3 ms·

You can absolutely make arguments that bicycle design is unoptimized. Why use front forks when they have so many problems? https://www.revzilla.com/common-trea

You can absolutely make arguments that bicycle design is unoptimized. Why use front forks when they have so many problems? https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-are-there-no-alternatives-to-the-telescopic-fork-front-suspension https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-are-there-no-alter... Why haven't recumbent bicycles taken over the road bike market despite many advantages (hint: It has to do with what kinds of traffic we prioritize in cities) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle#Compared_to_uprights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle#Compared_to_...

notatoad 7y ago
people have been trying to make linkage forks a thing since forever ago, and it never pans out. For all the claims that telescoping suspension isn't very good, there's still nothing better.
Grustaf 7y ago
I don’t get it, front forks seem very optimal to me. Could hardly be any simpler.
- dharmab 7y ago
  They're simple, but from the article: > The main problem with conventional forks is that they can’t separate bump forces from braking forces. > As a result, a conventional fork dives under hard braking. As weight’s transferred to the front wheel, the fork springs compress. This uses up fork travel that would otherwise be available for bumps, which is bad enough. But wait, it gets worse... > Brake dive also shortens the wheelbase and changes the rake angle. In a perfect world, engineers would certainly rather not change those parameters in mid-corner! This makes braking mid-corner a risky proposition, which leads to accidents when riders encounter surprises mid-corner. In the motorcycling world this is being worked around by computers, so we're not likely to see an alternate front suspension, unfortunately. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRWg91hv-M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRWg91hv-M
  - Grustaf 7y ago
    This seems like it’s talking about front forks with suspension though? Only mountain bikes have that, and in the terrain they are made for it works well. On the road mountainbikes are terrible in numerous ways.

notatoad 7y ago

people have been trying to make linkage forks a thing since forever ago, and it never pans out. For all the claims that telescoping suspension isn't very good, there's still nothing better.

Grustaf 7y ago

I don’t get it, front forks seem very optimal to me. Could hardly be any simpler.

dharmab 7y ago
They're simple, but from the article: > The main problem with conventional forks is that they can’t separate bump forces from braking forces. > As a result, a conventional fork dives under hard braking. As weight’s transferred to the front wheel, the fork springs compress. This uses up fork travel that would otherwise be available for bumps, which is bad enough. But wait, it gets worse... > Brake dive also shortens the wheelbase and changes the rake angle. In a perfect world, engineers would certainly rather not change those parameters in mid-corner! This makes braking mid-corner a risky proposition, which leads to accidents when riders encounter surprises mid-corner. In the motorcycling world this is being worked around by computers, so we're not likely to see an alternate front suspension, unfortunately. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRWg91hv-M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRWg91hv-M
- Grustaf 7y ago
  This seems like it’s talking about front forks with suspension though? Only mountain bikes have that, and in the terrain they are made for it works well. On the road mountainbikes are terrible in numerous ways.