FreeGo Eagle Upgrades

[Bonzo Banana]

Elastomers went out in the late 90's replaced by springs and then air. At the time when thats all we had we pretty much developed a range of concepts to make them softer, which included hitting them with hammers and also drilling holes in them, but the basic problem was still there in that its more than just the spring action of pogoing up and down that gives a fork a wider range of use. Damping became the goal.
Damping is beyond tightening down a spring to make it firmer, or loosening it to make it softer, there are tiny differences that make al the difference.
Take small bumps for example, or ripples. if a fork goes over these the fork compresses but then rebounds are at the same rate, so you need to be able to adjust both aspects.
Throw into the mix that some hits the fork takes are at very low speed, and some are- depending on what you are riding are at high speed, so in effect you are placing far greater compression because of speed involved.
So you need to be able to damp not only low speed compression, and therefore rebound, but also high speed for both aspects.
A simple air spring and basic damping arent going to give you this range. So what you have in the basic of basics, low end suntour or zoom - and lets be clear that zoom have always been a low end fork that was designed to be seen on bikes out of the likes of argos, where the entire bike costs £99.99.
In fact calling it a suspension fork is perhaps giving it airs and graces it is undeserving of.

Over the past 30 years fork development has been through a host of changes and serious money has been thrown at that development, with designers coming from the likes of F1 car and bike racing.
No way can you compare a suntour or zoom low end fork to anything resembling a proper, up for the job modern fork.

In fact in the late 80's and early 90's most forks used in the new sport of MTBing could mot be compared to the current crop of zoom or suntour(Suntour incidentally is a make that made similar parts to shimano. They died a death in the 80's because they couldnt compete with shimano, and of fork manufacture they have no historical experience)
On my bike i run a Fox36 and have a RS Lyrik ultimate in reserve. I know both of these forks are up for anything i care to throw at them either deliberately or accidental

Well I seem to be in the weird position of trying to defend budget suspension forks despite not being a suspension fork fan but your whole text seems to be stating high end suspension forks or nothing but many people are happy with more basic suspension forks. Suntour suspension gets more sophisticated as you go up in price and many top brands put Suntour forks on their mountain bikes that cost less than £1500 and their ebikes that cost less than £4000. These forks are still delivering very usable performance for many people. They may not be suitable for the hardest trails but are fine for lesser trails and can be very reliable. Then you get many comfort bikes where people just want a bit more resistance to pot hole shock etc. You seem to have a polarised opinion that a fork either has to be high performance suitable for technical trails or its crap but that isn't how the real world works. There is big distance between the front suspension on a £100 argos bike to top end Fox or Rockshox forks with a lot of inbetween models that span that distance.

 

[cyclebuddy]

I've got a set of Suntour NEX forks on one of my e-bikes: They're absolutely fine for what the bike cost and what the bike is used for... in the same way that you wouldn't fit professional RaceShocks suspension on a Dacia.

 

[Nealh]

High end components are only needed for tough off road or downhill use or for bragging rights, though nothing wrong if one wants to spend their money on top components . One only has to look at SW's impeccable bike , top notch components that have turned a 3k bike into what is a 6/7k looking bike.

My main three bikes all now have non suspension forks, for damping one can get stems with elastomer damping that will soak up 70% of trail,road undulations. Add some larger volume tyres at a lower PSI and one has some all round suspension to help soak up those undulations.
Tbh the cheap suspensions just aren't worth it nor the weight penalty.

 

[guerney]

One only has to look at SW's impeccable bike , top notch components that have turned a 3k bike into what is a 6/7k looking bike.

+£400 with the new robtic bluetooth bionic shifter SRAM AI gizmo (don't feed it after dark! ) wotsit, which @soundwave has added recently.

 

[guerney]

Take small bumps for example, or ripples. if a fork goes over these the fork compresses but then rebounds are at the same rate, so you need to be able to adjust both aspects.

