Rigid or suspension forks - off-road touring

[lae]

Hi all,

I'm building up an off-road expedition bike on the cheap, here's what I've got so far:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=230321

I'm off to the south island of New Zealand for a couple of years and I want to tour on the multitude of off-road tracks and trails. I'll be using bikepacking technique i.e. framebags, rather than traditional rack and panniers.

I'm thinking about suspension forks...
Pros:
More comfortable, especially on washboard tracks
More controllable on the really rough trails
More versatile - I could use the bike for 'proper' mountain biking when I'm not touring on it

Cons:
Heavier
More complicated
More money!

My frame has 1" threaded forks - other than cheap crap 'bankrupt' ones on ebay, what suspension forks are available? How much will they slacken the head tube angle? Will they cause undue stress on the headtube? I know only short travel forks will be available. I don't mind changing to 1" a-head.

Or if I want suspension forks, should I just get a different frame?

I chose the Muddyfox because the top-tube is relatively short for the size of the frame - allowing the bars to be high up and close. I find the top-tubes on most MTBs to be far too long for me - either I get a larger frame and I'm too stretched out, or I get a smaller frame and the bars are too low (even with sloping TT and high-rise stem).

 

[xerxes]

I think I'd stick with rigid forks, suspension forks on that frame would mess up the steering geometry and there's nothing to go wrong with rigid forks.

 

[secret_squirrel]

I'd maybe think about a set of rc35's. you could get a set of 2 for less than £200 max and they are user serviceable with just a couple of Allen keys and an incredibly simple design. Get your main set serviced by Tim (justbackdated) on here before you got or maybe ask him to build the 2 sets into 1 best of set.

The reason I am saying 2 sets and the only thing that makes me hesitate slightly is that I don't know how available they are down South.

However the pluses are that most parts are still available either from here, Tim or pace directly.

The other plus is that they have enough travel to soak up the rough stuff but not so much that is badly affects your geometry.

 

[lae]

Carbon fork legs on a touring bike? :shock:

I think I will leave the bike rigid. I'll keep an eye out for a steel frame with suspension forks and a relatively short toptube, but I'm not convinced that they exist.

 

[longun]

girvin flexstem, fit and forget imho

cheap, available and will not have you "wondering if" when riding.

forks are great but could be costly, hard to fix or maintain and too many moving parts for touring in my opinion.

 

[sylus]

This link might provide you with some insight on two things re touring bikes

suspension forks and disc brakes

http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/fullyloaded

 

[secret_squirrel]

Carbon fork legs on a touring bike? :shock:

The second you have sussers you have non-serviceable parts. You won't be any better off with alu legs for a trail side repair and from what you said if you are based down there anyway it's not like its going to be a trip to Peru.

RC35's were made for a good 5 years with no major issues that I'm aware of and they have continued to be raced and ran by a huge number of retro bikers.

So you are getting a set of dead simple forks with a 20 year history and a rich set of spare still available. I don't imagine there are many other candidates that can say all that.

Other than that go with the flex stem option - any sussers will always be a calculated risk. Although I don't recall that if the flex stems pivots fail - whether they are still usable.

 

[secret_squirrel]

On the subject of flex stems there was a similar product that used a paralleogram and steel spring arrangement that occasionally shows up NOS on here. It always looks like a brick shit house of a stem. It's probably the one of that type I would choose. Will try to find a link.

 

[lae]

RC35's were made for a good 5 years with no major issues that I'm aware of and they have continued to be raced and ran by a huge number of retro bikers.

Yes I suppose that is true. I am put off from any of the flexstem variations because they put the bars in a low/forward position. I have a Nitto Dirt Drop stem which makes the position really comfortable.

I will keep a lookout for some RC35s. What specialist tools are needed for servicing?

Another thing to note is that I'll need a steerer length of about 210mm.

 

[secret_squirrel]

You need a medium length 5 or 6mm Allen key (forget which size might even be a 7mm) to release the stantions bolts from the sliders. The rest is standard Allen keys.

The RC35's have replaceable steerer tubes but you should be able to get one that length fairly easily.