How Hard Can You Ride A Rigid Bike? | Shredding A Bike Park On A Rigid Mountain Bike

Full-suspension mountain bikes are awesome for shredding big jumps and rough downhill sections at bike parks! It's also important to realise you don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy FullSuspensionization™️ as you can get almost equally SENDY on a hardtail MTB... But what about a fully rigid bike? Blake had some rigid forks from our Hardnose video so thought it was time to investigate! 🤘

Would you shred this bike?

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[dagasdas]

Imagine Blake using this bike on Mega Avalanche 😂 It will be the greatest achievement in history of mountain biking. "Blake The 🐐".

[jordyskate]

Blake can even shred a canoe on the trails😅

[JohnBS]

I want to see the pre production video where Blake tells everyone about his song idea

[AndyHill]

5:46 - if this doesn't turn up on Spotify, I shall be partially disappointed.

[joppek]

Nicely ridden! I think there is a case to be made for running a rigid MTB, like we did back in the early nineties:
1. It's a lot cheaper with no suspension.
2. You can build a lighter bike.
3. There's less maintenance and there are fewer things to break.
4. Riding becomes more of a challenge. A regular "boring" trail is not as boring when you're on a rigid.
5. You're forced to work on skills. Line choice is crucial on a rigid and those wheel lifts need to be on point.

Are there drawbacks? Yes, undoubtedly. You'll be slower, more beaten up and you'll learn to hate root carpets or washboards. :) But you can still have a lot of fun!

[grumpynerd]

This reminds me of an interview I once heard with a guy who directed a film about old-time alpine skiers. One of his big concerns was finding people who still knew how to ski in the old-school style he'd seen in vintage films. It turned out the solution was easy: put expert modern skiers in old fashioned equipment. Once they figured out how to ski in the stuff, they looked exactly like the guys in the old movies.

Blake is rediscovering the way we used to ride before suspension forks. You want your connection to the bike at the pedals and grips to be secure, but your joints have to be super relaxed. You have to make quick but careful line choices on trails you'd ride in your sleep on a modern bike. You couldn't go too fast, but you couldn't slow down either or an obstacle your suspension fork handles now would send you OTB.

I was particularly interested to hear is Blake mentioning moving his weight back. That's used to be a poor man's suspension fork; you shift your weight back to unweight the front wheel in the hope that it will float over obstacles rather than send you OTB. That's why you see old timers descending with their backsides way out over their rear wheel, although even back in the day you wanted to be as far forward as you dared so you had room to move.

[freeziree]

He just yeeted the suspension fork that is more expensive that my bike lol.

[yorkshiremtber]

The video nobody wanted but everyone needs 😂😂

Quality content lads

[rynematthewsuano]

My favorite part was 5:49 when blake was dancing and singing... He's bringing the hypes...

[cesarcaro]

As somebody who rides a fully rigid bike, this was highly entertaining. I was not surprised to see him change his riding style and notice the differences, but I was also impressed to see him genuinely attempt so much with it. I think there are some very different experiences compared to riding with suspension, and riding technique and approach are necessarily very different as a result. With a "suspensionized" bike, the bike is designed to absorb the shock, so the body remains stiff in order to maintain control. Obviously the reverse is true with rigid, and even the hands should be a bit more relaxed and even looser when going over roots etc, and padded gloves are a must. It makes you better at reading the terrain and picking lines, the margin for error decreases significantly. The same lines could also be used with a suspension bike, but since it's maybe not necessary, that skill can be lost or underappreciated.

So yeah, I think as he is coming to realize, it takes a bit more attention, skill, and definitely gloves, but it's a rewarding experience. Also, climbing is way more efficient because suspension isn't soaking up energy and you are lighter. I liken it to trail running in minimalist shoes versus trail shoes with lots of padding and protection. You fatigue a little quicker but you are more in tune with your surroundings.

[Cheapsht]

When suspension forks first came in to the bike shop I use to work at, I would describe the benefits of suspension being like wearing a wetsuit surfing, they effectively allow you to bike for longer. Effectively suspension reduces fatigue, but rigid bikes have their own fun as you have to read the trails a little more and a heavy rooted section is as scary as a set of doubles on a full sus.

[richcrompton]

That’s more like it! That’s the way I started back in the 80’s! Awesome!

[dineshdas]

At 8:43
Blake actually forgot he was wearing a helmet and he was scratching his head 😂😂😂

[ashb]

Wish I had a tenth of Blake's energy and skills. 😁

[paraicfurlong]

That's it! He's finally CRACKED!

[DanuelNuel]

I love my cheep rigid "mtb" with nice fast cassette and pretty slim rubbers (2.0). And yeah imo it's better than gravels.
You need to ride different - don't lock-up your elbows and take any uneven terrain on your arms. But you get some speed boost and climbing is much easier than on full-sus. And last I think rigid teach you how to ride better and more technical.

[chronicallycycling]

I loved the little voice saying ‘just send it’.

[carloswithac]

I did this on an older hardtail. Had a rigid fork, but was also running a Surly Knard 3 inch tire up front which helped. It was fun. I miss that bike!

[tamarin]

Funny as always Blake! 👊 Problem is the frame's geo wasn't designed to be ridden with a rigid fork. As we've all (punters and bike companies alike) have come to realise in the last few years is that geometry is king (130mm 29ers slaying all types of terrain).
When you design a rigid bike you need to design it from the ground up and include the forks in that design (anyone recently read about manufacturers designing their frames specifically around a shorter offset fork?). Slapping a bladed fork on a hardtail isn't optimum and you're going to need at least a 35mm internal rims and minimum 2.5" tyres both ends.
Last thing - how chuffed was Blake with his line down the 'really steep gnarly' section? He'd picked the trail apart and nailed his line and was buzzing... Ain't that why we're all MTB-ing? Rigid riding enables you to unlock that level of satisfaction on many more occasions than full suss bikes. Lots of options out there - check out Stooge Cycles if you're looking to unlock the big boss level of MTB Stoke! ✌️

[jedisentinel]

Ride a 90’ ridged too… 30-45 min tops when on my ride. Hands go numb no matter what. Great torque and handling but your body pays for it if you push it to hard . Still love every bit! Great video 🤙