Author Topic: rigid or not on the great divide?  (Read 7597 times)

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Offline Souc

rigid or not on the great divide?
« on: April 06, 2013, 03:23:59 pm »
Greetings,

I am interested in hearing from anyone that has ridden all or part of the GDMBR.  My son and I are planning on a GDMBR tour, fully-loaded / self-contained, riding steel 29ers.  I am wondering how tough on my 55 year-old body it would be to ride a rigid fork (2.4 tires) instead of a front suspension fork?

Thanks,
Dave

Offline pmac

Re: rigid or not on the great divide?
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2013, 01:49:59 pm »
I did a section of the GD last summer and will do some more this summer on a hardtail 29er.  My advice is to get a suspension fork that you can lock out.  I think you will appreciate having a little give on the washboard roads and rocks.  When things get smooth you can also lock out the suspension. 

Offline Souc

Re: rigid or not on the great divide?
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2013, 09:50:28 pm »
Thanks for your reply.  I am kinda leaning towards a front suspension fork.

I do like the low-cost, simplicity, and front rack options of a rigid fork, but I a definitely worried about wear and tear on my arms and hands.

Offline newfydog

Re: rigid or not on the great divide?
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2013, 02:52:47 am »
I use a suspension fork but find it they are not so effective on washboards. They are just too slow in responding.

One of the top Great Divide racers claims a springy ridged fork ( I know, oxymoron) is better.

I had a suspension stem back in the day which definitely did more to smooth washboards than the fork.

If you go with a fork get one which lets you set the dampening very light.