Suspension or Not?

[MrSteve]

I'd like some opinions, everyone!

Some background information:
I have not ridden a standard, or even non-standard,
unsuspended bicycle in decades.
All my recent experience has been on full-suspension
dirt bikes and my fully suspended Sofrider.

And now, after becoming accustomed to the comfort of my Sofrider,
I find that I cannot ride a standard Diamond Frame bicycle anymore.
Too painful.

The real reason I'm asking for your riding impressions/opinions
is, of course, that I'm about to start building the rear end
of my custom composite MBB recumbent frame.

Here's my question:
how comfortable is a hard-tail recumbent to ride?
Or, how does the ride quality of a hard-tail bicycle compare
to the ride quality of a fully-suspended Cruzbike?


Here's part two of my question:
How does the ride quality of, say, the Cruzbike Vendetta
compare to the Cruzbike Silvio?

Thank you,
in advance,
sincerely,

Steve

 

[Mark B]

The only thing I can tell you for certain is there is a big difference between the suspension on the Silvio and the Sofrider. I think a composte bike rides much better than a steel or aluminum frame, so my initial feeling is that a rigid composite should be a pretty decent ride.

Mark

 

[John Tolhurst]

The ride of the Vendetta on coarse chip seat is, well, coarse. As in "h i i i i i i i i i i i th e e e e e e e e r r r r e e e e.

If you want to test what a non suspended sofrider is like, swap a bit of hardwood for the shock. Its an 8mm hole you need at each end.

 

[buyagain]

I'm 100 percent for as much suspension and correct dampening as I can get. I just wish I knew more about how to adjust to different rider weights. Those down hill bikes are suspended out the yang yang and I'm betting that's the major reason for the high cost. I really have no Idea. Hi, Yakmurph, you gotta know that the very position of the rider's back on the Cruzbike is critical to good suspension.

There might be a design modification of the frame to allow a completely Isolated, suspended and dampening of the seat. There upon allowing for a hard tail (suspension cost savings) configuration. This would probably net out to be a mere swapping of expense problems though.

JohnTolhurst; Did you get impaled on something when riding the Vendeta? It sure sounds like it to me. Or is that some Outback calloquial jargon I'm missing here? LOL

 

[MrSteve]

Mark B wrote: The only thing I can tell you for certain is there is a big difference between the suspension on the Silvio and the Sofrider. I think a composte bike rides much better than a steel or aluminum frame, so my initial feeling is that a rigid composite should be a pretty decent ride.

Mark

It'll be a while before my new frame gets it's first test ride and I've never ridden a carbon composite frame/fork.
Anyway, I think you're right about the ride quality.

My sister owns a Specialised (spelling?) carbon composite frame road bike that features
"zertz" inserts in the seat stays and forks.
I'm thinking along those lines: rigid rear triangle, with live rubber in there somewhere.
Like the Silvio.

-Steve

 

[MrSteve]

John Tolhurst wrote: The ride of the Vendetta on coarse chip seat is, well, coarse. As in "h i i i i i i i i i i i th e e e e e e e e r r r r e e e e.

If you want to test what a non suspended sofrider is like, swap a bit of hardwood for the shock. Its an 8mm hole you need at each end.

John, I rode my Sofrider yesterday after replacing the stock sprung damper with a length of hardwood dowel, for what I'd intended as a short test ride... and the ride ended up being
my normal 20+ mile workout!

It felt as if there was a light tailwind, especially pedaling up hills.
The power available was subtly increased;
I could actually feel the pulses going to the ground by the variation in ground speed.

My rear wheel has a rigid radial spoke lacing pattern and with the dowel in place of the suspension?
The rear view mirror was pretty blurry at times!
So was my vision... I can imagine that my eyeballs were vibrating in their orbits!

I liked the ride a lot, but feel that taking the edge off of the vibration would be welcome.
I'm thinking that incorporating rubber or polyurethane into the rear triangle is the way to go,
like the Silvio... or my old Norton motorcycle.
The Norton featured a rubber isolastic system, isolating the drivetrain from the frame.
It worked brilliantly.

-Steve

 

[MrSteve]

buyagain wrote: I'm 100 percent for as much suspension and correct dampening as I can get. I just wish I knew more about how to adjust to different rider weights.

The rule of thumb is to adjust the tension of the spring so that the bike sags down about an inch when you sit on it.
This way, the rider's weight preloads the suspension.
The preloaded suspension then is free to both soak up bumps by compressing the springs and is free to rebound.

buyagain wrote: There might be a design modification of the frame to allow a completely Isolated, suspended and dampening of the seat. There upon allowing for a hard tail (suspension cost savings) configuration. This would probably net out to be a mere swapping of expense problems though.

It would have to include a linkage, I think, otherwise the rubber between the frame and the seat pan(s) would absorb some pedaling energy as well as absorbing some road shock.

-Steve