# Why no suspension forks on gravel bikes?



## jetski (May 22, 2018)

Hi, why are there usually no suspension forks on gravel bikes? Wouldn't it make sense? Especially if there is a way to lock the suspension on paved roads?


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## RAKC Ind (Jan 27, 2017)

Same reason they are rare on CX bikes. Weight and aerodynamics. 

Add suspension forks you have a drop bar mountain bike (not a bad idea for a gravel bike for the gravel roads here). Some ultralight low travel xc fork maybe.

But look at most of them, their road bikes with tires that actually have tread. Yes I know there are Geo differences but basically a wider tired road bike.

Why not get a 29er xc hardtail and switch to drop bars. Might be a rather nice gravel set up.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Gravel suspension forks exist. Fox, Lauf, Cannondale (and probably more) all make them.

Some riders use them, but the riders aren't really, truly, demanding them. I'd say a large part of it appears to depend on exactly what surfaces you're riding. If your gravel roads are mostly somewhat smooth and well-packed, it seems like demand for suspension forks for these surfaces is very low. If your gravel roads tend to be more ugly and rugged, then there's a bit of demand for gravel suspension.

Also if you tend to venture onto singletrack, I can see a demand for a gravel suspension fork.

It seems to be a rather nichey product. Nothing wrong with that, but I just don't see them being prevalent. Around me, the gravel tends to be pretty smooth and well-packed for the most part. I ride a lot of it as a major component of the climbing on my rides, with singletrack on most of the descents. So I pretty much ride gravel on my mtb. That said, if I wanted to do some different sorts of rides that were pavement/gravel mix instead of gravel/singletrack mix, I have a bike that handles that sort of terrain well. I have no desire to put a suspension fork on it (and with the 34mm headtube, I probably couldn't put most of the forks out there onto it, anyway).


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## life behind bars (May 24, 2014)

They have them, expect Niner to release one sometime soon. Lauf has a short travel fork with carbon construction and no damper.


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

Basically as RAKC Ind said.

Maybe if gravelbikes were restricted to CX size tyres there would be some case for suspension, but I haven't seen a gravel road that couldn't be handled with a higher volume tyre on a gravel bike rather than suspension.

For a bike aimed at the offroad venturers rather than the racers, it would just add unnecessary weight and expense.


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## Geralt (Jul 11, 2012)

Some models of the Specialized Diverge have a type of front suspension, but it's not like a traditional suspension fork.

One of my bikes _was_ a hardtail XC mountain bike. I use it for rougher gravel roads, but even on those I didn't feel like I needed a suspension fork, so I switched it out for a rigid carbon fork.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

My gravel bike on 40c tires is nearly as comfortable as my mountain bike on the same ride with front suspension but the gravel bike is a lot lighter and I don't get any pedal bob on the climbs. I don't see the need for suspension on gravel.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

With a bit of development, eventually you might invent the hard-tail mountain bike ;0)


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## blizzardpapa (Jan 19, 2004)

because gravel bikes are not hard tail mountain bikes.


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## ddoh (Jan 11, 2017)

The Cannondale gravel lefty is very light and I think someone may have won Dirty Kanza using one. I hit some rough gravel roads that bounce me around enough that I'd consider a suspension fork.


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## j102 (Jan 14, 2018)

Gravel bikes are great. But if you need suspension, might as well use a Hardtail as your Gravel bike.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

I've seen some with Lauf forks.


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## Walt Disney's Frozen Head (Jan 9, 2008)

I have a lauf grit. Was skeptical at first but have come around to it. 

At first it felt like a flat tire but nowadays I don't really notice it. Since you're primarily travelling in a fairly straight line and not sending it off consecutive 4ft drops I don't feel that dampening is really necessary. It's a little flexy side to side (but I'm 6'2" ~185#) and I think that results in a little brake rub if you really rail a corner but otherwise I'm fairly impressed. Really takes the edge off the washboardy stuff. Wouldn't mind trying the new fox AX but not enough to pay for one.

Biggest drawbacks on the Lauf fork (IMO) are the lack of mounts of any kind (fender, anything cage, pannier... ..etc.), flat mount brake and bolt on thru-axle.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Careful chimps, it's a slippery slope. First it's a suspension fork, then it'll be 'You know what, fatter tyres would really help here' and before you know it you'll be riding a nineties mountain bike!


