Rear suspension on a touring bike

[Mark Weber]

Hi everyone, In my search for a used touring bike I have found one that is almost brand new for
about $400. The only issue I have with it is that the seller says it has a rear suspension. Is this
something desireable on a touring bike? How reliable is something like that and would anyone have
any qualms about taking a three week trip with a rear suspension? Is there any way to switch it out
for fixed parts?

Thank you, Mark Weber

 

[Ny Rides]

I'm not a fan of rear suspension in general. That aside, I'd say mounting a rear rack on the bike
you're talking about might be a problem.

--
Low-Impact Rides In The LI/NY Area www.geocities.com/NYRides "Mark Weber" <[email protected]> wrote
in message news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone, In my search for a used touring bike I have found one that is almost brand new for
> about $400. The only issue I have with it is that the seller says it has a rear suspension. Is
> this something desireable on a touring bike? How reliable is something like that and would anyone
> have any qualms about taking a three week trip with a rear suspension? Is there any way to switch
> it out for fixed parts?
>
> Thank you, Mark Weber

 

[Paul Southworth]

In article <[email protected]>, Mark Weber <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi everyone, In my search for a used touring bike I have found one that is almost brand new for
>about $400. The only issue I have with it is that the seller says it has a rear suspension. Is this
>something desireable on a touring bike? How reliable is something like that and would anyone have
>any qualms about taking a three week trip with a rear suspension? Is there any way to switch it out
>for fixed parts?

These questions depend a lot on the details - what is the bike (make/model), and what kind of
suspension is on it? $400 is rather too cheap for a good quality suspension system and poor quality
suspension is worse than none in terms of both reliability and function.

You don't generally find suspension on diamond-frame touring bikes. Touring bikes generally get
their suspension from fatter tires. But if that was my bike I wouldn't let it stop me from making a
trip if I thought the suspension system would hold up. People do tour on recumbent bikes with rear
suspension all the time. If I wanted rear suspension on a touring bike I would get a rigid bike and
use a thudbuster or similar device that would not interfere with the load-carrying purpose of a
touring bike or require me to adjust the suspension as my load changes during the trip.

--Paul

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>
>Hi everyone, In my search for a used touring bike I have found one that is almost brand new for
>about $400. The only issue I have with it is that the seller says it has a rear suspension. Is this
>something desireable on a touring bike? How reliable is something like that and would anyone have
>any qualms about taking a three week trip with a rear suspension? Is there any way to switch it out
>for fixed parts?

It might be that the bike has a suspension seatpost. Ask for a picture of the bike.
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

 

[Mark Freedman]

[email protected] (Mark Weber) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> In my search for a used touring bike I have found one that is almost
> brand new for about $400. The only issue I have with it is that the
> seller says it has a rear suspension. Is this something desireable on

If you post make / model people may be able to comment.

The only "touring" bike I could think of with "suspension" would be a SoftRide(tm) which has the
saddle on a rail which flexes.

You can get a rear rack which mounts to the seatpost, for light loads.

Still, it's something else to break, and you might find a Trek 520 or other touring bike for that
kind of money. Or buy an ATB with no suspension, add bar extensions for extra position(s), and
spend the money you save for nice rack, panniers, clothes, tools, etc.

> a touring bike? How reliable is something like that and would anyone have any qualms about taking
> a three week trip with a rear suspension? Is there any way to switch it out for fixed parts?
>
> Thank you, Mark Weber