I've been looking at getting the Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro 0 which is pretty close to my ideal bike aside from the suspension fork. It has big tire clearance and massive gear range with sram eagle AXS. But I'm not sure how I feel about the suspension since I think it would be overkill for about 60-70% routes that I do (although it would be a welcome addition on some other routes). Keen to get everyone's thoughts on:
- Suspension forks on gravel bikes in general
- How easy and expensive would it be to find a rigid fork to replace the suspension one
- How difficult would it be to replace the fork? I'm pretty sure it would be fairly straightforward if they're cut to the same length but I've never done it before
by maharajuu
6 Comments
If the suspension fork is an issue why not a Salsa Cutthroat? That sucker has massive tire clearance. Like 29×2.4 last I remember. Gear range on the GRX was pretty massive as well and it’s basically built for long distance riding (for the Tour Divide).
Personally, I wanted a suspension fork and I come from a MTB background so the YT Szepter was what I gravitated towards but I’d imagine it might be an alternative to the Giant at a better price 🤷🏻♂️
Price savings could be used to buy and experiment with rigid fork(s) if you want to boot and figure it out for yourself.
Depends what kind of gravel you ride, honestly. If it’s Gucci gravel and nice hardpack? Complete overkill. If you get some solid chunk or super rutted or you venture into singletrack a lot? Might be worth it. The Lauf fork is nice, also heard great things about the Revolt from folks I race with, and some friends have been testing the Cane Creek inverted fork and love it as well. But we all live on the stuff that is borderline needing a hardtail
Ya know, I’ve always been anti suspension on a gravel bike but I’m coming around to it.
It really depends on your terrain and your goals. Rough and chunky or champagne gravel? Want to go fast? Or want to go far? Racing or bike packing? Etc.
I’ve borrowed my buddies bike a few times with that fork. It’s a blast. Really saves the hands and shoulders.
On a road bike you can relax and recover on the descents sometimes. A rigid gravel bike on a chunky descent can be harrowing sometimes. The fork can smooth out some of that sketchiness and help you relax, recover and save energy.
If you were riding mostly smooth gravel in hilly terrain, with an equal amount of pavement, maybe a lighter rigid bike is better. But seeing as you want clearance for mtb tires, and an eagle gear range… sounds like you’re expecting it to get steep and gnarly. Suspension Fork might be right for you.
I’ve been running a suspension fork for a while and it’s great. But you need the right terrain or it’s overkill, mainly due to weight. They aren’t light unless you get the lauf or cane Creek invert.
For me it works well because the gravel roads I ride are almost too chunky for a gravel bike. But with a suspension fork and fatter tires, it makes the ride more fun than taking an xc bike out. My rides almost always have pavement, chunky gravel, and single track.
The really fun part is under biking smooth xc trails with the suspension fork. With the right set up, you can rip some xc trails on a gravel bike.
And comfort wise, top notch. When I went back to a rigid fork on the same gravel roads, I got beat up pretty bad.
Answering the second and third question….
It can either be cheap or easy to get a replacement rigid fork, but probably not both. You can usually find used forks on ebay….someone breaks a frame and is left with a useless fork. You just have to make sure you get the correct year and model and that the steerer isn’t cut too short. New forks are surprisingly expensive and some brands can be tough to get (especially in the right finish).
Since the cabling isn’t internally routed through the headset, its not that bad to replace the fork. But there are a few things to remember. First, if the crown of the rigid fork may be different than the crown of the suspension fork, it might require a different bearing. No big deal, just something to remember. The top bearing will be fine. The other catch in swapping forks is that the rigid fork will have the brake line routed through the fork. That means cutting the line, installing a new barb and olive and bleeding. If you are comfortable bleeding brakes, its not an issue but its also something you don’t want to do often.
Ultimately, in my mind you have to decide if the extra weight and maintenance is offset by the extra fun. I had a Cannondale Slate, and that bike was flat out fun, but it was heavier and the maintenance on that fork wasn’t cheap. I ride in hilly areas, and decided it wasn’t worth it.
I bought a Lauf Seigla to ride in the Unbound XL because as I understand the intent of the suspension, it’s to dampen vibrations as much or more than to soften impacts. And dampening vibration over the course of a long, long ride will certainly help with fatigue.
I love it. Highly recommend.