Suspension vs flex stems

[ultrazenith]

A bit of a weird question, but are modern suspension forks any good? I've tried a set of Pace RC 36 this weekend, with disappointing results. Nowhere near enough damping of trail buzz (or cobble stone buzz), decent big hit performance and some extra traction on off road corners, and energy sapping compression when I've tried to sprint out of the saddle. In other words, the suspension didn't solve a problem I wanted to solve, solved one I didn't really care about anyway, and made riding a bit more boring since I'm no longer bothered about getting up for a quick sprint if half my energy's going to be wasted anyway.

However, RC36 is not exactly a great fork anyway, and technology must have moved on in the last 15-20 years. Right? I noticed some of my club ride mates also appeared to have vibrating wrists as well, despite having modern front suspension. Perhaps this is just inevitable - I'd guess it would be hard to make a fork that can damp small amplitude high frequency bumps AND low frequency high amplitude bumps?

All this has made me want to try a good old fashioned flex stem. No stiction, not much travel, no damping, just a bit of damping for those high frequency bumps / trail buzz that saps your energy. Watch this space.

 

[fagin]

Modern forks are amazing.

EOT/

 

[brocklanders023]

Modern forks are amazing.

EOT/

Agreed, the best ones at least.

Why not try some of the earliest suss forks like the Pace RC35's? Better then Flexstem but not trying too hard to be 'proper' forks if that makes sense.

 

[mattr]

Isn't the rc36 almost a 25 year old design?
Try something air/oil with adjustable high/low speed damping.

And why do you bob up and down when sprinting? The idea is to apply torque, and go forwards as fast as you can.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Decent modern forks are generally super plush, but often they don't do much to dampen the very small trail vibrations, which is what I assume you are talking about?
Have you tried Titanium or even carbon fibre handlebars? They supposedly help to dampen certain frequencies of vibration that are commonly associated with "trail Buzz".
By all means try a Flexstem, Allsop Softride Stem, JD? Components stem, or a Trans-X suspension stem (I recently bought one NOS from eBay for around £20, I'm sure I've seen them still available on eBay), just remember it's not suspension, but it may work well for your issue.

 

[Ollie]

Modern forks have the obvious performance increase over a retro fork.
When a mid range modern fork is set up correctly it can feel incredible, like jimo said carbon bars dampen vibration.

 

[GSB]

Suspension design has made galactic leaps in performance in recent years. There really is no comparison.

My old Rockshox Judy's were dire forks, but we're still better than the elastomer sprung suntour I started out on.

Then I got some RC40's which were like night and day compared to the Judy's.

My whyte PRST-4's are another leap forward, showing just how much bump sensitivity can be increased when you remove the stiction on telescopic forks. The front end is extremely active on one if these bikes (although the looks and complexity meant it wasn't widely adopted.).

A modern platform damped shock on a Whyte PRST-4 is another leap forward, showing just how modern damping tech can improve things even further.

The more modern you get, the better they become. A modern Kashima coated fox CTD is no comparison to a fork of even five years ago, never mind 20.

 

[ultrazenith]

Thanks for the replies and advice. It sounds like I'm asking a bit too much from suspension forks in my price bracket - I'd be able to afford either a retro set, or a modern entry level set. A top of the range pair of forks costing several hundred quid would be unjustifiable for someone who could happily buy 4 or 5 nice retro bikes for a similar sum.

Carbon bars are m unfortunately, out of the question because I'd need to get bar-ends clamped on the ends, and also because I can't fully trust carbon for the high load components like bars, seatposts, etc. (strangely I don't mind carbon bits on my forks...).

Has anyone tried a Slingshot bike? I've heard they smooth out the small bumps a bit, regardless of their claimed speed increase (which sounds like their marketers think they can defy the laws of physics).

 

[Minifreak]

I have a lovely Marzocchi Z2 X Fly which although retro is beautifully smooth and uses air/oil if you fancied a chat about it?

 

[Mike Muz]

Re:

How about forks with a lock out mate?

I have a pair on one of my bikes and they work great, although 13 years old now.

No news on THE GREEN ONE ?

Mike