???

RESPONSIVE ELECTRONIC MTB SUSPENSION SYSTEM

Bike

With racing in its DNA and good times in its blood, FOX has enjoyed 50 years of going fast and taking chances. From twisting throttles to spinning pedals, we love all things on wheels. Buy your official FOX Factory suspension, apparel and accessories. Free delivery on orders above $99.

www.ridefox.com

 

[AndyBike]

very usable performance for many people

Maybe you could define what 'usable' performance means lol. Basically to the layman it goes up and down and thats all they require to know.

???

From actually watching the vid It appears to be automatic sensing, reading the terrain and adjusting the fork automatically.
No more trying to adjust the sus parts for this ride, so you have to adjust to get an overall effect, it makes the fork react to whatever it is doing at any given moment or point on a trail.

Seems to me a massive step forward.

 

[georgehenry]

???

RESPONSIVE ELECTRONIC MTB SUSPENSION SYSTEM

Bike

With racing in its DNA and good times in its blood, FOX has enjoyed 50 years of going fast and taking chances. From twisting throttles to spinning pedals, we love all things on wheels. Buy your official FOX Factory suspension, apparel and accessories. Free delivery on orders above $99.

www.ridefox.com

When I was looking back at the price difference between my entry level Haibike Yamaha that I bought in 2015 and the most expensive All Mountain version I noticed that the top priced All Mountain version had a rear shock that was automatically adjusted reacting to the terrain it encountered. You can see the control box attached to the rear shock. That was in 2015.

"Brief Overview: The Haibike sDuro AllMtn RX is built around a 150mm chassis to offer a decent all mountain rig capable of harsher terrain but adjustable enough to use as a trail bike. This model is the first electric bike in the world to feature the new EI (Electronic Suspension)! Clever stuff eh?"

https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/products/electric-bike-haibike-sduro-all-mtn-rx-2015

Perhaps I should have bought that!

Although in one way I did as my bike had excactly the same motor, battery and display, mine just cost £1,950 less! You pays your money and make your choice.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

Does it have automatic settings for rolling over animals of different types? Badgers for instance?

 

[georgehenry]

In my years of ploughing back home in the dark on my B road commute I have had a few badgers dart out from the hedge at the side and scurry across in front of me. They are quite big animals with a low centre of gravity and I am pleased I never hit one. On one sharp downhill bit of road I would hit an indicated 37mph. Hitting a badger at that point would not be good for either of us!

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

600mm of travel would ride that out, but I don't think there's there's a badgerwatch option. So I won't be buying one.

 

[georgehenry]

My own version of a badger was an Audi that turned right into a side road that I had almost reached riding in the opposite direction. There was nowhere to go, just hit the brakes and then a moment later the car. ouch.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

My own version of a badger was an Audi that turned right into a side road that I had almost reached riding in the opposite direction. There was nowhere to go, just hit the brakes and then a moment later the car. ouch.

Were you ok? Audis can be nasty. I myself am very wary of BMWs. And hot hatches... are they all noisy and fast, driven by lunatics?

 

[guerney]

Seems to me a massive step forward.

It's expensive, I knew you'd like it.

 

[georgehenry]

One small insignificant broken bone in my hand that added a decent amount to my personal injury claim and some nasty gravel rash. It was summer and I was in shorts and a T shirt. So I was sort of lucky, it could have been a lot worse. I went over the car.

 

[sjpt]

I must be looking out for the wrong things: I find the danger of being mown down by a yellow Ford Cortina is much less than it used to be.

I think Audi and BMW drivers fall into two groups: the noisy and fast, and those that realize their car is powerful and has a bad image and drive extra responsibly (not over-carefully) to compensate.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Maybe you could define what 'usable' performance means lol. Basically to the layman it goes up and down and thats all they require to know.

