Ridged forks instead of springs ?

[Gringo]

For some time I've been considering swaping my suspension forks for ridged but have been put off by the expense, so I'm looking for experienced views on suspension adjusted ridged steel forks and there pros & cons.
My bike is a Bosch powered Cube hybrid 29er with 100mm rock shock forks that are locked out most of the time, its ridden 80% road 19% gravel -hardpack and a mere 1% or less on bumpy bridal-ways.
I should mention that I ride un-powered for around 70% of the time so I'd hope to notice the weight loss

Any thoughts, steel ridged forks £100+ . A good investment or money down the pan ?

 

[soundwave]

https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/3t-rigid-team-fork-29-inch-carbon-black-red?gclid=CjwKEAjwvb2_BRCb_s7Yo7_ZlHASJABz6L0jScoqh4011i48p3fi-IuIevtiFru8DLOhmbSu2Hi2-hoCejLw_wcB

if you get a cheaper fork then it will not have a tapered tube but you can convert a normal one if you wanted and also it will not have an axle and use normal qr skewers for the drop outs so you will also have to find the end caps for the wheels you have.

 

[Gringo]

With further research carbon forks look best to suit my needs, oh and it's near impossible to find anyone with 29er steel forks in stock having100mm suspension corrected length.
Anywho after a refreshing morning ride on rough ground with my forks locked Ive gone for it and ordered MKM 35 Rigid Carbon MTB 29er Forks.
After all, it's the best way to see if rigid is any good

 

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that will work you just need the end caps for the wheels then

 

[Gringo]

that will work you just need the end caps for the wheels then

.???.

 

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do you have a 15mm front axle or qr skewer on the fork you have ?

 

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[Gringo]

There's no axle information on there website, now I look again It looks likes they'd fit my my QR Skewers. Do you know something that I don't
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FOMK35CF/mkm-35-rigid-carbon-mtb-fork

 

[soundwave]

if you have qr then the forks will fit what you have as you cant use drop outs with 15mm axles.

 

[Gringo]

if you have qr then the forks will fit what you have as you cant use drop outs with 15mm axles.[/QUOT
It's just as well that I have old fashioned QR's then isn't it

 

[Kenny]

My basic Marin mountain bike lay in my cellar for a few years after I stopped mountain biking.
I decided to lighten it to get some use out of it as I was it was very heavy compared to my hybrid bike

I fitted cheap Mosso rigid forks which looked good but weren't suspension corrected. I found the lower front end made the bike very twitchy and it was too easy for the pedals to touch down.

Swapped them for a pair of rather expensive Kinesis Suspension corrected forks and changed a few parts to carbon and made a few other lightening mods.

The bike now weighs a respectable 12kg with rack mudguards and side stand fitted.
I really like it now and use it regularly. It handles rough paths fine though I did come off once but that was because I've road tyres fitted, which aren't very grippy on hard mud tracks.

I Don't miss the suspension at all.

 

[Gringo]

I Don't miss the suspension at all

The more I look the more I read the same sort of comment, low end sus forks are more of a gimmick for the average rider, adding several kg' to a bike for no better ride.
My unpowered rigid hybrid was vastly improved by changing the 34mm tyres for a pr of 47mm wide tyres.

 

[derf]

The more I look the more I read the same sort of comment, low end sus forks are more of a gimmick for the average rider, adding several kg' to a bike for no better ride.
My unpowered rigid hybrid was vastly improved by changing the 34mm tyres for a pr of 47mm wide tyres.

i used to believe the same, but recently picked up an Apollo xc.26 for ten euro at a junk sale to mess about on. oddly its utterly bottom of the range suspension forks are set very, very soft. it has limited travel too. but having swapped the tyres for 2.0 marathon plus tours ive found it has a sweet spot: it's perfect for very rocky footpath and bumps up to about curb level, which it smooth's out great (much better than the marathon plus' at 70 psi alone). anything more and it thrashes and bops. it also doesn't compress on pedal strokes unless one stands (ie doesn't sap power). I wouldn't pay more than ten euro for it, but it beats most rigid forks I know(except perhaps say kona's early mountain bike forks)

 

[JohnMcL7]

As with everything in mountain biking, there's tradeoffs for everything.

