HPVelo suspension upgrades - worth it?

[Mads Hilberg]

Does anyone here have any views on the suspension upgrades available for the HPVelotechnik
StreetMachine? There's the Carbon AC Meks fork and the ST8ARC rear suspension option.
Bentrideronline seemed to love the fork, but that was when a Ballistic was the standard (now it's a
Meks AII). However, I was told that they're not really worth the extra by the shop I will be buying
it from. Both these options cost about £95 each.

So now I'm confused. Is it worth getting both upgrades? Or just one of them? Or not at all? I can
afford it if it's worth it (ie noticably more comfortable), but I don't want to buy it just for the
street cred.

FWIW I have so far decided on the following spec: Tektro mechanical disc brakes, SON dynamo hub, 2
racks, XT/105 transmission, mudguards, airflow seat, kickstand, speedo mount.

I will be using the bike for extensive touring (months on end), mostly on normal roads, but
sometimes on dirt tracks/poor quality roads. I won't be carrying tons of stuff though - hopefully
well under 20kg of kit.

Mads

 

[Mikael Seierup]

"Mads Hilberg" skrev...
> FWIW I have so far decided on the following spec: Tektro mechanical disc brakes, SON dynamo hub, 2
> racks, XT/105 transmission, mudguards, airflow seat, kickstand, speedo mount.

What fork do you have on it now? I thought you had to get the Meks if you wanted discbrakes and
front suspension.

M

 

[Mads Hilberg]

> What fork do you have on it now? I thought you had to get the Meks if you wanted discbrakes and
> front suspension.

I don't have a bike yet. I'm ordering a complete StreetMachine from Kinetics.

In the past you did indeed have to order the Meks Carbon AC as the Ballistic fork doesn't support
disc brakes. But now the standard fork is a Meks Carbon AII which does support disc brakes. The
forks are almost the same, but the AC has adjustable hydraulic damping. Worth £95?

Also I wrote that the optional rear shock is the ST8ARC - it's not. It's the DNM AO22-AR.
Worth £92??

Mads