Suspension Forks or not Suspension Forks, that is the question?



Shaun A

New Member
Aug 1, 2010
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Hi all

I'm about to start cycling for the first time and am trying to work out what bike to go for.
I live in a semi rural area with lots of bike paths, trails, off road options which I intend to make use of. However, the bike will mainly be ridden on the road for fitness and the off road stuff will be for occassional fun.
I'm looking at a Trek 7.0 FX or a Trek 7100. The latter has suspension forks and seat post and appears a bit more MTB looking. Would this be better suited to my needs or should I stick with my original choice of the trek 7.0 FX which doesn't have any suspension and appears to be more set up for road than off road?

Any help or advice gratefully received.

Many thanks
 
My wife's bike has the suspension forks and seat post and she loves it. It just feels to bounce on the road for me, I have only ridden hardtails or road bikes. If you are going to do 50/50 on and off road then the 7100 would be the better bike.
I would say go for the 7100 and get the fork setup right for you. I don't think the 7100 fork has a lock out option.
 
Hi Dave. Thanks for the reply.

I'm probably going to be about 70/30 in favour of road over off road which is why I'm probably favouring the FX over the 7100. However, my real concern is that the FX just won't be able to handle any off road, no matter how light - do you have an opinion on this?
I've also read that if you're on the heavy side the cheaper forks (as on 7100) will probably just bottom out anyway, thus making the forks pointless. I'm 14.5 stone (203 pounds) so this may be heavy enough to neutralize the forks and thus remove the only real benefit of the 7100 over the FX.
 
I have a Scott Sub30, which I mainly use to ride with the family. It is a hybrid that is main set up for the street. I have used it on light trails, but would not try a real off road trail with it.
What you have read about the cheaper froks is correct. This is problem with entry level bikes, big buck with no bang.
I would guess that the FX is on the same level as my Scott. If this is so I would say it will be good for smooth light trails.