ebike4healthandfitness
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How important is a suspension fork for your street ebike?
What wheel and tire size do you use? Tubeless or tubed?
What wheel and tire size do you use? Tubeless or tubed?
How important is a suspension fork for your street ebike?
- Thread starter ebike4healthandfitness
- Start date
Extremely, since it goes 2-3 times faster than human pedal bike speeds and my local roads are awful.
Bike lane or sidewalk disappears without warning frequently and throws you into offroad conditions.
Unsafe to go >25mph over here without front suspension because the front wheel will go slightly airborne at various angles while riding and land in places the rider doesn't expect, requiring a lot of snap decisions to counter correct.
We start having that problem with the rear wheel around 30mph and want either a suspension seatpost or rear suspension.
26" currently but moving to 29" or 32".
Bike lane or sidewalk disappears without warning frequently and throws you into offroad conditions.
Unsafe to go >25mph over here without front suspension because the front wheel will go slightly airborne at various angles while riding and land in places the rider doesn't expect, requiring a lot of snap decisions to counter correct.
We start having that problem with the rear wheel around 30mph and want either a suspension seatpost or rear suspension.
26" currently but moving to 29" or 32".
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Suspension forks made a huge difference in comfort for my hands and wrist on 2 street bikes (they're both mountain bikes as advertised but ridden strictly on the street), both fitted with the same TSDZ motor (moved from one to the other). First was a no suspension chrome moly bike, second was an alloy hardtail with a cheapo spring fork. first bike 26" x 1.5, second bike 26" x 1.95, both with tubes
Streets here are never smooth unless recently paved, usually full of pot holes, wash boards, steel plates (that sticks up above the pavement) to cover up emergency repairs due to water pipe leaks.
Streets here are never smooth unless recently paved, usually full of pot holes, wash boards, steel plates (that sticks up above the pavement) to cover up emergency repairs due to water pipe leaks.
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TlfT
1 mW
There really isn't much overlap between ebike and tubeless certified tires. That set up doesn't meet high standards for safety. Too much weight and speed involved.
Burping a front tire is no joke. Just run a tube with sealant.
A fork is up to you. I like rigid on pedal bikes and suspension on ebikes.
Burping a front tire is no joke. Just run a tube with sealant.
A fork is up to you. I like rigid on pedal bikes and suspension on ebikes.
tigcross
100 W
If your intention is to go over 20 MP/h, then suspension is a must. Look at street motorcycles—they are fully suspended, and with good reason. Hitting a bump at high speed without suspension to absorb the impact could be disastrous.
Tires are also important at speed. I'm running 20-inch BMX rims, which are the same size as 16-inch motorcycle rims; this allows me to run 2.75 moped tires, which are MUCH more roadworthy than bicycle tires. There is an argument for larger wheels, but as my bike is a recumbent, the 20 inch size works better. Also, as I am running hub motors they have more torque in a smaller rim. My average speed is 50 km/h and the top speed of the bike is 70 km/h. Obviously good brakes are also important.
My local roads are in horribly deteriorated condition, full of holes, ridges, rough R/R crossings, broken-up concrete, abrupt sharp elevation changes, etc.
I like to cruise at 21-23 MPH where possible, good suspension is a necessary requirement for safety and comfort.
My current main ebike is a 26" DH FS with a Fox Vanilla 36 front suspension fork.
Reminds me, the Fox Van 36 needs an overhaul to remedy some creaking and popping. Anybody have any info on rebuilding one? (This is the major downside to suspension fork-- it is a wear item.)
The other part of the equation is tires. For me, I have the sweet spot 26x2.35 @ 35 PSI works best.
I like to cruise at 21-23 MPH where possible, good suspension is a necessary requirement for safety and comfort.
My current main ebike is a 26" DH FS with a Fox Vanilla 36 front suspension fork.
Reminds me, the Fox Van 36 needs an overhaul to remedy some creaking and popping. Anybody have any info on rebuilding one? (This is the major downside to suspension fork-- it is a wear item.)
The other part of the equation is tires. For me, I have the sweet spot 26x2.35 @ 35 PSI works best.
daniel84uk
1 mW
Cycled for years without suspension and my ebike is without suspension. I have Vredestein Staccata 100/80-10 tyres at 18psi up to 35mph (Though I rarely go over 15-20) I sacrifice some range for comfort. Over 20psi on these tyres starts to get uncomfortable.
I dont need suspension, however, id add it if i could find a nice solution for 16" wheels. The forks are either too long, or too cheap withput adjustable rebound. Id happily make my own, but cant come up ith a decent idea.
I dont need suspension, however, id add it if i could find a nice solution for 16" wheels. The forks are either too long, or too cheap withput adjustable rebound. Id happily make my own, but cant come up ith a decent idea.
