Have questions or want to discuss cycling? Join Now or Sign In to participate in the BikeRide community.


DIY suspension help
#1
Hello, I have an old racing bike, in the future i´m planing putting an electric motor, so I need a shock absorber system, haven´t found a suspension neither for front or rear wheels for this kind of bikes, so I thought of creating it myself, the main problem is that I don´t know where or what to do, never done this before, that´s why I need some help, guiding, ideas, etc. Anything can help.

I would like to keep the original forks if possible. Can I add a suspension to this forks ?

I´ll wait for your answers.


Matias.
  Reply
#2
I don't think this is a good idea, but if its possible I think we need some pictures of the bike.
  Reply
#3
If this is a standard frame to start with then the basic answer is no!. Not without a lot of modification.
You could possibly swap the front forks for some 700c suspension forks and use a suspension seat-post and comfy saddle?
Maybe best to look out for a cheap full suspension MTB frame.
Ride hard or ride home alone!
  Reply
#4
No. Just no.

A standard MTB rear shock that isn't a POS elastomer (which won't work anyway as they won't take the abuse) is under pressure, anywhere from 70-200PSI depending on manufacturer and rider weight. Throw an electric motor into the equation and you'll probs need something beefier.

Front suspension requires you to have anodized tubes that fit perfectly into tight bushes in the lowers (what the wheel bolts on to). IF the bushes in the lowers are not perfectly aligned and fitted, they'll have play and this will gradually tear them apart.

Proper suspension forks (Not RSTs, they die really quickly and you'd be better off with a rigid) cost a lot of money new for a reason; a lot of effort goes into their design.

Poorly built and setup rear suspension is more dangerous than dodgy forks! Don't try and mod your frame to take a shock.
  Reply


Possibly Related Threads...

Forum Jump:

[-]
10 Latest Posts
Hello from NW Ohio
Yesterday 10:27 PM
I Tried Riding Like the Pros
Yesterday 07:10 PM
Specialized bicycle post issue
Yesterday 06:12 PM
Sram Transmission derailleur possibly de...
Yesterday 04:34 PM
Philodo H8 5000W
Yesterday 04:28 PM
Chain skips under heavy load when pedall...
Yesterday 04:16 PM
It took more than 700 rubber bands to br...
Yesterday 04:13 PM
Hello from Jasleen – getting more into c...
Yesterday 01:55 AM
How do you commute on bikes in rougher a...
Yesterday 01:52 AM
Cheating on your bicycle
08-20-2026 04:42 AM

[-]
Join BikeRide on Strava
Feel free to join if you are on Strava: www.strava.com/clubs/bikeridecom

[-]
Top 5 Posters This Month
no avatar 1. Flowrider
27 posts
no avatar 2. GirishH
16 posts
no avatar 3. meamoantonio
12 posts
no avatar 4. Mr. Beanz
11 posts
no avatar 5. froze
10 posts