Which full suss. and why

[torker]

Probably been beat to death. I am getting ready to put together another bike with a 6x10 and I really want to lace it in a 20 " for playing in the dirt. I have been wanting full suss. and if I go 20" I know I will. I have read a lot of threads about the problems people run into but I don't have it compiled in one spot. One thing I ran into with my Rincon was the rear drops were a few mm. too narrow. I visited a friend who owns a lbs and we measured some bikes. He told me to try and find bikes that came with a nine speed in the rear and sure enough the ones we measured were 140 mm. Does anyone know if this holds true? Also folks have used bikes like the Blackcomb for the steel rear swingarm which might be a good idea. I have been looking on Pinkbike and Ebay at frames with Fox float and similar usually around 300 dollars. I just don't have any idea what to look for. I've also thought about using a cheaper frame and source a fork/shock on Ebay/Jenson/pricepoint. Sorry so long. If anybody could chime in, what NOT to use would be good and maybe some links that would be cool. I def. want disc brakes 140 mm drops and something I can fab torque arms without too much hassle. It will be rear hub. Thanks Dave

 

[neptronix]

I dunno much about full suspension bikes, but the blackcomb is regarded as the 'value to performance leader' when it comes to full suspension bikes.

A few guys on here have a blackcomb.. i believe dogman and doctorbass both have one.
Upside... it's cheap and will take a beating..
Downside... cheap rear suspension design ( crappy bushing(s) ), very floaty rear shock too. Perhaps it will work if you're under 200lbs.

 

[torker]

Yea I would def upgrade the rear shock. I've seen some look good to me air shocks going for 1-2 hundred. If I could find the right complete bike I might go that way. But I won't need the wheels and I am going to take some time putting it all together anyway. Also easier for me to come up with a little money at a time than 5-6 hundred at once I would like to put together something similar to DrBass latest with dual 20" and moto tires.

 

[torker]

Anyone have exp. with a Diamondback Ex Coil? One on Craigslist for 225 From what I can tell it isn't much above a wallbike though.

 

[dogman dan]

I found the blackcomb frame bendier than I thought. Kinda prone to wobble the front wheel if you try to ride no hands. I blamed the rear hub and heavy pingbattery on a rack for it. But yesterday riding with just 4 pounds of lipo, it still did it. Hmmm. Anyway, the frame obviously could flex easier from side to side than it looks. Maybe why you don't see the Y frame as much nowdays? Maybe you bolt a big battery box to the frame it flexes less? Perhaps.

In the dirt, of course, you won't be taking the hands off the bars to zip a jacket. The rear suspension is pretty dang primitive with the stock shock, but should improve a lot with a better one. But for sure, nothing gets much easier to mount a mondo torque plate or pinch dropout to. Big flat steel at the dropouts.

If you do go with a better bike, I sure wouldn't blame you, but just look for the same sort of big flat plate of alloy on the dropout for attaching the torque plate.

 

[torker]

Yea some of the high end bikes seem to have very little metal at the drops. I know it is for weight reduction so I will probably go with something cheaper and upgrade as I go along. Also I need to try and figure out the best design/linkage to use. Here simpler "should" be better.

 

[chroot]

If I am in your shoe, I would just get 6" travel full suspension bike. Something you will have to pay huge investment and they are not cheap. Unless if you have lot patience hunt bang for buck cheap good quality 6" inches travel full suspension bike on http://www.craiglist.org.

I found some decent full suspension bike with 6" travel suspension in 1k range with nearly excellent condition on craiglist website.

 

[Drunkskunk]

The best bikes to convert are the traditional triangle frames with the shock near the seat tube, leaving the most room for mounting the battery. You'll want a frame with a fully rebuildable suspension joint.


But past that, its hard to recomend anything specific. Different terrain has diffrent needs. The longer the suspension travel on a bike, the bettery they handle taking hits, but the less feedback they give, and the less presision of controll you have. For riding sible track, a 3" rear suspension is just about right. Its also good for riding off curbs, and taking the shock out of potholes, and handling jumps with a landing of 1-2 verticle feet. Typicaly, a full suspension bike will have a front suspension 1 inch longer than the rear.