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## blizzardpapa (Jan 19, 2004)

I just looked at the Spec of the AX fork and it reminds me of the Rock Shox Mag 21 that I used in the 90's.


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## blizzardpapa (Jan 19, 2004)

Mr Pig said:


> Careful chimps, it's a slippery slope. First it's a suspension fork, then it'll be 'You know what, fatter tyres would really help here' and before you know it you'll be riding a nineties mountain bike!


and we used to ride 1.95 tires in the 90's... 2.2 was considered as big DH tires


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## Legbacon (Jan 20, 2004)

If you are just grinding away on gravel roads, what's the point of wearing out an expensive fork? Extra complexity, service, and $$ when a decent sized tire will do.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

Niner is working on a full suspension gravel bike as well.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

ddoh said:


> The Cannondale gravel lefty is very light and I think someone may have won Dirty Kanza using one. I hit some rough gravel roads that bounce me around enough that I'd consider a suspension fork.


Yeah...but he was a pro road cyclist too. So he would have won on pretty much any bike he rode.


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

Mr Pig said:


> Careful chimps, it's a slippery slope. First it's a suspension fork, then it'll be 'You know what, fatter tyres would really help here' and before you know it you'll be riding a nineties mountain bike!


They were pretty close to ideal gravel bikes except for their dwarf wheels.


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## gravelynp (Aug 28, 2009)

650b x 40c tires, 30mm Lefty suspension. Gearing adjusted from stock to tackle my local terrain. I'm not a pro, but it works for me


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Today I took a short-cut along a beach path on the island of Bute. First time I've ridden the path on my road bike, hard-tail previously. Yeah, I could still ride it but let's not kid ourselves. As soon as you leave the tarmac wider tyres and a bit of suspension is better.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

Cause it interferes with the aesthetics of the racing machine...


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## ddoh (Jan 11, 2017)

Sage of the Sage said:


> Cause it interferes with the aesthetics of the racing machine...


https://bikerumor.com/2017/07/31/pr...a-200-cannondale-slate-winner-alison-tetrick/


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## tp4surfncycle (Feb 12, 2019)

Velobike said:


> They were pretty close to ideal gravel bikes except for their dwarf wheels.


This '96 Parkpre 825 Pro is headed in that direction. Stage 2 of this low-cost build will include dirt drops and 9-speed drive train. Here in SoCal we have to substitute mountain fire roads for gravel. Steep, rutted, adobe clay cement-like surface will beat you to death on the decent.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

I like that they don't. I like the relatively small tires too. 

It makes it a different sport. Add a fork, a dropper, 2.35 tires to a gravel bike and you have mountain biking. Thats cool and all, but I already have a mountain bike. 

Suspension would absolutely "work" better, but I think that misses the point. Take a normal boring fire road that you wouldnt blink at twice on a mountain bike, and its a blast on a narrow tire cx or gravel bike! Whole new adventure.


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## j102 (Jan 14, 2018)

Take a look at the Specialized’s Future Shock concept. It’s only 20mm though.
Trek has something similar on some bikes.
But no traditional suspension forks. I think that defeats the purpose.


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## Speed Goat (Dec 31, 2013)

Bring back the Rock Shox Ruby!


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## TTUB (Nov 9, 2010)

If you look at the Gravel forum posts lately... it's basically, "drop bars suck", "whats a good slack angle gravel bike", "how wide of a tire can I run", "650b is better than 700c", "Why no suspension", "I want a softer saddle", etc, etc, etc.

I guess this is a MTB website, so I shouldn't be too surprised.


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## tp4surfncycle (Feb 12, 2019)

Speed Goat said:


> Bring back the Rock Shox Ruby!


food for thought...https://www.bikehugger.com/posts/rock-shox-paris-roubaix-sl-twenty-years-later/


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

TTUB said:


> If you look at the Gravel forum posts lately... it's basically, "drop bars suck", "whats a good slack angle gravel bike", "how wide of a tire can I run", "650b is better than 700c", "Why no suspension", "I want a softer saddle", etc, etc, etc.
> 
> I guess this is a MTB website, so I shouldn't be too surprised.


Or perhaps not be too surprised that maybe the best bike for riding off road is a mountain bike?


