Rear Suspension - Linkage vs Direct Connection

[FreeRyde]

There is a major problem with direct mount (single pivot) bikes. They are the least sensitive design when on the brakes. The braking force(s) creates more suspension squat than a well designed linkaged bike. This is scientific fact. While the differences are not huge, there is a difference, and if you are tuned into suspension on a high level, you can feel it. That is part of the reason why almost all winning mountain bike designs are NOT single pivots...

Bump sensitivity is reduced as the rear suspension squats due to braking force. (Direct mount is plagued by this)


Few argue that this "squat" can help limit weight transfer to the front, those folks are far and few between. But the reduction in bump sensitivity (traction) in the rear end outweighs the pros...


I agree that all suspension designs are a compromise on a fundamental level, but direct mount is the bottom of the barrel (think Natural Ice) as far as technological advances go in the suspension world.

 

[Z3n]

There's no squat when you're doing a stoppie.

Under nearly all circumstances for road bikes, it's possible to brake harder than the wheel base allows. If you're not in that situation, your traction is compromised, and emergency braking will be limited anyways, regardless of feedback from the suspension.

Offroad, it's less true but still very possible to roll stoppies into corners. Mountain bikes are totally different, as the rider outweighs the bike by an order of magnitude. I frankly ignore the rear brake under most heavy braking conditions because the tire is bouncing along the ground, completely unloaded, and the linkage isn't doing anything at that point.

I mean, hell, your sig says it:
"18 or 19 out of the 20 students would stop shortest using the front brake only..." - because it's more important to worry about the front brake and reaching the absolute limit of traction on the front than it is to think about the rear. Feedback from the rear on braking seems irrelevant in any situation where you'd actually need to manage that situation, because you can more effectively fix the issue by using the front brake until you reach the point of a stoppie / completely unloaded rear tire.

As your love of the DR650 points out, technical merits don't actually add up to performance in the real world - sometimes adding complexity is just complexity, and doesn't actually improve things as folks use the bike.