Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
The bikes you list are all fine. I disagree about "bad" suspension forks, I think the usual Suntour fork is good enough for this kind of bike and does provide a benefit. This is not the prevailing view on Bike Forums, though, in spite of the fact they seem to sell just fine.
Canyon makes a really nice hybrid with a better fork (and everything else) for $1100 US. But for that kind of price, I picked a proper MTB on my last purchase instead. I'm pretty happy with it.
I have that Suntour fork on my bike
It has it's place. On a really rough road when my hands / arms are just tired...it can smooth things out a little bit and make a more comfortable ride. The unlock switch is close enough to the handlebars that I can disengage the lock in 1 second if I'm about to smack something hard. And it does help with comfort. But that's all it does. It keeps the hard hit from going into my hands and up my arms.
But it does not help with actual traction and road contact. If you hit something hard enough to knock you off your path or otherwise loose contact with the road, that is still going to happen with the cheap Suntour forks. A nice high end suspension fork will work more like a car's suspension, making sure your tire maintains contact with the ground so you keep traction and control during a solid hit. So for offroad riding....the Suntour fork is painfully overmatched.
Now...the flip side is that while it is an energy drain when on a smooth flat surface (or uphill...especially up hill) that can be a good thing if your purpose for riding is exercise. It will give you a better work out as it will be harder to pedal. There is something to be said for that. If you want exercise, don't get a super light ultra efficient bike. Get a heavy bike with a cheap suspension fork. It's a better work out. Your cardio will improve. You'll get stronger faster. I'm being dead serious here. This is not sarcasm. My commuter is heavy with a cheap Suntour fork. I LOVE it as a commuter. My whole purpose is exercise. It's a good work out trying to push that loaded down bike to and from work. But when I get on my trail bike that is half the weight with a rigid front fork and ride it for distance....it's like suddenly having rocket fuel in the tank. I'm suddenly stronger than the bike and can ride all day at a decent speed without wearing down.