I bought a rigid bike for winter use simply for the reduced maintenance but also like the feel as well, the front of the bike lifts easier, I feel more in control and there's nothing lost when you pedal hard.

Where I find the rigid forks weak are on fast downhill sections, the suspension forks easily soak up impacts for jumps and drops making it easier to carry speed. Plus it's a lot easier on the body, I did an endurance race at a trail centre and it was basically climb all the way up and then shoot all the way down, I eventually called it a day as my shoulders and hips were aching from long fast downhill sections whereas on the full suspension bike I could just unlock the suspension and roll it down the hills with ease.

John

 

[Gringo]

Where I find the rigid forks weak are on fast downhill sections, the suspension forks easily soak up impacts for jumps and drops making it easier to carry speed. Plus it's a lot easier on the body, I did an endurance race at a trail centre and it was basically climb all the way up and then shoot all the way down, I eventually called it a day as my shoulders and hips were aching from long fast downhill sections whereas on the full suspension bike I could just unlock the suspension and roll it down the hills with ease.

John

I gave up all the hard & fast stuff years ago.
Ive only done one short road ride with My new rigid forks, not enough to give any useful feedback.
Unfortunatly my old knee injury has flared up and lm struggling to walk ATM let alone ride

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If you ride off-road or on bad surfaced roads or cycle paths, suspension forks make your ride much more comfortable, and there's a big difference between air forks and cheap coil spring ones.

On normal roads it can be a different story, depending on what you want. if you trundle along at 12 mph, then the comfort of suspension helps, but if you're the type that wants to complete your journey with speed and efficiency, rigid forks is the way to go.

The Oxygen MTB 13Ah is still one of my favourite bikes for fast travelling. It's comfortable, has excellent brakes and handling, and it can be made to go fast. It has reasonable quality uspension forks.

I converted a Boardman Hybrd with exactly the same kit as what the Oxygen uses. You could immediately feel a step change in efficiency. It was much easier to hold a sustained high speed and pedal unassisted above 15 mph, and it rolled so easily that I often wondered whether the throttle had stuck on. There's no question that you needed less effort to go at the same speed as the MTB, though the Boardman also had the advantage of lower weight and better streamlining. I can't say that I missed the suspension because I was too busy enjoying the speed.

For a fast commute on the road, a bike like that Boardman would take some beating.

 

[JohnMcL7]

Personally for rough surfaces I prefer a rigid fork with a wider, softer tyre as I find it far more comfortable than a suspension fork even though my two suspension bikes both have high end air forks on them. Suspension however works better with large movements so great for drops or somewhere that it takes an impact but on rough surfaces they aren't as smooth with lots of small movements.

With the plus market really opening up this year there's a lot of good choice to run 27.5+ tyres on a 29er frame although it's dependent on the frame how much clearance there is.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Personally for rough surfaces I prefer a rigid fork with a wider, softer tyre as I find it far more comfortable than a suspension fork ...

I had a rigid steel fork on the old bike and am loving the change to a cheap spring front fork. I have a condition where my arm muscles "pump up" and become hard as rock with the vibrations and the rigid fork did that to me when I got to about 50 km, I have never had that problem since. Also got the horrible tingling in the hands. I was running 1.95" tyres which isn't exactly skinny, now I am running 2" tyres inflated to 4 bars (60 psi).

I now have the NCX seat post as well and if you are considering getting one stop! Just go and buy it, it is absolutely perfect for the spine. At my weight the stock setting is just right and it only absorbs the bumps not moving at all on the smooth stuff so you don't get the power loss sensation when pedalling hard like on a cheap full sus bike.