[Hulkamaniac]

I'm currently looking around trying to plan/decide what I will be on for next season.......gotta set the goal now, otherwise I just spend on other items all winter long, like skis! Anyways, I have a few different frames in mind, but I am wondering how easy it will be to attain the proper spring rate/weights with each design. For example, one of the bikes I am considering is a Chumba F4. At 245-250 lbs, would I be able to achieve the proper suspension setup (ie, spring weight, sag, etc) without going into expensive realms of tuning like ti spring, custom valving, etc? Do any specific designs lend themselves to fat guys better than others in terms of suspension setup??? Is an FSR design good for a fat guy???

I currently ride a Giant dh team w/ a Romic and 550lb spring. While I very rarely bottom out (or I just don't feel it!), it just feels like the bike rides to far into it's travel. The next step is a 650lb ti spring, but I don't have the fundage to make that happen right now so I am riding it as is until the season is over.

So, are there any suspension designs that just work better for big guys........single pivot, FSR, other linkage designs??????

 

[profro]

Not that I am a big guy, but from my personal experience, I had a Dirtworks Piranha that when set with the correct sag, it seemed to ride too high in the travel and as a result it never seemed to use all of its travel. So when I made it softer it seemed to use the proper amount of travel but seemed slugish and overly squishie. Now I am on a Yeti DH9 and with the proper sag the bike is spot on. I use all the travel in a very controled manner. I don't know if its the design or Swinger or both, but the DH9 is a solid bike that made me lots faster. Too bad they are out of production, maybe you can find a good one used. Heaven knows they can take years of abuse. Or maybe you can wait for the new Yeti DH bike due this fall/winter/spring.

 

[neversummersnow]

DISCLAIMER--I am a C-dale rider--

I say the Gemini DH is a good ticket for bigger guys because of the unuasually low leverage ratio and simplicity of the frame. I weigh 200 lbs and run a 300 lbs spring on my Swinger.

Also, the new Ironhorse DH bike would seem to also have good traits for bigger guys. Stiff, and according to DW you run an extremly light spring due to the design. I sure would like to see how they ride!

 

[llkoolkeg]

All I can say is that Banshees set up with leverage at or less than 3:1 work just great for the ample of ass. The jumps I was doing on the pipe run in the 'shed the last couple weeks knocked my handbuilt DHR wheels all out of true and made all my joints hurt...well, at least until their suffering was eased by other joints. Obviously, I am not a hucker like you, though. The pressure I put on a frame is due less to feats of fearlessness and more to feats of beer consumption.

 

[RhinofromWA]

All I can say is that Banshees set up with leverage at or less than 3:1 work just great for the ample of ass. The jumps I was doing on the pipe run in the 'shed the last couple weeks knocked my handbuilt DHR wheels all out of true and made all my joints hurt...well, at least until their suffering was eased by other joints. Obviously, I am not a hucker like you, though. The pressure I put on a frame is due less to feats of fearlessness and more to feats of beer consumption.

What travel does the Banshee get with a low ratio? I thought they teatored on the high end of leverage ratios....

Rhino

 

[Toshi]

from the banshee site, 5.4" is the low travel option. 5.4 / 2.25 stroke = 2.4 ratio.

http://www.bansheebikes.com/bike-scream.html

 

[RhinofromWA]

from the banshee site, 5.4" is the low travel option. 5.4 / 2.25 stroke = 2.4 ratio.

http://www.bansheebikes.com/bike-scream.html

I thought Oly was having trouble springing it well for himself....he is not light but he aint Rhino-sized either

 

[Toshi]

heh, that's only at the low travel setting. high travel is 7.9" which makes for a rather horrid 3.5:1 ratio.

 

[Repack]

I am currently an honnest 220, but previously weighed much more. I would say stay away from pure single pivot bikes. They are much better suited to lighter and/or smoother riders. I have owned them and they just don't work as well as a linkage bike. I say 'pure single pivot' so as not to include single bikes with linkages such as the Giant.
If you are heavier, I would say that it is worth while to get a bike with more neutral braking, such as an FSR. I know that neutral braking is a preference thing, but when you are heavy, it take smore to slow you down, and you do notice the difference.
I now ride a 5e M1, but have also spent 2 years each on a Specialized S-Works DH (white bike) and Foes DHS. The FSR's deffinately handled my ass better than the Foes.

 

[Islandmudpuppy]

I am 260 and just bought a transition Dirtbag, have not ridden it yet...but have heard great things. I would just get something solid with a good warranty. Stay away from SPV/pro pedal/5th elament valving as I hear if gets overloaded mighty quick with big guys and just does not work. If you are really serious you can send your shock to have it custom valved (I may end up dong this...well see.). If you have a FOX RC send it and get it pushed...or if you have a Romic dend it in to them and they will set it up to your weight/bike/style of riding. I hear it makes a HUGE difference.

 

[thaflyinfatman]

The IH dw-link bike gets 8" of travel from a 3" stroke shock, so you've got a fairly low ratio there. I think Turners are similar, 3" stroke shock and 8.5" travel or something? Either way, it means you can use lighter spring weights than you usually would on a higher-ratio bike.