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## HollyBoni (Dec 27, 2016)

TTUB said:


> If you look at the Gravel forum posts lately... it's basically, "drop bars suck", "whats a good slack angle gravel bike", "how wide of a tire can I run", "650b is better than 700c", "Why no suspension", "I want a softer saddle", etc, etc, etc.
> 
> I guess this is a MTB website, so I shouldn't be too surprised.


Yep, i've gone down this path too, minus the drop bars suck part. You try to turn your gravel bike into an MTB, but you just end up with a bike that's a bit too compromised for pavement, and still not good enough for proper offroad riding. Even some manufacturers are doing this. After a certain point a hardtail would make more sense. 
But I still love gravel bikes and other weird quirky big tyre drop bar bikes.


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## TTUB (Nov 9, 2010)

I love all my bikes equally... they each have their place and time.

Funny thing... on the other end of the spectrum...I ride road quite a bit and have several friends who are super experienced riders on the road... but they just do not seem to like the MTB. One of them used to be a very competitive and successful MTB racer.

One by one, they have all acquired Gravel Bikes and they all absolutely love riding drop-bar bikes off-road. Go figure!


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

TTUB said:


> I love all my bikes equally...


Yeah, that's like what you _say_ to your kids ;0)


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## HollyBoni (Dec 27, 2016)

TTUB said:


> One by one, they have all acquired Gravel Bikes and they all absolutely love riding drop-bar bikes off-road. Go figure!


I like riding gravel bikes offroad too, until I try to push them too hard, and I end up with sore hands, neck and shoulder pain because of the constant judder and bouncing around, or I bottom out the tyres. :lol: That's not fun.
There is nothing wrong with gravel bikes, or riding drop bar bikes offroad. In my case the problem was simply myself, thinking that my gravel bike is an MTB. It isn't. I think other people might fall into the same trap as I did, that's why you see the kind of threads you mentioned.


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## mikeridesabike (Feb 16, 2009)

I did a 25 mile mixed terrain ride around Dupont State Forest in NC yesterday. At the end, I threw in about 3 miles of single track that would be a piece of cake on even the crappiest hard tail MTB. It beat the crap out of me on the gravel (actually CX) bike. The worst part for me is my hands getting tired from using the brakes from the hoods. I had to stop a couple of times just to rest my hands. And the smallest bump that you wouldn't even notice on a MTB becomes a major pain. So I did find myself wishing for a little bit of travel. But before too long, I was back on some nice dirt roads and happy to have the stiffer bike. So it seems the ideal solution would be to have someone follow you around will a trailer full of bikes and let you switch off whenever the terrain changes!


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## russmu66 (Nov 11, 2007)

Used for commuting, gravel riding and the odd adventure.


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## Zest28 (Dec 29, 2018)

You don't need a suspension on a gravel bike. I am even going down the trails on my Gravel bike and I can keep up with all the people on full suspension mountain bikes  I always ask myself all the time, why do they have big and heavy full suspension mountain bikes when I am just as fast as them downhill. 

Sure, it is not as easy and not as comfortable as if I do the same run on one of my mountain bikes, but I can do the same speed (just keep the correct lines and bunny hop over rough sections)

And on the other hand, by not having a suspension, my Gravel bike is much lighter so I overtake all those mountain bikers without much effort when climbing all the way to the top of the mountain. 

The only time I could see a suspension is useful is on very long 6+ hour rides on very technical terrain with big heavy rocks that are hitting me threw the handle bar. But that is more for improved comfort rather than actually needing it in terms of performance.

Maybe I will try to sign up for a local XC mountain bike race this summer and see if they will allow me to compete with a Gravel bike for laughs


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## HollyBoni (Dec 27, 2016)

Zest28 said:


> I am even going down the trails on my Gravel bike and I can keep up with all the people on full suspension mountain bikes


Don't be ridiculous. You're either lying, and/or those trails only consist of buttery smooth singletrack.

You don't need a world cup downhill track to find the limits of a rigid gravel bike. Just try to hold any kind of decent speed for a while on an unmaintained rough dirt road with constant holes and rocks. Torture. (Or don't, and just use the bike for what it was designed for.)


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## Zest28 (Dec 29, 2018)

It's all about skills. Stop blaming the bike if you fail. These are trails with a huge rocks and roots and I can keep up with people on full suspension mountain bikes (they are obviously not the best riders in the world). 

