Posted by Art on Sep 10, 2009 in
Biking
Cross Country (XC) Suspension Forks
Light and short travel, XC mtb forks are often single crown due to the mild terrain and to save weight so not to make the bike too heavy to rise.
Historically, XC forks will have been spring loaded however the trend is now moving towards air sprung suspension.
The obvious advantages of such a change of keeping the weight of the fork as low as possible and making them straightforward to adjust this.
Downhill (DH) Suspension Forks
Have you watched the insanity that may be downhill mountain biking? Massive drops, giant opening jumps and terrible terrain over a short prtiod of time. Downhill forks can have large amounts of travel ( ten inches isn’t unhead of ) to allow for the strain a DH bike is put under.
Downhill forks are typically coil spring to take on large hits but are also double crowns ; this is where there are two legs of the fork near the top where the fork joins the handle bar. Double crown forks offer double the suspension of single crown forks.
Dirt Jump (DJ) Suspension Forks
Big airs, giant jumps and big tricks need forks which can take some punishment forks not designed for this purpose are responsible to be damaged, or worse break, causing serious injury to a rider.
A dirt jump ( DJ ) bike will typically be a hardtail and front suspension, though some riders do still prefer stiff forks. Suspension forks will have small travel of 80-100mm and are routinely coil sprung as well as being much heavier due to the increased strength than those designed for other mountain bike disciplines.
Rigid Forks
Though suspension forks are more and more a common sight on mountain bicycles they are by no means the only option left.
For the die hards, those that don’t wish to speculate in costly suspension or those who prefer something lower upkeep there remain a number of quality rigid forks available on the market.
extremely popular in the dirt jump and street MTB scenes as well as singletrack, firm Forks offer a viable and regularly less expensive alternative to suspension.
Tags: cross country, dh, downhill, fork, freeride, moutnain bike, mtb, suspension, xc
Posted by Art on May 26, 2009 in
Biking
The front forks of bikes have changed massively since the introduction of the mountain bike. Due to the introduction a need developed for cushioning the impact of rough terrain. A need that simply had not been there before.
Commonly on MTB’s now days you will usually find that the front forks have an already fitted set of shocks, with the blades being made from upper and lower telescopic tubes, called ‘legs’. These telescopic tubes allow the impact of the rocky terrain under the wheels to be reduced, thereby making the bike much easier to control in rough conditions.
The technical specifications for MTB Forks can change massively, with the forks travel and handling style tailored to a specific discipline of mountain biking. For example, a XC mountain bike rider will need a different setup to a DH mountain bike racer, who will have a different fork again to a freeride rider. XC bikes won’t require as much suspension fork travel, usually near eighty to one hundred millimeters and will be made from lighter metal when compared to the forks used on a DH bike. This is essentially as they won’t receive as much punishment as they might during cross country riding.
When suspension was first introduced onto mountain bikes, a travel distance of the above amount was normal. Now though, DH forks offer typically around one hundred and fifty to 200 millimetres of travel. There are some downhill MTB forks though which can offer anywhere up to three hundred millimetres of travel for really extreme terrain!
Some suspension forks may also enable the rider to pump the suspension travel to suit particular sections of a trail. More travel for downhill and extreme sections, and lower travel for the not so extreme XC or up hill sections. The rider may even want to entirely eliminate suspension travel all together which would be an advantage on a smooth concrete road for example. This lockout ability may even be activated externally from the handle bars utilising a cable.
Whichever type of mountain biking you do, it pays to choose your mountain bike front suspension forks wisely as when you choose correctly you will benefit from a significant change in performance.
Tags: cross country, dh, downhill, fork, freeride, moutnain bike, mtb, suspension, xc
Posted by Art on May 22, 2009 in
Biking
Roam
Downhill Mountain Biking is a discipline of mountain biking in which riders either for enjoyment, or in a race, race down a course of varying difficulty against other bike riders. The format of a downhill mountain bike race follows a similar setup to that of skiing.
A History of MTB Downhill
The first ever downhill event that was held was won by Alan Bonds having taken place on the now infamous Repack Road so called as hub bearings would heat up and degrade the grease during decent. That was back in Oct ’76 and downhill has come a long way since that date. Downhill Races now regularly take place across the world on a regular basis particularly in the mountain areas of nations similar to the UK or in the summertime at unused ski resorts in countries similar to France and Italy. These are by no means the only places though, and the DH World Cup is one of mountain bikes most popular events each yearly.
DH Mountain Bikes
In addition to the obvious changes in this format of MTB riding, there are a number of massive changes in the bikes and equipment utilised by the riders. A downhill MTB Frame will be far more specialised that the normal hardtail mountain bike frame you or I used, and will usually have a much more rugged and durable full suspension mountain bike frame. The reason for this is the more extreme trails that a downhill MTB will be subjected to. The choice of having a full suspension bike, which is made to a much better standard than a standard mountain bike is the weight. Whilst a standard mountain bike would be under thirty pounds in weight, DH bikes can to go over 40 pounds. This weight is now however being reduced~coming down~reducing~. Other big differences in the bike can include the use of disc brakes, a high travel suspension fork (five-six inches) and differing frame shape.
Additional Equipment
Extra Protection is always required when taking part in the world of downhill…. just view a couple of videos and you will soon understand that falls, crashes and injuries are a common occurrence and a certain danger this event offers. Body armour, face mask helmets similar the ones used in motocross are needed otherwise you will not be allowed on the trails or to compete.
Tags: cycle, Cycling, downhill, Mountain Bike, mtb