What Mountain Bike Forks Should I Pick
Posted in Fly Fishing Gear on the January 23, 2010
Changing your Mountain Bike Forks is a good method of upgrading your mountain bike. Today, forks typically come with suspension systems, to help with a bike’s handling and maneuverability on rougher terrain. Mountain bike forks are classified according to the technology incorporated in them. Some bike forks include 4X and Jump suspension forks, Freeride / Mountain suspension forks, Freeride / DH forks, XC suspension forks, and Cannondale Lefty’s. Each kind of suspension fork has its own benefits and drawbacks, and is developed for precise surfaces and uses. Heavy aspects of suspension forks include travel, which is the measurement for the movement of a suspension coil from action to rest.
Jump and 4X forks are typically short travel, coil-sprung forks. The coils move from 80 to 100 millimeters normally and are made to cushion heavy landings without too much front-end compression, enabling the rider to instantly recover and continue riding. These are stable forks whose weights are directly in proportion to their sturdiness. These suspension forks are the most sturdy.
Freeride Lite or Mountain suspension forks travel more than cross-country forks, with movement up to around 6 inches at maximum. These forks are expectedly heavier than other fork types, rendering lockout even more serious. With these forks, most riders tend to go with coil-sprung forks versus air-sprung ones. The coils do make the forks heavier, yet less at the mercy of damage once put through strong impacts.
Freeride or downhill forks are ‘double-crown’ suspension forks which can move up to 10 inches re travel. Plenty of the forks with this technology have coil springs for more sturdiness. Freeride forks also enable the user to customise his or her ride by changing the springs, and therefore changing travel, which influences handling also. However downhill forks shouldn’t be employed in cross-country bikes, as these bikes aren’t developed to stand up to the pressure these forks give. Freeride forks can snap the frames of cross-country bikes.
XC cross-country forks usually have low degrees of travel, and are built for light weight. These single-crown suspension forks have, on the average, from eighty to 100 millimeters of travel. Forks built for cross-country bikes now increasingly utilise air springs, whereby air pressure takes the place of elastometers or springs. Since these aforementioned components are no longer present or required, the bike’s overall weight is lighter. These sorts of suspension forks are also simpler to adjust. However some riders and manufacturers still use elastometers and coil-sprung forks as these require less upkeep and take more punishment than XC cross-country forks.
Cannondale Lefty’s and Headshocks have more recent suspension fork technology, which integrates all mechanisms inside the frame of the bike. The fork is quite reliable, with some topend variants coming with lockouts for simple adjustment. These forks typically result in more respondent handling, with active suspension and better traction.
Top Mountain Bike Forks
- Magura Wotan Fork - Ex Demo
- Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 3 100mm Travel Fork
- RockShox Tora Race Solo Air Fork
- Marzocchi 22 R 100mm Travel Fork
- DT Swiss XMC Fork 15mm Through Axle
- Magura Thor 140 Fork
- Magura Menja Fork
- RockShox Recon Race Solo Air Fork OE 2009
- RockShox Pike 426 Coil U-Turn Fork
- RockShox Reba Team Dual Air Fork with BBMC