Front end dilemma...

[Moder-dye]

I've rigid forks on my 29er drop bar MTB been wanting to get a new wider rimmed front wheel so I can use a 3" tyre for a bit more cushioning for my wrist. Currently 2.3" on an internal 21mm WTB rim.

But any thoughts on whether I'd be better just going back to a 100mm sus fork (and the added weight) ? Only got IRO £200 to spend.

I'm currently rigid as the original XC rockshox failed on a trip a good while a go and thought I'd get rigid so they can't fail. My riding is normally fairly tame MTB and gravel so I don't need much, it's more for my arthritic wrist.

[Lazarus]

its just personal choice IMHO

personally I dont ever ride off road with a rigid fork and if i can get away with a rigid fork i ride the CX bike anyway.
yes you can ride anything on a rigid but its not as much fun or as comfortable IMHO
Plenty disagree hence why its your choice

can you borrow a fork and see whether it makes any difference to you?

[Bearbonesnorm]

For balance, my preference would be rigid / wide rim /big tyre. A £200 budget will be ample but £200 spent on new suspension forks is likely to buy something quite mediocre or simply short lived and piss-poor.

I've not ridden with any type of suspension for years, not even when I was coaching. It was more to do with cost / simplicity than a desire to prove a point ... although that can be a side effect.

[whitestone]

I've run with a rigid fork on my Solaris for a couple of years now. Unless I'm on something very rocky then I don't really notice it now. You do have to pick your line a bit more carefully and I suppose it teaches you to use your body as suspension to a greater degree.

Currently I've a 2.6" tyre (Vittoria Mezcal) on a 35mm rim which gives a reasonable amount of cushioning without the weight penalty of full blown plus tyres.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Sounds like you need a Lauf, but not sure you'd pick up a second-hand one for £200, unless it was abused!

Like yourself, I can't be arsed with the discomfort of long day off-road on rigid, with anything less than 2.8" tyres.

Did the TNR on my rigid road+ / gravel bike (apparently there is a difference, but buggered if I know or care what that is!) with 47c on 650b, and whilst the extra efficiency on the long road sections was nice, I definitely felt more battered at the end of long off-road descents. Yet many people did the same ride on <40c tyres. If you ride on mixed surfaces, as I suspect most of us do, there is no perfect solution, and it's a personal thing to decide what compromises you will tolerate. As I age disgracefully, and my body moans more, I am reluctantly moving towards comfort over speed. Sadly, for me, the most comfort comes from not kipping the bloody ground!

[Moder-dye]

Cheers guys.

Yeah if I had the money I'd look at lauf or even a better normal sus fork. I think I was looking at a reba of some sort I think? I was really just looking for a cheap coil fork for ease, plus I don't have the budget for more.

No local option to borrow a fork. Most people I know are roadies and the others have trail centre style bikes.

Did a 'gravel' trip earlier this year on my Vapour CX with 40mm tyres and was certainly feeling it after long days on rubbly stuff. At the end of a long day we were on the School house bothy to Ullapool stretch and the rockiness of some secrions was taking it's toll .

Seems like a wide rim wheel with 2.6-8" is the realistic option...

[fatbikephil]

I'd also look to get your bars as high as poss and some weird bars with lots of sweep as this has a big effect on wrist comfort - possibly more important than front bounce?

[Moder-dye]

Bars are pretty high genetic digests which do help. Actually, higher that usual just now.

I tried a few different flat/sweep bars before going for drops. The more neutral/unrotated wrist position of drops is really helpful for me.

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