I've read many reviews of Suntour forks at different price levels and some are extremely positive about how they perform for their price point and these are seasoned mountain bikers and as you go up in price they become more tuneable to the conditions of riding. I remember seeing a Rockshox vs Suntour fork comparison and the Suntour won easily because they were offering a air fork for the same price as the Rockshox more simple coil offering. It was in one of the UK mountain bike mags. I guess the Rockshox was likely Suntour made too but that is not really the point.

Like many US and European brands they do basic design but the final product itself is engineered and manufactured in Taiwan or mainland China by the manufacturers themselves. Sometimes the parts are made in Asia and assembled elsewhere but most of the engineering and manufacturing is in Asia. Suntour is by far the biggest fork manufacturer and OEM partner to many other brands. Even Fox forks will likely have many parts made by Suntour and I think Rockshox are for some models at least completely made by Suntour. Suntour definitely know how to engineer forks well, its just a matter of price and what level of fork you buy into.

 

[georgehenry]

Driving with an entitled belief whatever you drive, although certain car makes seem to have more than their far share, is not generally the safest way to drive and certainly not for us mere cyclists!

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

One small insignificant broken bone in my hand that added a decent amount to my personal injury claim and some nasty gravel rash. It was summer and I was in shorts and a T shirt. So I was sort of lucky, it could have been a lot worse. I went over the car.

One time my front wheel hit the front wheel of a BMW, which darted out of a wall (no pavement) on the left... both myself and the bike went over the car. The car wasn't visible until it had appeared from a hole in the wall. Somehow I avoided all injury (didn't touch the car at all going over, I was cycling too fast lol), but my racing bike was never used again, and I gave up cycling for a couple of decades, because I reasoned there are some accidents you cannot avoid, and that one could have been much worse.

 

[georgehenry]

I've read many reviews of Suntour forks at different price levels and some are extremely positive about how they perform for their price point and these are seasoned mountain bikers and as you go up in price they become more tuneable to the conditions of riding. I remember seeing a Rockshox vs Suntour fork comparison and the Suntour won easily because they were offering a air fork for the same price as the Rockshox more simple coil offering. It was in one of the UK mountain bike mags. I guess the Rockshox was likely Suntour made too but that is not really the point.

Like many US and European brands they do basic design but the final product itself is engineered and manufactured in Taiwan or mainland China by the manufacturers themselves. Sometimes the parts are made in Asia and assembled elsewhere but most of the engineering and manufacturing is in Asia. Suntour is by far the biggest fork manufacturer and OEM partner to many other brands. Even Fox forks will likely have many parts made by Suntour and I think Rockshox are for some models at least completely made by Suntour. Suntour definitely know how to engineer forks well, its just a matter of price and what level of fork you buy into.

Let it go Bonzo!

As you have said you don't even have front fork suspension. I should be writing your posts as I do have a Suntour fork. It has been durable and very good for an entry level fork. It came with my £1,750 bike and combined air adjustment for my weight and oil damping. Nearly eight years later the chrome s unpitted and the seals still work.

I think what I am trying to say in my post is that there is a sweet spot, price point, where you get a very good product that represents excellent value, and above that it can be a case of a much more limited improvement as you start to spend more and more.

 

[Nealh]

A bike is really quite a simple tool for the job in hand , a cheap local transportation need to get one person from A-B, apart from racing bikes as they were once called recreational use was fairly limited to club outing of the 40's/50's esp in the north.
The MTB coming about in the 80's changed things and ever since manufactures/brands have been finding ways of ever more to have a piece of the action and peoples money.
There are always a hard core group of cyclists who will part with money for the latest gadgets and components for their bikes, end of the day a cheap bike will still give the rider enjoyment as does an expensive bike will do for a rider.

I use to ride often on the South Downs taking in alot of the unused or not often used offroad routes and very rarely saw another rider unless it happened to be on the SDW, I didn't need the latest forks, brakes or components to enjoy a thoroughly good 8 - 9 hour days ride to and from home.