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ebike4healthandfitness
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32": https://kent.bike/products/32-kent-big-league?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgJa6BhCOARIsAMiL7V9AHOJVAD0f8KpNg8o4WOE-fryKEOnvc6sl4fuX_aRO3IDEUvbl6bwaAqz_EALw_wcB&variant=43435309432989
But recently i decided against that, i chose a 29er bike based on:
- abnormally long chainstays = better stability at high speed
- ability to run a tall suspension fork
- ability to run a tall suspension seat post
- dramatically better tire selection than a 32"!
- less insane crank forward factor
29er Mountain Bikes Up to 60% Off - MTB - Motobecane Fantom 29 EXPERT
non suspensioned 32" would probably be super nice at pedal bike speeds even on crappy-ish roads. But mine are worse than that!
But recently i decided against that, i chose a 29er bike based on:
- abnormally long chainstays = better stability at high speed
- ability to run a tall suspension fork
- ability to run a tall suspension seat post
- dramatically better tire selection than a 32"!
- less insane crank forward factor
29er Mountain Bikes Up to 60% Off - MTB - Motobecane Fantom 29 EXPERT
non suspensioned 32" would probably be super nice at pedal bike speeds even on crappy-ish roads. But mine are worse than that!
ebike4healthandfitness
100 kW
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I haven't seen a 32" with suspension fork yet.....but hypothetically it could happen. This assuming you could reduce suspension travel on whatever fork you used to compensate for the increased tire diameter.
Here is a 36" tire custom frame bike where they used a 200mm travel fork modified for 100mm travel:
hillslayer@
100 W
Running 160 mm forks mainly because bike was built for off-road but gets used on paved road nowadays 120 would be enough now . Big travel forks allow you go way faster down super rough trail than you probably should.
scianiac
10 kW
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Yeah I think for higher speeds and multiuse value suspension is worth it on a street bike. The roads I ride on are pretty decent but my driveway is long and rough dirt and there are some shortcuts on dirt, the suspension really helps with those and also allows higher tire pressures for better rolling resistance with good comfort.
I certainly don't think I need as much travel as I have, was 200mm front rear but the rear spring is backed down to lower the bike and slack the front a little so probably only 160 or something rear. It's an old Giant Glory DH with a Marzocchi Bomber, 26x2.5 tires, tire pressure idk 20-30?
I think part of it for me is starting with a real mountain bike with real suspension already puts the strength level of the bike at a better level to load it up with additional weight, stresses in ways it may not be designed for, way more power, and higher speeds. Sure you could start with a super light CF road bike to build an ebike but do you want to hit a pothole at 35 on one of those with 20+ pounds of ebike parts strapped to it or would you rather it be a DH bike that was designed to hit something much larger at that speed in the first place.
I certainly don't think I need as much travel as I have, was 200mm front rear but the rear spring is backed down to lower the bike and slack the front a little so probably only 160 or something rear. It's an old Giant Glory DH with a Marzocchi Bomber, 26x2.5 tires, tire pressure idk 20-30?
I think part of it for me is starting with a real mountain bike with real suspension already puts the strength level of the bike at a better level to load it up with additional weight, stresses in ways it may not be designed for, way more power, and higher speeds. Sure you could start with a super light CF road bike to build an ebike but do you want to hit a pothole at 35 on one of those with 20+ pounds of ebike parts strapped to it or would you rather it be a DH bike that was designed to hit something much larger at that speed in the first place.
Tony01
100 W
Suspension keeps the tire on the ground when you hit a bump. If you hit a bump in a lean with a rigid fork your tire will skip out because of the horizontal component of the turning force. If it skips out enough, you’ll experience what is called a “low-side” accident.
ebike4healthandfitness
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You probably have the tires with the greatest sidewall height (at 3.2") in this thread coupled with my guess is the lowest tire pressure (18 psi max). This means your tire is capable of the greatest amount of deflection in this thread though overall tire diameter is only 16.4".
Can I ask why you rarely go over 15 to 20 mph?
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32 in bike looks like a Mary Poppins bike.
Yeah front suspension is not bad as you need to tune it in the cheap front suspension forks can wiggle and not be very good. I rather have a nonspension front end then a cheap front suspension .
Yeah front suspension is not bad as you need to tune it in the cheap front suspension forks can wiggle and not be very good. I rather have a nonspension front end then a cheap front suspension .
daniel84uk
1 mW
I guess its a combination of things. It becomes too much like a motorcycle by that point and ive been there done that. It becomes less about the journey and more about getting from a to b which is not what i do. I purposely try to use only canals country lanes parks and cycle ways. If im on a boring regularly road with traffic ill travel faster until im back to somewhere without traffic.
Always peddle start get it off the line with some speed maybe 5 miles an hour then use your throttle. It will make your battery last longer and don't run your battery to a cuts out take it home and put it back on the charger don't run it into the dirt
ebike4healthandfitness
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So it is not because of lack of suspension?
daniel84uk
1 mW
Not at all, if anything its when im going slow i sometimes wish i had suspension, as when im going slow im usually not on a road but somewhere much bumpier! However i carry a little battery pump with me, only takes a minute or so to adjust the type pressures. The wind noise is the most annoying thing at 35mph. However, the bose noise cancelling headphones with windblock mode help a lot.
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