike, balance, fit, suspension all play a part of rider preference. I just didn't buy a Firebird because of dw, although it did play a part after riding dw bikes. For me Pivot bikes just have a feel to them, the same goes for Turner.
Modern shock valving has greatly improved suspension designs that don't use a mechanical advantage like dw or vpp, ect. Prior to the newer shocks there was a huge difference in suspension performance, especially going up hill. Suspension designs with a mechanical platform do have an advantage as far as tuning, ride characteristics & bob free pedaling.
As far as splitting hairs many of the platforms are close in performance, of those platforms I prefer dw even though I ride other bikes with different platforms. In the end I went with my bike because I liked the way it did everything & it pedals like a goat on crack for a 34lb bike.
You just have to find the bike or bikes most suited for you. If suspension performance isn't high on your list of wants then don't sweat it & go with something that suits you. If it is take the time trying different designs & doing research. Post up in local forums & see if you can bum a test ride from someone.

 

[TwoTone]

Of what I understand, DW is designed to primarily be a pedaling platform, and so is VPP.

I find DRCV plus ABP quite interesting.

DRCV is Two Shocks in One - YouTube

Not saying any one tech is better, but I do appreciate the high speed video and testing

At the end of the day, what feels good isnt necessarily better. Better at what? Climbing? Descending? My old Toyota feels good on the road, better than my VW. But after a certain speed, its not the case. Testing and reviews help a lot when making a buying decision. You can't really assess a bike with a 15 minute ride. Especially with a bike that is not stocked at the LBS. Fit is adjustable. If youve owned a couple of bikes and ride them hard, you normally would be able to see if something can fit you or not.

I was interested in this also, I missed the local Trek demo day and couldn't ride one on the trail, so I stuck with what I know, FSR.

I hope to get to ride a new Trek eventually.

 

[Axe]

Suspension designs with a mechanical platform do have an advantage as far as tuning, ride characteristics & bob free pedaling.

But they do have a disadvantage of not being able to turn it off. Most of the time I prefer my suspension to be as active as possible and do not care about a bit of squat or bob when climbing. And it does not bother me to flip a lever to lock it out, or dial platform for a multi-hour fireroad climb. Never understood why some people do not like shock tuning and adjustments to be doing what it is supposed to do.

 

[mimi1885]

But they do have a disadvantage of not being able to turn it off. Most of the time I prefer my suspension to be as active as possible and do not care about a bit of squat or bob when climbing. And it does not bother me to flip a lever to lock it out, or dial platform for a multi-hour fireroad climb. Never understood why some people do not like shock tuning and adjustments to be doing what it is supposed to do.

+1 on the lever flippin' pp:thumbsup:

 

[twebeast]

I'm not a fan of having to flip a lever to make a bike climb well because a) there are bikes you can buy which don't need this and b) having ridden said bikes for a while, I'm so out of the habit that when I do, I always forget and end up bobbing up hill and bouncing down.

And then there's the inbetweeny stuff which a DW bike just allows you to get on with, but some other bikes will leave you in a halfway position of whether you want compression damping or not.

That's really the benefit of a well engineered suspension design such as DW, you can tune the shock to get on with other things without really having to consider pedalling efficiency.

But agree that geometry and sizing is crucial too; and following that, shock tune, which is inexplicably often carp, off the shelf.

 

[John Kuhl]

I don't mind flipping a lever. The problem is that at my
age I forget about it and then wonder why the bike is
acting weird.

Best, John

 

[Axe]

I don't mind flipping a lever. The problem is that at my
age I forget about it and then wonder why the bike is
acting weird.

My rule of thumb is that if I do not notice something, then it does not really matter.

More often then not I would just tune rebound/platform for a particular ride. Feels more natural when shock controls things, then chain pull etc. I do not care about that every ounce of "efficiency"..

 

[While At Rome]

Mostly personal preference when it comes down to it.

I like the FSR design the best because its tested and true, and a great descender. All this about 'REQUIRING A PRO PEDAL' is BS. The new FSR design with the horiztonal shock and the extra link makes it pedal just as good as Maestro/DW link in my opinion.

As far as performance, Yeti's new Switch Pivot is simply amazing, but i was weary purchasing a 1st year bike & suspension design.

All of the dual pivot linkages are very similar and hard to differentiate, and will make you happy as long as you have the right shock and shock tune.

Here's a good read

Buyer's Guide To Mountain Bike Suspension, Part 2 - BikeRadar

It really boils down to riding style and personal preference.