If you're going to be Off trail, or XC climbing over tree roots and deadfall, or flying along off trail you'll want something in the 3"-5" rear suspension range. At this point, on-road ride is cushy and cadilac like, but braking is also cadIlac like. ponderous. : the nose will dive under braking, and your stop time increases. having a front shock lockout becomes important. this is also the range were all bikes start to bob when peddling even with good geometry, taking a nice chunk out of your peddling efficancy. These bikes can handle bigger jumps.

n the 5-7" rear suspension travel range, you're in the Downhill catagory. Bikes in this range have altered geometry, and don't handle as well at low speeds, but are perfectly stable while rushing down a ski slope at 40mph. They can survive drops of 8 feet or more. On the street, they will float along like riding on a cloud, But the suspension will dive hard under braking and your stopping time will increase. Not many front forks in this range have lockouts, but it would be helpfull if available. They are also harder to peddle, with noticable peddle bob, and geometry not ment for long didtance peddling. Where the handling of a non-suspension bike could be considered scalple precise, a bike in this range has all the sublty of handling of a Chainsaw in the hands of a crack smocking psychopath.

 

[torker]

Haha A chainsaw in the hands of a cracksmoking psychopath would not inspire confidence.
I will be riding hard pack dirt roads. Some get pretty rough when you venture a few miles off pavement. The occasional gully with low water bridge but nothing truly off road. Just 20 mph. cruising really. I really want the rear susp. because I plan on using a 20" for the low speed thrust and I want more cush than a fat tire that size will give. And I've had multiple back surgeries :x I may shoot for something around 3-4 inches of travel and possibly upgrade the shock/fork as I can afford to. Wichita is not the best place to find good Mt. bikes also which makes it tough for me because I don't know exactly what I am getting online. No Experience with Mt. bikes.

 

[oldpiper]

Wichita is not the best place to find good Mt. bikes also which makes it tough for me because I don't know exactly what I am getting online. No Experience with Mt. bikes.

What? You're only 10 hours on I-35 and I-70 from the Front Range in Colorado! I'd expect that mountain bike shops would be on every corner. You've even got the Big Ditch through the center of town to practice getting up and down those slopes. But, yep, otherwise there's about 10 feet elevation difference max in a 150 mile radius, and that's because some farmer has let his combine get covered with dirt carried around by the constant 40 mph (and up) winds. (In an earlier life, I used to live in Wichita, never saw anything as flat until I saw South Dakota. Traveling west there, sunsets can go on for half an hour, because the sun never goes down below anything.)

Cameron

 

[torker]

Haha yep pretty damn flat. I could go look at bike shops in Wichita and bring my tape measure Seriously I guess I could get some good ideas that way. My 2 biggest concerns are rear drop width and a rear drop with enough meat to hook a custom torque arm to.

 

[Drunkskunk]

Haha A chainsaw in the hands of a cracksmoking psychopath would not inspire confidence..

It does when you are the crack smocking psychopath muhahahaha!

A good bike that would meet those needs is the Trek Fuel. I found one used on Craigs list in your area, but at about double whats its worth. May not be the right bike for adding a 20" wheel on, but its a good point of refrence.

 

[torker]

http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/2181576139.html

If I search outside of Wichita I may have much better luck. Only thing missing on this would be disc. Front disc would be an easy fix.

Or this. Craziest looking rear suspension I've ever seen. Simple , I guess.http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/2180601456.html

 

[chroot]

@toker, the second link look weird and neat design.

I have 4" travel front suspension fork with the hardtail frame. The rear end always bouncing LOT when i went speeding 40+ mph! ugh

 

[Kingfish]

Mine is a FWD, and the rear measures 140mm. It is an awesome setup with a generous triangle geometry for holding batteries. I have it tuned for road & urban, running slightly higher pressures in both shocks to prevent forward/back boatiness. The frame specs are here: 2009 Felt Compulsion 1. The frame was bought naked and built up from scratch. See P1 in my sig. The triangle bag in the images contains 18 LiPos; 15S6P.

I do plan on making this 2WD, although the 9C hub with a 7-speed freewheel does not fit well on this frame – thus creating a work item for me this year. I definitely prefer the disc brakes over rims.

Good hunting, KF

 

[Evoforce]

Diamondback as requested!And this is how it is currently modified and went to the undead race in Tucson AZ. Check it out in pictures and videos under Evoforce bike build 3. I think we have talked before, haven't we torker?

 

[torker]

Thanks for all the responses. It is giving me good ideas. Got my 6x10 today woot