Radwagon with suspension fork

[WilliamT]

I finally decided to put a suspension fork on my Radwagon because the MUP that I take can get pretty rough. Sometimes I take an alternate route that is double the distance but I have to ride over some pretty rough wooden bridges.



So I learned that a suspension fork raises the height of your wagon a bit because it wasn't designed for a cargo frame. LOL
I also learned the pain of removing and installing a crown race. Removal tool $35. Install tool $80 (Park glorified metal pipe). I also had to purchase a star nut installer. Once I got those tools, it was pretty straight forward.

Oh, the fork didn't come with a 1-1/8 inch star nut, so you'll need to get that separately.

I have a grin torque arm on the left (v4) for the 350 geared front hub. I added a second grid torque arm (v2) on the right just as an anchor for fastening the fender.

I don't plan on doing any hard trail riding so this fork (XCT) should be good enough. The fork has a 120mm travel. If I had to do it again, I would have gone with an 80 mm travel. The 120 mm was already opened so I got it for 40% off.

It was a good learning experience. If you look for a fork, the Radwagon has a 1 1/8 inch straight (not tapered) steerer tube that is 255 mm long. The XCT fork is also 255 mm so there is no need to cut the tube.

 

[rich c]

That's a ton of travel for a cargo bike!

 

[Rakku]

Nice upgrade but on the radwagon it seems that a seatpostsuspension would do way more for you then a front one.
Most of the weight is in the back, especially with a radwagon, therefore the suspension in the front will mostly only reduce the shock to the hands and arms.

Your butt will still suffer.
A seatpostsuspension is cheaper too.

I suggest the Suntour SP12 NCX.

 

[WilliamT]

That was the first upgrade I did on the bike. I tried the NCX, but it made the bike too big every time the spring kicked in. I ended up putting a simple vertical suspension post along with a gel seat that had its own springs.

While I don't really feel the bumps as much anymore, the kick stand still bounces around as I hit larger bumps. My bags bounce around too, but I have soft foam padding in each bag so nothing gets beat up.

I lost the defloplilator but was thinking it may be possible to stretch my current one so it reaches the suspension fork. Just not sure how to do this or whether its possible to just get a spring from the hardware store.