Same with people talking down on hard tails, I have beat people on my cheap $1000 alloy hard tail mountain bike while they are on $7000+ carbon full suspension mountain bikes.

Gravel bikes are obviously not the best tools for the job, but they can do it. I really am not going to put a suspension on it as I don't need it.


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## coke (Jun 7, 2008)

Zest28 said:


> You don't need a suspension on a gravel bike. I am even going down the trails on my Gravel bike and I can keep up with all the people on full suspension mountain bikes  I always ask myself all the time, why do they have big and heavy full suspension mountain bikes when I am just as fast as them downhill.
> 
> Sure, it is not as easy and not as comfortable as if I do the same run on one of my mountain bikes, but I can do the same speed (just keep the correct lines and bunny hop over rough sections)
> 
> ...


https://forums.mtbr.com/gravel-bikes/why-not-gravel-hardtail-1022755-3.html#post13931714

A quote from that thread 



Zest28 said:


> The gravel bike is only suitable for gravel, hence why they call it a gravel bike.
> 
> For road use, my aero bike just destroys the gravel bike. I have been monitoring Strava and there is a substainal speed difference.
> 
> ...


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## Zest28 (Dec 29, 2018)

Well, when I posted that, I had the wrong tyres for my Gravel bike which were more road oriented tyres (which didn't offer any grip in muddy conditions). Now I got proper 29 inch 40mm tyres with proper thread pattern that handles even muddy descents in the rain and is not too shaddy with snow either. The off road performance is now night and day better.

Reason for that is that the Gravel bike would never touch my aero bike in speed on the road anyway (while not being very good at off road performance either if it gets muddy), so I changed the setup into an all condition all terrain race bike. And I'm pretty happy with this setup as I got all the grip I need with a little bit of sacrifice of road performance (which I really don't care about anyway as I use the Gravel bike for riding off road most of the time).

Which is pretty cool with Gravel bikes, that you can really change the setup of the bike to how you want. You can also throw a front suspension too if you want (which I really have not found the need for yet).

Sure, it will never be as good as proper mountain bike but the rider skills is a bigger factor if I see how slow some people are on their full suspension mountain bikes and I am on my gravel bike.


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## HollyBoni (Dec 27, 2016)

Zest28 said:


> It's all about skills. Stop blaming the bike if you fail. These are trails with a huge rocks and roots and I can keep up with people on full suspension mountain bikes (they are obviously not the best riders in the world).


I can ride trails on my gravel bike, it's not hard. But it freaking sucks. 
I still maintain that those trails that you're talking about are not MTB trails, most likely just smooth singletrack. "Huge rocks"... Sure.

You don't need skills to ride on a rough dirt road. A bike with skinny tyres and no suspension simply rattles your brain out. No one can deny that. You can't bunny hop over a rough section when the rough section lasts for miles. 
I'm talking about enjoying a bike ride, not necessarily what is faster. I can't enjoy riding my gravel bike on rough terrain when after 2+ hours I end up with a sore neck, shoulders, and wrists.

I'm not talking down hardtails. A hardtail is endlessly more capable offroad than a gravel bike.

Gravel bikes are awesome and i'll always have one in my stable but they can't replace MTBs.



coke said:


> A quote from that thread


:lol: What a joke.


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## Zest28 (Dec 29, 2018)

I agree. They are obviously not the best tool for the job and they won't replace mountain bikes. I just have some fun in the mountains sometimes on my Gravel bike as part of a bigger ride (so a long gravel ride + some fun in the mountains)

It is only for comfort reasons why I would ever consider getting a suspension for my Gravel. But not sure if I will do that though. Not sure if that is worth the extra weight, maintenance and cost.


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## HollyBoni (Dec 27, 2016)

Zest28 said:


> I just have some fun in mountains sometimes on my Gravel bike as part of a bigger ride (so a long gravel ride + some fun in the mountains)


For that, they can be great. I've just seen too many people saying how capable gravel bikes are on rough terrain. They post a 5 minute video of some dude riding singletrack on a gravel bike and say stuff like "see, you don't need an MTB". Yeah no sh*t, you could ride singletrack for 5 minutes on a road bike if you really wanted.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Zest28 said:


> It's all about skills. Stop blaming the bike if you fail.


