Front Suspension for *Mostly* Paved?

[FlyingPancreas]

Hi, I'm a Noob.

I'm not entirely new to cycling overall, but it's been so long since I've owned a bike - 20 years - so I might as well be new to it. In my youth, I did some fairly intensive touring. Now I am old and fat. Yay!

To get back into things - for fitness, fun, commuting - I've been looking at semi-cyclocross bikes in the approx. $1k USD range like the Trek CrossRip and Jamis Nova Sport, as well as hybrids with front suspension like the Trek DS 8.3 and Giant Roam 2.

I am currently leaning toward the hybrids, for a combination of price and practicality. I'm in Philadelphia and will be mostly commuting on mostly paved roads; however, many of the streets here are not kept up beautifully and I'd also like to have the option to ride hard dirt trails now and then. I'm also thinking that now that I am old and fat with an imperfect lower back, the more upright position of the hybrids might be a better re-intro to cycling for me than getting straight back into the slightly more aggressive positioning of the cyclocross rigs, despite the fact that all my long-past experience is with road bikes.

Some questions for you experienced folks:
-Is the suspension going to be a mistake for mostly city commuting? I've never had a bike with a front suspension on it before, so I'm wondering if I should suspect kind of a "mushy" pavement ride, even with the lockout engaged. Should I not be worried about this?

-More generally, does a hybrid of this type make sense in my situation? *Seems* like it does, but I wonder if I'm overlooking something.

-Any general opinions on Giant bikes? Any lovers? Haters? The Roam 2 looks pretty tasty to me in terms of bang for buck. Very, very similar to the Trek 8.3 DS in most details. Same price, etc. Wondering if Giant's customer support is decent.

Thanks!

 

[vspa]

you get customer support more at the bike shop where you decide to buy than from the brand you get really, also in the shop they will help you with bike fit, very important aspect of the purchase, front suspension in the city comes handy when you need to go often up and down the curb and/or road shoulders etc,

 

[FlyingPancreas]

Originally Posted by vspa .

you get customer support more at the bike shop where you decide to buy than from the brand you get really,
also in the shop they will help you with bike fit, very important aspect of the purchase,
front suspension in the city comes handy when you need to go often up and down the curb and/or road shoulders etc,

Good to know, thanks. That takes some of the brand worry out of the equation and kind of evens things out in that regard.

 

[Hillrider]

bend your knees and elbows and stand off the seat, no need for front suspension on the road

 

[OldTimer79]

I would agree suspension fork not needed and adds weight. My Trek 7.3 does not have one and it's very comfortable. But then again I am not riding on really rough trails either.

 

[FlyingPancreas]

Thanks for the input.

I'll have to pull the trigger on something soon but I'm still kind of torn on the whole suspension thing. I don't really see myself doing much in the way of curb-jumping. Just getting from A to B in Philly, mostly. And on the weekends maybe hitting some trails (most of which seem to be very tame here, if I can go by written reviews). I'm inclined to think that since I am currently bikeless, I'll probably be thrilled to have whatever I end up getting. Bike > No Bike. I'll just have to try some stuff out.