E-Bike suspension: What type do YOU use?

What type of bicycle suspension do you use?

  • Full suspension

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Front forks with seat post

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Front forks with hard tail

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Seat post

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Frame only

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other: gel seat, fat tires, WHY... leave comments

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .

gwsaltspring

100 W
Joined
May 20, 2007
Messages
128
Location
Saltspring Island, B.C.
I'm curious as to the bike suspension preferences of the forum members.

Greg
 
I'm using a suspension fork and will be adding a suspension seat-post. I'm not using full suspension mainly because I'm relying on a rear basket to carry my batteries, so I needed a hard-tail bike.
 
There wasn't an option for front suspension with rear soft-tail (which I just learned from Mathurin and Lowell is different than full suspension) so I didn't vote.
 
I have just a suspension seat post and no suspension. Some day I want a full suspension type bike. I am curious though as to which "rear" suspension provides a better ride. Its either air shocks or hydraulic coil shocks. My experience with cars in my younger days using these shocks was: Air shocks = stiff horrible ride, coil spring hydraulic shocks= nice comfort ride. Whether its the same on bicycles, I don't know. I would go for the coil spring as you can get different tensions.

Also, you don't seem to see air shocks on mopeds or motorcycles so I don't know what the deal is. I got taller slick tires so I could run low pressure and get a better ride. Its helped but I'm sure suspension would be nicer.
 
I don't use any suspension, so i didn't vote.
I'm not sure suspension on a pedal bike is a good idea. It gives you unreal road feedback as to conditions and encourages you to go much faster over rough roads, and through pot holes you wouldn't do without it.
Sure its a smoother ride but the bike is taking much more punishment than without it.
 
Sure its a smoother ride but the bike is taking much more punishment than without it.

Hmmm...the stuff on the bike like battery connections, nuts-n-bolts and the human rider take a lot less abuse with suspension. If I wanted punishment, there's other places for that -- like this forum at times. :shock: :D
 
29a said:
<snip>encourages you to go much faster over rough roads, and through pot holes you wouldn't do without it.
Sure its a smoother ride but the bike is taking much more punishment than without it.
Totally agree. Plus more stuff to break down at some point. In eVehicle design, priorities are safety, comfort and reliability, before speed and distance.

My next-gen scoot has no forks or seat, so just going w/rubber motor mounts and pneumatic tires, and rubber between vehicle and back "wheel" (inline skate blade, so half as many flats.)

tks

Lock
 
xyster said:
Hmmm...the stuff on the bike like battery connections, nuts-n-bolts and the human rider take a lot less abuse with suspension.

Yes but IMO the wheel is taking far more abuse than without suspension (through reduced feedback).
The (pain) feedback is nessesary to limit how much damage you are doing to your bike. Nearly all the new bikes coming out have suspension but there doesn't seem to have been any redesign of the frames/wheels to absorb this extra shock damage.
 
Where I ride the roads are in pretty rough shape (holes and uneven paving) and the rest are likely to be gravel or at the very least the shoulder is gravel, (if there is a shoulder) so it seems to be a good idea to me to explore the possibility of a suspension set up for my situation if for no other reason than to soften the jolts that the components get while riding on the road or for those times I get forced off the road onto the shoulder which is often full of potholes too.

Perhaps I should have asked about motor set up with each frame set up ie do those with more powerful motors favour a bike with suspension.

At speed down a bumpy hill with a fully loaded bike things can get pretty hairy. At slower speeds it is obviously not such a big deal.

It is interesting to me to see the number of people who don't have suspension I didn't expect that. Cool :)
 
One problem with suspension is it limits the places where you can attach batteries, motors, ets. A hub motor can solve the motor placement problem, but you still need to haul a bunch of batteries around.
 
fechter said:
One problem with suspension is it limits the places where you can attach batteries, motors, ets. A hub motor can solve the motor placement problem, but you still need to haul a bunch of batteries around.

Taking up very little extra space right beneath the seat, perhaps the soft-tail rear suspension is a good compromise. I don't see where suspension has limited my battery placement options, though the rear soft-tail required I choose a weaker, seat-post attached rack.

<img src="http://endless-sphere.com/forums/files/img_2070_147.jpg" align="right"><p align="justify">
I'm sure my bike would look quite the same, suspension or not.</p>
 
29a said:
xyster said:
Hmmm...the stuff on the bike like battery connections, nuts-n-bolts and the human rider take a lot less abuse with suspension.

Yes but IMO the wheel is taking far more abuse than without suspension (through reduced feedback).
The (pain) feedback is nessesary to limit how much damage you are doing to your bike. Nearly all the new bikes coming out have suspension but there doesn't seem to have been any redesign of the frames/wheels to absorb this extra shock damage.

Stress on every component (except the spring/shock of course) is reduced on a suspension bike. As far as components being redesigned, that's why DH bikes can weigh 45lbs. My Arrow rear DH rim weighs 820g, and a Surly Large Marge comes in at a whopping 1152g.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/RI407A01-Surly+Large+Marge+Dh+Rim.aspx

Clearly a freeride/DH rims are going to be much stronger than a lightweight rim like the Mavic XC717 which only weighs 395g.
 