I agree with him. I own rigid, hard-tail and full-sus bikes and there is no way you can ride down a properly rough trail on a rigid bike as quickly as a full-sus. It's just not happening. Heck, you ride down a gravel track fast enough on a rigid bike and it'll vibrate your eyeballs so much you can't see!


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## Zest28 (Dec 29, 2018)

Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't. I chase plenty of mountain bikers when I go up in the mountains. (yes of course, a mountain bike is more suitable bike for this type of stuff but I can keep up with them)

I don't need a full suspension mountain bike to be fast.

There are a few good guys in my area who will absolutely destroy me, but these guys are just insane riders. I'm just talking about the average mountain bikers that I can chase down.


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## russmu66 (Nov 11, 2007)

Zest28 said:


> You don't need a suspension on a gravel bike.


2 Points to make:

1) How the hell do you know what I need? At 53 years of age with severe arthritic pain in knees, shoulders, hands and fingers... I'll decide what I do and don't need.

2) You don't need gears either, or tubeless, or disk brakes or whatever technology you want to insert here. I like to experiment with my bikes, I enjoy exploring new things, tinkering etc... it makes me happy... so what you think, matters naught.


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## HollyBoni (Dec 27, 2016)

Zest28 said:


> Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't. I chase plenty of mountain bikers when I go up in the mountains. (yes of course, a mountain bike is more suitable bike for this type of stuff but I can keep up with them)


I'm expecting to see you race at the DH World Cup this season. You can ride a DH bike if you want. You could also race XC at a WC level but i'm expecting you to ride a gravel bike there.


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## Eric Malcolm (Dec 18, 2011)

Mr Pig said:


> I agree with him. I own rigid, hard-tail and full-sus bikes and there is no way you can ride down a properly rough trail on a rigid bike as quickly as a full-sus. It's just not happening. Heck, you ride down a gravel track fast enough on a rigid bike and it'll vibrate your eyeballs so much you can't see!


I have actually experienced this effect - vibrated my eyeballs into blindness approaching an open farmgate. When it happened I did not panic but told myself that I had lined the gate up correctly and just stay upright! Got through that patch and my eyesight restored. My line did not alter and I was now through the turbulant zone. I was in part of a race against MTB's and after the race we all checked our maximum speeds off our speedo's. The gate was the at the fastest section and I was 3kph faster than the suspended guys (61kph). That was a huge surprise. I will not repeat doing that again though.

Eric


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

Eric Malcolm said:


> I have actually experienced this effect - vibrated my eyeballs into blindness approaching an open farmgate.


I did a similar thing except there was a heavy wire across the track, to prevent cars entering, and I almost didn't see it in time. The track wasn't _that_ rough, it was the speed I was carrying that did it. There were several times over the following years when friends on rigid bikes had to go down descents slowly for this reason. This was back in the early days of suspension when having a suspension fork was still unusual.


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## Zest28 (Dec 29, 2018)

HollyBoni said:


> I'm expecting to see you race at the DH World Cup this season. You can ride a DH bike if you want. You could also race XC at a WC level but i'm expecting you to ride a gravel bike there.


I am actually planning on entering a local XC race on my gravel bike this summer if they allow me to enter. Just need to find an event where they allow it. It will be quite fun 

I am obviously not a DH pro since there are even local riders here who are far better me in DH. So not sure why you expect me to ride the DH world cup.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

jetski said:


> Hi, why are there usually no suspension forks on gravel bikes? Wouldn't it make sense? Especially if there is a way to lock the suspension on paved roads?


Because it would then be an XC bike. Something that rides just fine on gravel anyway.


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

coke said:


> https://forums.mtbr.com/gravel-bikes/why-not-gravel-hardtail-1022755-3.html#post13931714
> 
> a quote from that thread


ouch!


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## El Train (Apr 21, 2007)

Why no suspension forks on gravel bikes?

Because it's a gravel ROAD most of the time and generally, they are comparatively smooth. And the types of small higher frequency bumps you do encounter are dealt with poorly by suspension forks. Even when riding my 140mm mtn bike on my gravel routes, the fork just oscillates/flexes rather than compressing with the washboards or whatever. Guitar Ted talks about this in his review of the Otso Warakin which had a Fox fork on it. 

