How many people want a softail ebike?

[Old_Dave]

Suspension on bicycles is only a comfort and fashion issue.

The comfort can also be achieved with a comfy saddle, tyre and pressure choice and allegedly suspension seat posts.

Nuffing will stop a wheel from bending in a pot hole though

 

[Deleted member 4366]

and when Britain cycled and bikes all had steel frames, no-one found they needed suspension, despite the roads post-war being worse than now. T

It wasn't that they didn't need it. They didn't have a choice. You have to face it Flecc, You're a Luddite. Have you got a new phone yet?

 

[flecc]

The comfort can also be achieved with a comfy saddle, tyre and pressure choice and allegedly suspension seat posts.

Indeed, Schwalbe Big Apple tyres are very effective and marketed as "suspension for bikes".

I agree with your use of allegedly, suspension seat posts have never worked for me, the friction and seat tube angle always prevents them springing down over bumps. They only go down if I brake sharply while sitting heavily, the forward thrust on my body then overcoming the tube angle friction.

 

[baldylox]

Nuffing will stop a wheel from bending in a pot hole though

Must get me some Nuffing

 

[jazper53]

Indeed, as I remarked in my preceding post, comfort, for those who find they need that. I don't personally, and when Britain cycled and bikes all had steel frames, no-one found they needed suspension, despite the roads post-war being worse than now. The rigidity of alloy frames has much to answer for, though some tube curvatures well designed into a frame can make for greater comfort by minimising the worst of the shock transmissions.

Rear suspension will absorb the shock transmission that would transmit to battery and controller etc which could preserve the life of the electrics.

 

[flecc]

It wasn't that they didn't need it. They didn't have a choice. You have to face it Flecc, You're a Luddite. Have you got a new phone yet?

Bike suspension was invented at the start of the 20th century and many designs were offered, but none were ever adopted. It only arrived due to the fashion for mountain bikes that started at the beginning of the 1980s.

I'm far from being a Luddite, happily using many forms of newest technologies and eager for any more that suit me and my needs. But no, I don't want a smart phone since I neither want nor need to be in permanent communication with all aspects of life. I suspect that most people don't need those either, but feel they must keep up with the trends. If smart phone swiping of small payments ever comes into widespread use, I'll buy one then, since that would be handy.
.

 

[jackhandy]

The rigidity of alloy frames has much to answer for, though some tube curvatures well designed into a frame can make for greater comfort by minimising the worst of the shock transmissions.

.

Given the choice of decent suspension or a bendy frame, I'll have the suspension every time.

 

[flecc]

Rear suspension will absorb the shock transmission that would transmit to battery and controller etc which could preserve the life of the electrics.

In theory, but hardly so in practice. There's many reasons why batteries fail, but most are chemical at source.

 

[Old_Dave]

Rear suspension will absorb the shock transmission that would transmit to battery and controller

But so does a bit of strategically placed foam / bubble wrap

 

[flecc]

.

Given the choice of decent suspension or a bendy frame, I'll have the suspension every time.

That's an exaggeration, frames with curved tubes aren't bendy in any way to the rider, the curves just avoid the direct end-to-end shocks of straight alloy tubes to some extent. Wisper's examples are well known, as is the S form of the down tube of that Rolls Royce of e-bikes, the Biketec Flyer.

 

[jazper53]

But so does a bit of strategically placed foam / bubble wrap

Which would not totally isolate it, just stop it moving around internally best to isolate from source

 

[baldylox]

That's an exaggeration, frames with curved tubes aren't bendy in any way to the rider, the curves just avoid the direct end-to-end shocks of straight alloy tubes to some extent. Wisper's examples are well known, as is the S form of the down tube of that Rolls Royce of e-bikes, the Biketec Flyer.

Doesn't the Biketec Flyer have front suspension?

 

[SRS]

The comfort can also be achieved with a comfy saddle, tyre and pressure choice and allegedly suspension seat posts.

Nuffing will stop a wheel from bending in a pot hole though

How true. You don't need suspension to prevent that scenario. A pair of spectacles would do the job.

 

[flecc]

Doesn't the Biketec Flyer have front suspension?

Most yes, and so do the Wisper bikes, but they don't have rear suspension.

 

[baldylox]

So if these "Roll-Royce" bikes are built with all of the attributes which you suggest there to be no need for suspension (and these are road bikes), why do they have it?
I'm not arguing that I need suspension for my road bike, perhaps a stronger rear wheel (and a new pair of specs ) but an off-road bike does appear (to me at least) to benefit from suspension at both ends (to save my end) END.

 

[Feanor]

I would suggest though that you make sure that you get suspension that can be locked out. I haven't the luxury of having bikes to compare but I have been told that suspension sucks away some of your speed when you want to go fast and it certainly feels that way with my hardtail hybrid.

From what I've read, suspension lockout controls for the front fork are located on the handlebars although I don't know if you can lock out rear suspension. I'm sure the more knowledgeable members here can advise on that though.

As for suspension vs fixed, as I'm sure you know everything in design and engineering is a compromise between conflicting priorities. If comfort is more important to you than speed or super-precise road feel then I think that suspension makes a lot of sense. I'm wrestling with this one myself though: while speed is more important to me and comfort a bit less so, I still don't want a bike that will shatter my spine or shake me to pieces on cobbled streets.

 

[flecc]

So if these "Roll-Royce" bikes are built with all of the attributes which you suggest there to be no need for suspension (and these are road bikes), why do they have it?
I'm not arguing that I need suspension for my road bike, perhaps a stronger rear wheel (and a new pair of specs

) but an off-road bike does appear (to me at least) to benefit from suspension at both ends (to save my end) END.

Front suspension doesn't compromise efficiency as much as the way rear suspension can, especially if poorly designed. Pedal thrust effort can be lost in various ways by rear suspension, though the best examples have geometry that minimises that loss. To understand more, read my suspension article in the Technical section on this link
.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

B But no, I don't want a smart phone since I neither want nor need to be in permanent communication with all aspects of life. I suspect that most people don't need those either,

I rest my case.

 

[Feanor]

Great article flecc, I felt that suspension had the effect you describe but hadn't fully understood the physics. Thanks. That'll be very useful for my own upcoming purchase decision.

As for smart phones, to be honest they're not really primarily for communicating with people any more - or at least they don't have to be; everyone use theirs differently, just as everyone uses a computer for different things. Even if I had no friends I'd still have a smart phone just because having a powerful internet-connected computer, able to answer questions or problems as they occur, combined with a diary and to-do list that's backed up and synced in real-time, in my pocket and always with me is so incredibly useful. Still, this isn't a thread or forum about smart phones so I'll leave it there!

 

[geezee74]

If you had one with a throttle, I would buy one tomorrow. Is this something that will take you long to have in the Uk.
Also Dave, be careful because someone might accuse you of copying something that has been around for ages and launch into a ridiculous rant.