Good point Fechter. That was kind of what prompted my poll in the first place.

Xyster: Your soft tail is an interesting option, never seen one before. BTW how much weight are you able to carry on your rear rack?

Lowell: Seems to me that a DH bike would have all around stronger components given the kind of use they are intended for. BTW thanks for the links to the bikes. I really like the look of the Rock Mountain FS.

Greg
 
BTW how much weight are you able to carry on your rear rack?

About 20 lbs. One just like it broke after I rode for awhile with 40lbs on it.
 
Bet this vintage beauty feels pretty soft to ride around:

4551fb01.jpg



lugwork's sexXxy unto the MAX:

7d91f1ac.jpg
 
I dunno, they made bikes pre-war, that's kinda a long time. Seen pics of swiftwalkers with suspension saddles, though...


Well today I got some tires & bar tape for a Peugeot SS I found in the trash a few days ago. It's an old 10 speed, very close to my size, just a tad larger but it feels great to me, it's also in surprisingly good condition. The old mechanic dude at Lessard was all happy to see a vintage ride, told me these were not Canadian Tire MTB equivalents, suggested I should sell it on eBay... And that it probably came from CBSF. (BTW, last I checked they still had new in box '05 currie kits...) I figure the bike must have been used a handful of times and then spent years in someone's basement. But hey, I like it so it's gonna get ridden it until I tire of it or etc... Collectors can eat their hearts out.

5ece143b.jpg



The point of the original tape was to prevent non-gloved hands from slipping off the bars when they get sweaty. You can still get tape like that, but there's a reason the stuff on pretty much all new drop bar bikes is made of thickish compact spongy material; it feels nicer to ride around with.

6c2e3b58.jpg



I installed it the old fashioned way, and right over the old stuff too, but the Park Tool site shows something else. They start at the ends of the bars and stop at the middle rather then the other way around. Hopefully it won't come undone or something.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71
 
Now for symmetry's sake you must mummify the rest of the bike!
 
Heh, well symmetry's allready taken care of. Both bars are cleanly wrapped & comfy.

For a similar weight to my Orxy, but without dual suspension tuned for throwing yourself off a cliff in the woods... And despite being handicapped by the rather slow friction downtube shifters compounded by gearing more appropriate for flat land, this bike is quite a lot faster uphill, somewhat faster on the flats, and (thanks to drop bars) a lot faster against a headwind. I'd forgotten how nice drop bars are, a major plus for comfort compared to flat bars is you have several hand positions to chose from, instead of one.

Since totaling Miyata's back wheel again, I've been putting off fixing it & using Oryx for everything that isn't walking distance. It would seem I'd forgotten what a non suspended bike is. It accelerates a lot faster, not much different on the road except you feel it better & it's easier to hop over stuff, though wouldn't risk hopping on curbs in case I'm a bit off... Got me thinking about getting a new wheel for Miyata plus drop bars, brifters & a crank mounted MY1018, so I could ditch the generator too. Now that would make a hella good ebike...
 
Mathurin said:
The point of the original tape was to prevent non-gloved hands from slipping off the bars when they get sweaty. You can still get tape like that, but there's a reason the stuff on pretty much all new drop bar bikes is made of thickish compact spongy material; it feels nicer to ride around with.

If ya want to get *really* old-school, I was looking at grips today that are made up of leather "washers" threaded as a "stack" onto the bars... $99Cdn.

Didn't read the package details, but apparently the leather molds to your grip over time... anyway, they looked like they might be comfy, and will biodegrade. Oil-free anyway.

I assume warmerish for hands in freezing temps, and non-slip in sweatiest hot conditions. Won't be hard to copy with a couple of right sized leather punches and a scrap of leather.

Just thought it was an interesting "take" on vibe isolation and would "work" well with a vehicle that has wooden components (wicker or bamboo composite)...

tks

Lock
 
If ya want to get *really* old-school, I was looking at grips today that are made up of leather "washers" threaded as a "stack" onto the bars... $99Cdn.

How about $12 replacement leather tennis racket grip?
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACWILSON-WLRG.html
 
The leather washers/handles that I was looking at looked as if they might have 1/4" or more of thickness between inner and outer diameter... And washers appeared not tightly packed in the stack either. They were all packaged up, so not grip-able to try`em out, but they seemed like they might be fairly forgiving/squishy/whatever... `Spect the tennis grips are expected to absorb shocks too, but still offer some measure of control, more than might be required to just grip bike handles!

And I expect the leather would be a lot tougher long-term than any plastic or foam or cork, tape, etc.

It was the biodegradable aspect I thought might be attractive to some, plus a little novelty. And the thought that they could be home-made pretty easily too, at much less cost (I lived w/a leather worker for a while who did custom work at home... (but lets not go there)

I think they were these:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/26x2lj

Lock
 
Lock said:
I lived w/a leather worker for a while who did custom work at home... (but lets not go there)

:lol:

Lock's riding vest:
BondageV.jpg
 
HA! ... HEY! I did say "don't go there" :evil: ...but anyway, she was a tall blond of Swedish extraction, and could dress me up any way she liked for all I cared... go back to your soldering :lol:

L
 
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