 

[llkoolkeg]

heh, that's only at the low travel setting. high travel is 7.9" which makes for a rather horrid 3.5:1 ratio.

I prefer the middle travel setting for my '02 Scream. 6.7" w/2.25" stroke gives a 3:1 ratio that matches up very well with the '02 Monster T(which also gets just under 7" of beefy positive travel). It feels downright ink:ish.

 

[llkoolkeg]

Another little tidbit for those expressing concern over springing a bike- there is a lot more going on than spring rate in determining whether or not you will be able to easily find a spring for a particular shock(on a particular bike) that matches your weight. For example, it may be easier to find a 1000# 2" stroke spring than to find a 600# 3" stroke spring because of shock housing and coil gauge clearance issues. In some applications, big guys have had trouble getting avys for their sleds because the only spring big enough to support them is the thickest gauge Ti one...a cost prohibitive issue for some.

 

[caboverpete]

I always love these threads "What bike should I get?" "What bike would be best?" "Bike suggestions".... you may as well just reword it to say "What kind of bike do you ride?" ... youll get the same answer.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

I always love these threads "What bike should I get?" "What bike would be best?" "Bike suggestions".... you may as well just reword it to say "What kind of bike do you ride?" ... youll get the same answer.

Umm, if you actually read the original post, I'm not asking what bike should I get. What I am asking is what suspension designs work and/or don't work particularly well for bigger guys (ie, more than 200 lbs).

 

[caboverpete]

well um if you read the replys its still the same... mostly people telling you what bike to get.

 

[kidwoo]

I would say the opposite of repack's suggestion but for a different reason. He's right that a horst link design is a more active one in most situations but they also flex quite a bit. To me, lateral stiffness in some of the better designed single pivots would be better for steering around a bigger rider.

In any case, the lower leverage bikes of any design will be more desirable. With lower leverages come lower spring rates and hence less stress on the damping system of your shock. Foes bikes come to mind because of their low leverages and redicuously stiff frames. Stay away from Karpiels and pre 04 V10s for the same reason. I don't know what strokes the newer v10s have.

 

[Toshi]

well um if you read the replys its still the same... mostly people telling you what bike to get.

and his point is that asking or telling what bike to get is not unreasonable, given that he provided useful criteria to filter the choices.

 

[Racerx7734]

Umm, if you actually read the original post, I'm not asking what bike should I get. What I am asking is what suspension designs work and/or don't work particularly well for bigger guys (ie, more than 200 lbs).

I weigh 220 lbs and ride a Banshee scream set at 8" and use a Avy rear end with a Ti 700 lb spring and the thing is absolutley amazing.

 

[Repack]

I would say the opposite of repack's suggestion....

Thats cool, but having owned and ridden both, I feel that the benefits of a linkage bike far outway a single pivot. I have an M1 and my gf has an IH SGS Pro. They aree both based on FSR. She has a 165mm ta rear end, I have a 135mm XT hub with a solid axle. My frame is FAR stiffer than hers. It is not just the suspension type, but how the frame is put together. I find that I blow through the travel of a single pivot if I am not smooth enough, whereas my M1 will be much more forgiving.
But, if I weighed 150# instead of 220#, I would be looking into something like an Orange 223.
One thing to think about is that most of the better quality single pivots have fairly long swingarms to keep the wheelbase constant. This means that the more you are over the back, the more leverage you are ptting on the shock. While single pivots are lighter and stiffer, they are less forgiving. The unforgiving part is magnified if you are a big guy.
Holy s* I need to go to bed. I guess that this is what I get for checking my email after an evening of partying.

 

[Repack]

I fogot to say that I run a 550# spring on my M1. Its Ti if you think that makes any difference.

 

[kidwoo]

I find that I blow through the travel of a single pivot if I am not smooth enough, whereas my M1 will be much more forgiving.
But, if I weighed 150# instead of 220#, I would be looking into something like an Orange 223.
One thing to think about is that most of the better quality single pivots have fairly long swingarms to keep the wheelbase constant. This means that the more you are over the back, the more leverage you are ptting on the shock. While single pivots are lighter and stiffer, they are less forgiving. The unforgiving part is magnified if you are a big guy.
Holy s* I need to go to bed. I guess that this is what I get for checking my email after an evening of partying.

Blowing through travel has much more to do with the progression rate of the suspension design than whether or not it's 4-bar or single pivot. That's something completely independent of suspension "type" and any design can be tweaked to be more or less progressive. I've still never hit the bottom of my turner dhr but have on my fsr norco.

And there's no way you can have a single pivot that doesn't change wheelbase. It's just a rotating line between 1 pivot point and the axle. FSRs have the benifit of an almost vertical axle path at the beginning of their travel which is minor but is where all the FSR hooplah about pedaling and braking comes from. But FSRs don't inherently have more drastically changing axle paths. Again that's something that's tweaked by each frame designer working with variations. Leaning back puts more leverage on any bike.

I kind of hold as the high point of single pivot behavior the Foes dhs. It's got very little if any brake interaction or pedal bob like the best 4 bars and is stiffer than any fsr that I know of. The suspension on that bike feels as plush to me as any other design.

good night. Sweet dreams