I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I’m thinking about getting a suspension fork for my gravel bike. Tell me if my use case warrants it.
I really like doing BWR NC but I SUCK at keeping speed on rocky descents. I don’t know why but they freak me the f out! I’ll bomb down road descents at 50+ without a second thought but the gravel descents scare me! Last year at BWR I was constantly playing yo-yo with people. I’d pass them on the uphills only to have them fly by me on the gravel descents. I dabble in mtbing, have a full sus trail bike and can hang with the local riders on the trail but something about lose gravel just makes me lose my mojo. I’m considering adding a Rudy xplr to my Marin headlands. I know it’s an extra two pounds and I don’t think I care.
Be honest with me Reddit. Downvote away! Should I just suck it up and figure out how to descend? Or will the added traction of 40mm of suspension make me stop getting passed by people on the downhills?
Before anyone asks I was on 700×42 pathfinder pros on 25mm internal width rims at about 33psi last year. I weigh about 170.
by BenchDogsandRabbets
3 Comments
**Thanks for posting to /r/gravelcycling! It looks like you’ve submitted an image.**
This community encourages additional context about image submissions. You can include details about your post in a comment below. Some suggestions for good comments:
* Bike details (make, model, accessories, and gear)
* Location (specific or general is fine)
You can also use **post flair** to give additional context about your post.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/gravelcycling) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just send it. It isn’t the fork. It’s you.
I have Suntour GVX on my do-all bike and they are firm enough to not be too squishy. Lauf Grit carbon leaf would be the best out there though, but at $900. Or maybe your bike can fit 650b x 47?