Rigid fork on the SS--mixed feelings.

[CPATCRASH]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

Do you think it's a 26er thing? Maybe running rigid on 29" isn't so bad???

Just wondering...

I have run rigid on my 29er for almost two years now and don't mind it at all.

[1x1clyde]

I have been riding rigid for years and it does take some getting used to.
I have squish on a couple of ss set ups but love the feeling, or lack there of!, of running the bike rigid.
Go as fast as you can, if something pops up that you cannot roll, turn and then continue
I run a 2.4 up front on the beach cruiser rigid, 2.2 on the Lynskey with 100mm fork.....run it big up front! That was the trick back in the day and it still works for me...but I have been accused of being a retro-grouch!
What can I say, You have to want to suffer to embrace the SS rigid thing

[Burner]

you need to put a few more rides in on the rigid, so the muscles in your arms have time to adapt to the vibration.... a couple more rides and you'll be fine. Personally, I love the accuracy of a rigid fork.

You are on an aluminum 26er, probably the harshest way to go rigid. Maybe some carbon or ti bars to help (a little)?

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by Burner

you need to put a few more rides in on the rigid, so the muscles in your arms have time to adapt to the vibration.... a couple more rides and you'll be fine. Personally, I love the accuracy of a rigid fork.

You are on an aluminum 26er, probably the harshest way to go rigid. Maybe some carbon or ti bars to help (a little)?

you and Fo like it stiff up front

not that there is anything wrong with that

are you going to bring that b*tch down South for a ride? He said his "timeout" is almost over Like to check out both of your new rides

[jcampbell]

My steel 29er is rigid and I love it on many trails and hate it on some others. On long sustained rocky downhills like trabuco, it royally sucks and you should have a mouthpeice to protect your teeth. On rides that have many smooth fireroads or buffed singletracks, you'll end up loving the solid feel of the rigid fork.

I wish I had a REBA though, the lockout seems to work pretty good. Has anyone compared the Fox to the REBA back to back? Whats better? My take was that the Fox was better for geared bikes like the 29er evolve and sultan or rip9. The REBA seemed to have a better lockout to be used on SS's.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by jcampbell

My steel 29er is rigid and I love it on many trails and hate it on some others. On long sustained rocky downhills like trabuco, it royally sucks and you should have a mouthpeice to protect your teeth. On rides that have many smooth fireroads or buffed singletracks, you'll end up loving the solid feel of the rigid fork.

I wish I had a REBA though, the lockout seems to work pretty good. Has anyone compared the Fox to the REBA back to back? Whats better? My take was that the Fox was better for geared bikes like the 29er evolve and sultan or rip9. The REBA seemed to have a better lockout to be used on SS's.

lockout on the Reba is the sheeeeet. Have it on both bikes and really love it.

I hear good things about the Fox (so far) however the Reba is tried and true. I have had one of my Reba's for almost four years and it has been bomb proof.

[COLEKO]

When I started mountain biking on a rigid having the right grips can help out a lot with vibration.

[jcampbell]

Originally Posted by COLEKO

When I started mountain biking on a rigid having the right grips can help out a lot with vibration.

I just bought those way overly priced 100% silicon grips, I think $18 bucks from the path and you are right about this. What a difference from my lizard skins. If you ride rigid, do yourself a favor and buy the squishy feeling grips.

[allison]

Originally Posted by jcampbell

I just bought those way overly priced 100% silicon grips, I think $18 bucks from the path and you are right about this. What a difference from my lizard skins. If you ride rigid, do yourself a favor and buy the squishy feeling grips.

Possibly try the Ergon's as well.

GC2

[CPATCRASH]

Originally Posted by mechmann

suuuuuuure you don't. i remember seeing you in pain at the bottom of The Luge.

Hey now! The Luge is NOT the best trail for that bike. That's why I have more than one! Yea, that's it...

[2wheel_lee]

A rigid front end puts a lot more strain on handlebars, and since carbon bars already have a reputation for breaking, if you're going to use carbon bars make sure you have good medical insurance.

Also, front tire pressure is ultra critical: too high, and the the rides overly stiff, and the front end washes out too easily; too low, and the tire can roll off the rim, also offering poor steering performance. My suggestion is to ride as low of pressure that will allow you good steering as well as be able to comfortably land jumps without getting squirly.

As mentioned, don't give up on the rigid too soon. It does take several rides to get used to it. Although I went back to a suspension fork on my SS, I've been riding my BMX bike at the track a bit lately. Initially, the rigid fork on the BMX bike was hard to deal with, but after riding it for a while, it's no longer a concern.

[KonaDupee]

PacMan, I cannot imagine a better combination than having a SS rigid steel bike (I have 3 rides on my new carbon fork, too--LOVE it) and a full suspension aluminum frame. I appreciate your honesty, but would suggest that you give the carbon fork a few more rides on some different trails before you decide to go back to squish up front.

Depending on where I'm riding on any particular day, I simply decide which bike best fits the ride-du-jour before I hit the trail.

