RANS Vivo fork options...

I've been riding a 2002 Vivo for 10 months now and am satisfied with my current setup except for the
pronounced "nose bob" that occurs when cranking up a hill. Since 99.9% of my riding is on hard
surface roads, I'm thinking about other fork options. One thought was to try a standard unsuspended
fork as used on the Rocket. The other option was to try a suspended fork, such as a MEKS, that has
some sort of damping action, but that's a rather expensive experiment. Has anyone else experimented
with other forks on this bike and what would you suggest?

FS in Angier, NC

 

Floyd: I use the MEKS and it is great, but I can understand if you think it is to expensive. Two
things to try short of replacing your fork, one, work on a smother pedal stroke, and, two, if the
fork used on the 2002 has a preload adj. try tighten it up a bit, with a high preload the shock will
not work as well for small bumps but will still soak up the potholes you don't see.

Mark

"Floyd Sense" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been riding a 2002 Vivo for 10 months now and am satisfied with my current setup except for
> the pronounced "nose bob" that occurs when
cranking
> up a hill. Since 99.9% of my riding is on hard surface roads, I'm
thinking
> about other fork options. One thought was to try a standard unsuspended fork as used on the
> Rocket. The other option was to try a suspended fork, such as a MEKS, that has some sort of
> damping action, but that's a rather expensive experiment. Has anyone else experimented with other
> forks on
this
> bike and what would you suggest?
>
> FS in Angier, NC

 

Are you using the MEKS on a Vivo, and if so, do you have any "nose bob" at all? Did you have any
before going to the MEKS? The RST fork used on the 2002 Vivo is apparently not bad for a 130 lb.
person. I'm 195 and have the stiffest springs in the fork, but it's still too soft (maybe not for
off-road riding). There is no pre-load adjustment on this fork and no damping mechanism at all. I
suppose I could obtain some additional pieces of the elastomer rods used in the fork and stuff those
in, limiting the compression of the springs that way.

"Mark Evans" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Floyd: I use the MEKS and it is great, but I can understand if you think it is to expensive. Two
> things to try short of replacing your fork, one, work on a smother
pedal
> stroke, and, two, if the fork used on the 2002 has a preload adj. try tighten it up a bit, with a
> high preload the shock will not work as well
for
> small bumps but will still soak up the potholes you don't see.
>
> Mark
>
>
> "Floyd Sense" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I've been riding a 2002 Vivo for 10 months now and am satisfied with my current setup except for
> > the pronounced "nose bob" that occurs when
> cranking
> > up a hill. Since 99.9% of my riding is on hard surface roads, I'm
> thinking
> > about other fork options. One thought was to try a standard unsuspended fork as used on the
> > Rocket. The other option was to try a suspended
fork,
> > such as a MEKS, that has some sort of damping action, but that's a
rather
> > expensive experiment. Has anyone else experimented with other forks on
> this
> > bike and what would you suggest?
> >
> > FS in Angier, NC
> >
> >

 

Floyd, The combo that I like on a VIVO is a Pantour front and stock rear. The older VIVO with the
Cane Creek AD-5 and the Ballistic fork was in my opinion superior to the current one. However the
latter was close to 2K vice what $1395? for the one you have. I have ridden a VIVO with a ROCKET
fork up front with and without a Pantour. The Pantour smoothed out the frontend on fast downhills
and the frontend pogo was gone on climbs. I guess if the roads I ride on were bad I'd give more
thought to suspended bents.
--
Jude....///Bacchetta AERO St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.. Maryland Wheel Doctor Cycle and Sports,
Inc 1-800-586-6645 "Floyd Sense" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Are you using the MEKS on a Vivo, and if so, do you have any "nose bob" at all? Did you have any
> before going to the MEKS? The RST fork used on the 2002 Vivo is apparently not bad for a 130 lb.
> person. I'm 195 and have
the
> stiffest springs in the fork, but it's still too soft (maybe not for off-road riding). There is no
> pre-load adjustment on this fork and no damping mechanism at all. I suppose I could obtain some
> additional pieces of the elastomer rods used in the fork and stuff those in, limiting the
> compression of the springs that way.
>
>
> "Mark Evans" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Floyd: I use the MEKS and it is great, but I can understand if you think it is
to
> > expensive. Two things to try short of replacing your fork, one, work on a smother
> pedal
> > stroke, and, two, if the fork used on the 2002 has a preload adj. try tighten it up a bit, with
> > a high preload the shock will not work as well
> for
> > small bumps but will still soak up the potholes you don't see.
> >
> > Mark
> >
> >
> > "Floyd Sense" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > I've been riding a 2002 Vivo for 10 months now and am satisfied with
my
> > > current setup except for the pronounced "nose bob" that occurs when
> > cranking
> > > up a hill. Since 99.9% of my riding is on hard surface roads, I'm
> > thinking
> > > about other fork options. One thought was to try a standard
unsuspended
> > > fork as used on the Rocket. The other option was to try a suspended
> fork,
> > > such as a MEKS, that has some sort of damping action, but that's a
> rather
> > > expensive experiment. Has anyone else experimented with other forks
on
> > this
> > > bike and what would you suggest?
> > >
> > > FS in Angier, NC
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>

 

"Floyd Sense" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I've been riding a 2002 Vivo for 10 months now and am satisfied with my current setup except for
> the pronounced "nose bob" that occurs when cranking up a hill. Since 99.9% of my riding is on hard
> surface roads, I'm thinking about other fork options. One thought was to try a standard
> unsuspended fork as used on the Rocket. The other option was to try a suspended fork, such as a
> MEKS, that has some sort of damping action, but that's a rather expensive experiment. Has anyone
> else experimented with other forks on this bike and what would you suggest?
>
> FS in Angier, NC

For the type of riding you do, I would seriously consider a rigid fork with Pantour hub. You could
try the rigid fork by itself first with Pantour as a fallback option, if you still want some front
suspension.

Personally I have found the Pantour front hub on my Vision 54 to be a wonderful match. Less weight,
no noticeable energy loss, stabile on curves over rough pavement, a bit more aero than the
Ballistic fork.