The Range Of MTB Suspension On The Market
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.