The difference between my carbon 29er fork & the steel rigid fork that my Unit 2-9 came with is amazing. The carbon eats up a lot of the small stuff that the steel fork sent straight to my wrists.

Bottom line, I'd never want to give up either of my bikes. I can't imagine going strictly rigid or strictly FS, either.

[DDB@OCR]

Originally Posted by dstepper

Doug, I would stick to the rigid a little while before giving up on it. Riding rigid will teach you to ride a bike loose, you will learn to not hold the bars tight and relax and let the bike do its job. I like the solid feel of a rigid bike, feeling all the bumbs and rocks on the trail. I ride most of the same stuff I ride my suspension bike on I just go alot slower and pick my lines better. Then there are some trail that are just better on a rigid SS, most of the ones I like are in Arizona but the local one I think is made for SSing and rigid is SART.

Werd.

Learning 'it' means learning to adapt to a new style.

Can I go 'faster' through a 'given section' on my susp. bikes? Duh!

But part of the challenge going rigid is not riding it the same way you do a suspended bike. Ya don't 'bomb it' per say exactly like a bike with boingers.

Relax (don't death grip), pick your line more carefuly, use different skills (manualing etc.) and enjoy the stoke of actually having more to do with the whole process of 'negotiating' the terrain w/o the aid of suspension.
You'll impress yourself, trust me, stick with it. And others will notice as well.

I try to get my braking done way prior to the big or gnarly stuff then let momentum and line selection get me throught it.
Cornering is very responsive on smoother lines too.
Nevre choke up on/stiff arm the bar. That is the worst thing you can do. It will transmit everything right to your eyeballs and even the rear tire will go off track too!
Flow with it, let your arms and legs become the suspension per say. If you fight the flow- it will always win. Anticipate and Negotiate.

Take some time to sort it out- it will come to you. There is a lot of finesse involved with it.

Esp nowadays with hi-perf rigids and how light and quick they are... and how awesome they are!

No it aint 'the go-to-everyday-bike', but none of mine are.
They all get ridden and give different Love in different conditions.

I would not put a susp. fork on my SS for anything. It's part of the complete stoke I get from riding this setup.

And yes- my wrists are trashed as well as my elbows and shoulders.

[2wheel_lee]

In short, the reason wh BMXers do so well in downhill and 4x racing is that they've learned to ride smoothly with a rigid bike. Carrying these skills over to mountain biking helps them to be better and smoother riders, because they can float over objects vs. hitting them. Learning how to ride a fully rigid mtb will surely improve your overall riding skills. One step better, learn to bunnyhop on flat pedals.

Originally Posted by DDB@OCR

Werd.

Learning 'it' means learning to adapt to a new style.

Can I go 'faster' through a 'given section' on my susp. bikes? Duh!

But part of the challenge going rigid is not riding it the same way you do a suspended bike. Ya don't 'bomb it' per say exactly like a bike with boingers.

Relax (don't death grip), pick your line more carefuly, use different skills (manualing etc.) and enjoy the stoke of actually having more to do with the whole process of 'negotiating' the terrain w/o the aid of suspension.
You'll impress yourself, trust me, stick with it. And others will notice as well.

I try to get my braking done way prior to the big or gnarly stuff then let momentum and line selection get me throught it.
Cornering is very responsive on smoother lines too.
Nevre choke up on/stiff arm the bar. That is the worst thing you can do. It will transmit everything right to your eyeballs and even the rear tire will go off track too!
Flow with it, let your arms and legs become the suspension per say. If you fight the flow- it will always win. Anticipate and Negotiate.

Take some time to sort it out- it will come to you. There is a lot of finesse involved with it.

Esp nowadays with hi-perf rigids and how light and quick they are... and how awesome they are!

No it aint 'the go-to-everyday-bike', but none of mine are.
They all get ridden and give different Love in different conditions.

I would not put a susp. fork on my SS for anything. It's part of the complete stoke I get from riding this setup.

And yes- my wrists are trashed as well as my elbows and shoulders.

[speckledtrout]

Doug, I only have 4 rides so far on my new sir9 and i was more than a little nervous after my first ride with the rigid fork. i was shaking and rattling like a crack whore over the bumps and thinking i made a big mistake going rigid with these old bones o' mine. (wheeze, wheeze) I took it back out to Chesebro and the climbing was so easy and effortless that i was in heaven. it's weird, but coming back downhill from china flats, where it's fast and rutted, i was so in the zone with the rigid fork. like i've never been before on the Stumpjumper. it was like my bike had a laser on it! it was awesome, to say the least, but i definitely felt the bumps, even with the big wheels. i think down the road, i might get a Reba to take some of the sting off, but for now i think I'm gonna start by replacing my very pretty but painfully hard grips with some squishy Oury grips and see where that takes me. I really wanna keep the fork rigid for as long as my body will let me.

[Burner]

also, a lot of times a bunny hop on a rigid bike will let you clear some of the rocky chatter that you know is going to give you quite a shock to the arms.