Also simplicity. For many, a gravel bike is a second bike, secondary to a mountain bike in my case, and I really like that it has almost zero maintenance compared to said mountain bike. Once a year I re-cable it, replace the chain, and other than an occasional wash, that's it. My mountain bike needs once a year suspension rebuilds, brake bleeds, dropper post service, chains more often, tires more often, etc. 

Thirdly, cost. My gravel bike is a working class machine meant to get me miles in the off season when the trails in the high country are snowed in. I spend as little as possible on it. No way I am I "forking" out a bunch of money for an expensive fork of dubious benefit.


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## zephxiii (Aug 12, 2011)

Putting a sus fork on my gravel bike... I may as well ride my HT. It defeats the purpose of the gravel bike being light and aero.


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## mikeridesabike (Feb 16, 2009)

I rode FS road 1206 today in Pisgah on my new gravel bike (technically cx). On 35 mm Gravel King SKs, that road beat the crap out of me. I was wishing for some suspension. But most of the time, I can get along without it. This bike has pretty much replaced my road bike. I am having a blast on it.


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## glovemtb (Mar 12, 2006)

Just take a hardtail mountain bike frame and run 50mm+ tires on it & run sealant with low pressure. Have a couple of wheels built up like that for the technical stuff and you can even explorer trails. 
I have been riding these type setups for 30 years as most of us have as mountain bikers. Gravel bikes aren't anything new to us.
The trick is they will slowly go to wider and wider clearance on gravel bikes so they can sell the growing roadie customer base the new improved models. 
Detour:
One of my old HungFu carbon hardtail frames has clearance to easily accommodate that size tire (50mm) in back and of course a hardtail 29er fork in the front can go even wider. A di2 Ultegra 8000 build since they had 68mm bb and just barely enough crank chainring right chainstay clearance. (Made it di2 compatible via drilling out the internal routing for cable shifters) and put the b-junction box in the toptube.)  Happy bike geek sorry very off topic but it has been a fun build.


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## Cannosseur (Mar 24, 2019)

Um, there are plenty of suspension fork equipped gravel road bikes out there, they have been put to quite good use regularly, and there are more new models emerging from big and small makers. The leading example is the Cannondale Slate with Lefty Oliver carbon fork which has won multiple Dirty Kanza's in men's and women's divisions. The Lauf fork has been appearing on more gravel bikes as well as on their own new frame. Yes, simply converting a XC hardtail to drop bars and road shifters makes it a gravel road bike and I have seen plenty, some outstanding conversions. The new Specialized suspension headset bikes (almost exactly copying Cannondale's Headshok's of many years including the lockout feature) are front suspension gravel bikes.
Ted King, Alison Tetrick, multiple Dirty Kanza 200 winning Slate's


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## Cannosseur (Mar 24, 2019)

Aerodynamics and rider position do make road racing frame based gravel bikes faster and possibly more comfortable for longer, faster rough road rides. Yes aerodynamics is a significant factor at as low as 9 or 10 mph, many studies bear this out, and the recent TTT aero gravel bike is an exemplar. The ability of suspension forks and headset shocks to smooth out micro and mini bumps constantly works to keep energy moving the bike forward instead of bouncing up and down all around. Excellent studies and tests on this prove that anything from wider lower pressure tires to suspension forks improve forward speed in amounts more than worth the weight penalty. An excellent example is GCN's test last year of Gravel bike vs XC bike on the cobblestones of Roubaix. The XC MTB with 100mm travel fork was easily the fastest and most comfortable on the rough cobbles and would be preferred if allowed, but on the rest of the paved stages the road bikes would slaughter it due to aerodynamics. So, for example taking an ultralight carbon hartail XC bike like a Cannondale F-Si and putting drop bars and 700x42C gravel tires on it makes for a killer gravel muncher with outstanding comfort, multiple hand positions, and with a Lefty Ocho fork a fairly aerodynamic front profile.


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## Zest28 (Dec 29, 2018)

I believe the XC mountain bike mainly won because it has bigger tyres. Based on my experience, most of the shock obsorption is coming from the tyres.

The big advantage of a gravel bike is the light weight. And adding a suspension fork to a gravel bike removes this advantage. I really notice it in big climbs when I compare it to my mountain bikes.

On my mountain bike, I have the suspension fully locked most of the time as the tyres absorbs mosts of the shocks as an unlocked suspension is draining energy and speed. Only when going downhill I unlock the suspension.


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