Spektrum Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Well it's summer time which means i have the chance to practice for 2+ hours a day and i'm beginning to feel the wear and tear. I've only been riding for about a month on my fourplay (2 months riding trials) but two months of practicing catwalks (or so ryan leech calls them) and attempts at pedal kicks, has left my wrists and elbows very sore. I wanted to look into the chance of replacing my rigid echo fork with something more forgiving so i can continue to practice at the same pace. I know suspension forks are usually frowned upon because they usually waste energy when performing certain moves, yet i know there are people out there who use them. I plan on riding mostly street trials on my fourplay, no comps or anything. I was wondering if people could give me their experiences with suspension forks and/or recommend one for me to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshlyd1 Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 To be fair you might just be running your tyres a bit too hard Also you dont really need to spend money on new forks been as they do as you said waste energy but you could learn to loosen up on the bike and make it so you suck up what you do , you should be fineIf you were to have SUS forks it would make the front heavy and might even be even harder to pull the front end up ( depending on what you have )Also the waste money and energy You could ride it for longer you will get use to what the bike wants to do and therefore you will be smoother and there will be less even no painHope i have helped Josh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolver Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 If you really want suspension, you want a light fork like Marzocchi MX comp. I think they've been rereleased as the 22. You'll need to lower them ideally, to 80mm or lower.If your back end is heavy you won't notice having suspension, like on my bike when I tried it out, lol, but if its a light bike, it will feel strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simpson Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 You need to look seriously into your riding style if your doing catwalks and pedal hops and complaining about sore wrists and elbows, you sure your doing it right? Because its not unusual for a rider to ride for over 2 hours a day everyday. Are you sure its just not muscle ache where you are straining your muscles trying too hard?Personally I don't think sus is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psycholist Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Take the tyre pressure down on the front tyre and you get most of the benefits of suspension with no downsides (Unless they're so soft the tyres roll off the rims cornering or pinch flat). Part of the reason you're suffering is because it takes time to build the strength to stay stable on the bike without having your arms locked nearly straight, so things are guaranteed to feel harsh. Keep at it though - there's nothing like flat landing a set of steps, hearing horrible noises from the wheels on the landing and not even feeling it through your arms ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that NBR dude Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 It depends on what you are used to. If you are used to riding a nomal every day bike with sus, the first few rides on rigids will give you achey wrists. I had the same problem when I first started. The more you ride, the more you will loosen up and it will start to feel much more comfortable. Time is the key I think on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eep803 Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hi, this is an interesting topic for me. I came to trials from trail riding, I ride trails a lot, jumps, gnarly rocks n roots and have not arm or wrist problems, but I do have 4" of front sus. When I got my trials bike I went hell for leather on it doing 2+ hour sessions on street and ended up with big wrist problems. My physio mate reckons its the muscle insertion points which stabilise the wrists and that they just need a bit of R+R to settle down.I like the comments that it'll get easier on the body as I get smoother, I certainly felt like I was trying to tear the bike apart with uncoordinated movements when I started riding. Lets just hope its soon cos I've been a month off the trials bike and I'm gutted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psycholist Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 The good news is that you'll probably be better than you last were after doing nothing on the bike for a month unless you were injured and aren't fully recovered. When you're exercising pushing yourself as in trials, your muscles will get damaged by the loads put through them. This damage doesn't have a chance to repair if you don't rest every so often. This is why pretty much every training programme has rest days and why if you're off your bike for a while you generally ride better when you get back to it (Obviously if you're talking months or years out you'll lose fitness, but a week or two isn't an issue). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I had loads of aches and pains when I started riding, in my back/shoulders. It's just using muscle groups you're not used to using, plus trials is addictive so you don't stop when your body tells you to! They go away eventually though. I'm not sure sus forks are the answer - I don't think they'd help that much (if at all!), and they're expensive and heavy. I don't know if it's an American/non-British thing to want sus forks, but I knew you would be American just from reading the first post Having said that, I think Rowan Johns sometimes rides a 24 Ashton with some small-travel sus forks. At least that's what he was sat on in a picture in MBUK... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skoze Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I think it's a pretty cool idea (I'd LOVE sus forks on my 609) But they're heavy and will make the bb ridiculously high (it's +40 as standard i think) unless you ran them with a majorly short/ barely noticeable travel.Just take the time to get used to rigids, then experiment if you really can't live with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Having said that, I think Rowan Johns sometimes rides a 24 Ashton with some small-travel sus forks. At least that's what he was sat on in a picture in MBUK...That was probably Martyn's demo bike... Could be wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spektrum Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I was hoping to use the sus fork only while i was learning to absorb some of the force my elbows/wrists would have otherwise taken. I was going in with the intention of using a rigid fork as i progressed and learned how to take softer falls. Right now i've only been working on rear wheel hops working up to pedal kicks, so i dont spend too much time using my front wheel. As for weight i'm not too concerned with adding an additional 2 pounds as it wouldnt make a difference to me as a beginner. I was hoping for a cheap sus fork, preferably under $100 USD, however im not sure if they make sus forks that cheap (i assume they do) but i also dont want a piece of crap, or something over 5 or six pounds. I also go to physical therapy 3 times a week to work on my rotator cuff because of tennis, so i'm really trying to avoid further arm problems, but i will eventually be switching back to a rigid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 It doesn't sounds like your problems are due to heavy impacts though? More from posture/holding the bars? I wouldn't have thought you would want any extra weight up front. I'd concentrate on working out your riding position (I.e. alter the angle/position of the bars) and posture (E.g. when you backhop are your arms straight or bent? Try different things).As for forks, they only thing you'll get for under $100 is probably something second hand like Marzocchi DJ3s or something. They're not bad forks for the money - they're tough enough but they're heavy (6lbs ish). That was probably Martyn's demo bike... Could be wrong though.Yeah you might be right - I didn't think I'd seen Rowan using sus before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayshell Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) I had one with suspension for a bit. It rode ok but finding a fork is hard. It will either be 90lbs heavy or not stiff enough. Suspension companies only make forks for dh or xc, so finding a stiff lightweight fork is very hard to find but really easy to build. You will most likely have to modify a fork. Edited July 18, 2009 by sayshell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bob Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 lol why suspensionryan leech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 That stem... No wonder you didn't get on with the bike Clifford!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spektrum Posted July 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 lol, yeah i lowered the pressure in both my front and back quite a bit. I sometimes hit my rim when i hop on an edge or something. I figure most of my wrist/elbow problems are coming from putting my weight on them for longer periods of time. COMPRESSION ***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scary_jeff Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 (edited) Are your brake levers at the correct angle? I was riding a new bike the other day, and my wrists were getting uncomfortable. I turned the levers so that when I'm stood on the bike with finger on the brakes, the back of my hand formed a straight line with my forearm, and this helped a lot. You probably already did this, but I thought it worth mentioning. My levers are now pointing almost straight down but it seems to work for me. Edited July 19, 2009 by scary_jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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