Hmmmm.... I have a bunch of expensive crowns that I sure don't want to come loose.
But that brings us to the subject of suspensions.
To my way of thinking, most folks are better off without suspension on their bicycles. The primary reason is that cheap suspension-bikes have no
damping worth the name. They only have springs, which means the suspension acts like a pogo stick. This is worse than no suspension at all.
Damping is what the "shocks" ("shock absorbers") on your car do. The name "shocks" is misleading; they are really dampers, which is what the rest of the world call them. If you were to put a "shock" on a pogo stick, it would not pogo, and that's what you want on a vehicle suspension. You don't want your bicycle handlebar to bounce right back up with a bang, pounding your hands black-and-blue.
And most people prefer to use el-cheapo bikes on the Playa, because of the corrosiveness of the Dust. In order to get decent damping in the suspension, you may have to spend $400 or $500, or even more, for the bike.
You can easily test the front suspension for damping. Simply stand beside the bike with both hands on the handlebar, squeeze the front brake lever tightly, and throw your weight onto the handlebar for a moment. The handlebar should go down, and then come back up
slowly. It should not come back up instantly with a bang. (If the bike does not have a front brake, set the front wheel against a wall or some such.)
If you are very fond of a bike, but wish it had front suspension with good damping, you can probably install an expensive front fork that will do the job. But you should leave the selection and installation of the new fork to a highly competent bicycle shop -- because there are countless variations in the dimensions of forks.
As for rear suspensions, the same principle applies. But to upgrade the damping, you would replace just the little "coil-over-shock" unit. Again, you would want an expert to select the part.
That said, many people do not like having rear suspension. It feels kind'a strange, kind'a unsettled or unstable. Of course, like most new things, you would probably get used to it. Then again, you might still not like it. I suppose it depends on how badly the saddle pounds your butt on the bike you have now.
It being Sunday today... that was the sermon.
