What's better, rear wheel suspension or seat suspension?

[ichitan]

(08-18-2022, 12:54 PM)Jesper Wrote:  Here is an example of a very early suspension saddle. It may be from an early moped or scooter, but is was mounted on a bicycle.

I had thought of a similar design using a new style threadless bar stem with a coil spring incorporated into the front pivot point, but only way to adjust tension (w/o further complicating the design) would be using a spring with lower or higher load rating. Also, I am not sure as to the strength of the alloy stem when used for a seat post component even though they are designed for high stresses.

That is quite a good design. I have thought about something like this. One of the disadvantages with my design is, it can only be used for taller people. So a lot of cyclists could not use it. This design could be used for cyclists with a much greater range of heights. If built right, it would also be fairly light weight, which is important on bicycles.

You can get strong seat posts, which would be strong enough for this.

You could design it so any seat can be attached on top, so people could use it with their preferred seat.

The spring where it is is good. You could experiment with the spring back a bit and forward a bit, to get more or less range of movement, and more or less stiffness. You could consider making it so it is adjustable, forwards and backwards, so individual riders can adjust it how they want.

You could experiment with other things. For example, you could use a block or rubber instead of the spring.

I believe if somebody made a modern version of something like this commercially, it would sell.

If you want to think about a radical design, design one which uses an air bag. So you can increase or decrease the pressure. Air is light, so if you came up with a clever design, it could be light weight.