Man, I've been away too long.........
This is a really good thread.......
For woods riding, I would go with light springs and light valving. I recently raced a 4 hour harescramble, I tell you, during the last part of the race, my suspension couldnt have possibly been plush enough. I went into a survival mode, things got a little blury and I picked the wrong tree to go around, major center punch (somebody has to keep the handlebar manufacturers in business)......
Anyways, in a woods enviroment, I think for most riders, need a softer spring and valving than MX. (although I have a friend who likes a full moto set up in the woods, I dont think he has any pain receptors in his brain).
A quick run in the woods is one thing, but when you are in the saddle for a couple hours at one time, an MX set up will beat you up. 90% of trail is usually rocks and roots, a whoop out section or jump section are usually far and few in between. I would rather valve and spring softer for 90% of the ride and deal with moto stuff at a slower pace, I beleive your lap times will be faster.
On the flip side, I believe motocross needs a heavier spring and heavier valving. Again, most motocross races last about 15 minutes at the most (excluding national events) we can valve and spring heavy for the extreme sections of whoops and jumps. An average rider can hang on pretty strong for 15 minutes, and we can valve and spring for max speed through the whoops and also handle the jumps (also handle the mis-timed jumps safely).
Mace, lets kick that inertial valve idea of yours around some more......:cool:
Take Care, John