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Best rear suspension design

P

Pogstar

Chimp
Aug 23, 2006
9
0
What do you guys think is the best rear suspension design for a general freeride bike. The FSR style like on specialized and norco bikes, or the DW link, 4 bar style on kona'a, giant ac's, and iron horse 7 point series.



what are some ove the up's and downs of both.
 
hungryleprican

hungryleprican

Turbo Monkey
Jun 15, 2006
1,970
0
ndub
ironhorse 7point is dw.. but I like the dw link, even though Iv'e never ridden a 7point, I have a sunday and I'm sure it's not too different
 
K

klunky

Turbo Monkey
Oct 17, 2003
1,078
6
Scotland
In terms of reliability I would say pivotless suspension such as the old Trek STP.


This design also does not suffer fro many brake induced problems and pedals well.
It has been suggested that Iron horse are looking to incorporate this design into a more DH and double black diamond style of frame.
I cant wait!
 
ÆX

ÆX

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
4,920
17
NM
Pogstar said:
What do you guys think is the best rear suspension design for a general freeride bike. The FSR style like on specialized and norco bikes, or the DW link, 4 bar style on kona'a, giant ac's, and iron horse 7 point series.



what are some ove the up's and downs of both.
Click to expand...

you are in the wrong forum:rolleyes:
 
jcook90

jcook90

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2006
1,211
1
Connecticut
Horst/FSR links dont have brakejack cuz of how theyr designed (vertical rearwheel travel=no brake jack). i have a bighit now and its nice. it makes alot of noise tho when i freeride
 
PatBranch

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
When you go over rough terrain or drop offs from cliff sides, you have to crouch/stand on the seat. Despite that, it's the best downhill suspension ever.
 
xy9ine

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
mtnbrider said:
When you go over rough terrain or drop offs from cliff sides, you have to crouch/stand on the seat. Despite that, it's the best downhill suspension ever.
Click to expand...
indeed. taking the feet off the pedals completely enables the full effectiveness of the suspension to be unleashed.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,073
5,986
borcester rhymes
unleashed onto your nuts.

man, i feel like such an old fart hearing people talk about "i've seen one of those once." It's hard for me to imagine not growing up with those crappy bikes flying around...I'm guilty too though, I once fell in love with a y-22!

The best design IMO is a lawill or properly executed single pivot. Application guides the design though, if you're super anal, you buy a bike with a rising rate linkage and anti jack devices...if you're a racer, you get an orange or a dhr. I don't think anything matches the versatility of the SP, aside from the lawill, which nobody does right :(
 
B

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
It's all about the URT and the GF Joshua...the uber-huck machine. No brake jack, active suspension, supple under power, it even wrote my Masters thesis paper FOUR YEARS EARLY.

 
black noise

black noise

Turbo Monkey
Dec 31, 2004
1,032
0
Santa Cruz
I think the second one is just a botched stoppie that you were falling forward on, and you put your feet out to catch yourself. Then you told all your friends that you meant to do that.
 
D

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
The realization that I've come to lately is that it isn't about making the best suspension system out there with the greatest list of positives, its making one wiht the least amount of negatives.

I have never tried a DW link so I can't comment on those, but I'd say happily that FSR is the best system devised yet. When done correctly (like specialized does) it just works so damn well.
 
stgil888

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
A year ago I would have said FSR without a doubt. Since then I've owned a single pivot (I realize the execution of a single pivot can change everything) and a stubby four-bar (Giant Maestro system). Using a Fox Vanilla RC as the shock to make the competition more even, I would say that the Maestro system works somewhat better--but this is highly dependant on a number of other factors. The FSR's I've ridden (Iron Horse SGS DH, Specialized BigHit DH and Enduro) have been the most active and comfortable. They have had predictable ramp up, smooth mid stroke, and that nice, soft stick-to-the-ground feeling. The single pivot (Cannondale Gemini DH) was the quickest feeling but in fact didn't pedal any easier than the others. It was predictable and easy to manual despite the high BB and longish CS though. The Giant Glory's Maestro system is well executed and benefits from it's fundamentally stiff design. Those short stubby links make for a stiff back end. The bike brakes very neutrally, and pedals surprisingly well. It has never been as "squishy" as the FSR bikes, but it gets the job done.
 
bdamschen

bdamschen

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2005
3,377
156
Spreckels, CA
I'll see your slingshot, and raise you a softride.












....ok, I'm just jealous that someone thought of the slingshot first. EDIT: crap, and the softride too
 
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