To suspend or keep rigid?

[xerxes]

Duh! He's going to be towing, do you really think he'll notice the slightest difference in the steering a bouncy fork might make?

Maybe it's just me, but I find even very slight changes in fork length can feel odd. I put a 415mm A to C fork on a frame that should have had a 390mm and it felt awful, so even a short travel 60-80mm suspension fork will be more of a change than that.

I don't think the towing/bike seat will effect how the steering feels, especially with regard to wheel flop - which is what you can get if you increase axle to crown length without making other changes.

Duh!

 

[MikeD]

I'm thinking that the kind of trail on which you'll be towing a trailer or carrying a child seat is the kind of trail which doesn't need a suspension fork. Keep it rigid.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Even on metalled roads do you really want to feel every little shock jar your wrists and neck (smoother surfaces and towing = higher tyre pressure after all...) when you have so much more to concentrate on than just picking your line?

It's a whole different ball game when you factor in the responsibility for the young life trundling along behind you with no control over its own destiny but for the natural trust in a parent.



...and off-road any differences in steering are going to be microscopically negligible; maybe on a road bike ridden on billiard-table smooth tarmac yes, but off-road on undulating terrain where you spend a considerable amount of time out of the saddle so your body geometry is constantly shifting? I don't think so

Have you even ever considered just how much the steering geometry changes on a bike fitted with a long travel fork? Climbing, out of the saddle, with the fork fully extended then plummeting downhill to brake sharply and fully compress it?

How do the riders cope?

 

[FMJ]

Think of the intended use of the bike rather than personal prejudices...

He asked for people's opinions. Is it necessary to browbeat everyone's that doesn't agree with yours?

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Think of the intended use of the bike rather than personal prejudices...

He asked for people's opinions. Is it necessary to browbeat everyone's that doesn't agree with yours?

Yes, opinions based on how he intends to use it, not peoples' own preferences...

...there is a difference

 

[MikeD]

It's a whole different ball game when you factor in the responsibility for the young life trundling along behind you with no control over its own destiny but for the natural trust in a parent.

Well, quite. Which is why there's something to be said for not insulating yourself from the bumps that the nipper in the trailer behind has no way of avoiding.

(Although that said I tend to aim straight for potholes as then there's a good chance that the trailer wheels will go one each side of it...)

 

[xerxes]

How do the riders cope?

Well you're obviously right, that's why modern bikes with long travel forks have exactly the same geometry as the old rigid frames from the 90's.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

...and as for 'brow beating' there is a Poll between two differing options, an either/or choice, for which there are divided 'opinions' to be debated.

I like to think I have made a more convincing argument on behalf of the 'For' camp, as requested by the OP, than the limp-wristed 'It looks nice' response from the 'Against'

 

[xerxes]

Going back to the OP, it will be pulling a trailer or have a child seat fitted, so it's not exactly going to be used for "extreme off-road", I therefore think suspension forks will add nothing but weight and complexity and possibly make the steering feel odd too.

 

[ishaw]

Phew, some opinions are being bandied about so thanks for them so far, and voting too.

In response to the post above, I'm unlikely to be tearing down off road tracks with the trailer or baby seat attached, but this bike will be the most accessible so may get used for localish jaunts where suspension may be a benefit.

I think the general consensus so far is to stick with rigid, which will actually make the build easier as I don't have to touch the front end. I may build it up as is and see how the 'use' pans out and if a switch to suspension is required, deal with that then rather than now.