> The argument that suspension isolates you from the bumps is also an
> argument against using big tyres, which isolate you from small bumps. If
> you take it to it’s logical conclusion you should probably be riding on
> the rim.
A tire smoothes out the ride not just by compressing the air inside,
but also by conforming to the surface beneath it. Suspension systems
usullay employ dampers as well as springs, giving them very different
characteristics from a bouncy tire. Even with lots of suspension
you’ll still want a tire if the surface you ride on has any
irregularities. To see what I mean, look at bicycles and motorcycles
with suspension.
The reason fat tires work is because they are always connected to the unicycle at one point, the rim. I have been thinking about this some more today, and the reason it wouldn’t work is because the suspension many people are talking about would let the wheel move any which way it wanted, on all axes on the plane in the center of the wheel, meaning basically the only restricted movement would be side to side within the frame. If you had this, if you hit a large bump like a curb or a root or a rock, the wheel would stay put until you hit the end of the suspension travel, in which case either the frame would be thrown forward, and also you, or the wheel would jerk up with such force as to throw you off. The ONLY way I see a suspension between the ground and the frame is if the wheel were restricted to only one axis of movement, such as on a bike’s front suspension. The wheel could only move up and down, or back and forth, and there is no current technology to enable that to happen, as the wheel would be turning all the time, so the suspension would have to turn counter to that. This makes sense in my head, as I usually can visualize things well, but if you are totally lost as to what I’m talking about, just let me know and I will try to explain it in simpler, easier to grasp terms.
I think THIS THREAD more realistically addresses unicycle suspension at the point at which it would be effective. To be effective, the cranks have to flex in the vertical axis somewhere between the axle and the pedal. At the same time the cranks must not twist along their own axes which would cause the pedals to tilt.
I think that current bike technology could be adapted to a unicycle, but it would have to be pretty sophisticated to be rideable. The path of travel would have to be dialed, and bobbing due to pedal forces would have to be mimized. But again, both of these issues have been largely solved with bikes.
But as was pointed out, a large tire can probably provide as much rolling suspension as a rider needs (and can handle). I think the real benefit of a suspension frame would be for riding large drops with minimal roll-outs. That may be an entirely different puzzle to solve.
I know someone already posted this site in relation to cokers but http://www.creativegeckos.com/pages/suspension-frames.htm have a couple of full suspension frames for sale, interesting idea of not using telescopic shocks to avoid problems with tyre hitting crown etc. althougy they do just look like extra weight to me
![img-1021-tm[1].jpg](https://unicyclist.com/uploads/default/original/3X/4/a/4a284e3a33cab6d07a30b447eeca03902536ded8.jpeg)
