Changing your Mountain Bike Forks is an excellent method of upgrading your off-road bike. Nowadays, 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 / downhill, XC suspension forks, and Cannondale Lefty’s. Each sort of suspension fork has its own advantages and disadvantages, and is developed for particular surfaces and uses. Major 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 sometimes short travel, coil-sprung forks. The coils move from eighty to one hundred millimeters normally and are made to cushion heavy landings without too much front-end compression, enabling the rider to straight away recover and continue riding. These are stable forks whose weights are directly related to their durability. 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 important. With these forks, most riders have a tendency to go with coil-sprung forks vs air-sprung ones. The coils do make the forks heavier, yet less susceptible to damage once put through robust impacts.
Freeride or DH forks are ‘double-crown’ suspension forks which can move up to 10 inches apropos travel. Many of the forks with this technology have coil springs for more sturdiness. Freeride forks also enable the user to customize their ride by changing the springs, and thus changing travel, which influences handling also. However DH forks should not be utilized in cross-country bikes, as these bikes aren’t developed to resist the pressure these forks give. Freeride forks can snap the frames of cross-country bikes.
XC cross-country forks typically have low degrees of travel, and are built for light weight. These single-crown suspension forks have, on the average, from 80 to one hundred millimeters of travel. Forks built for cross-country bikes now increasingly utilise air springs, wherein air pressure takes the place of elastometers or springs. Since these already mentioned components are no longer present or required, the bike’s overall weight is lighter. These kinds of suspension forks are also better to adjust. However some riders and makers still use elastometers and coil-sprung forks as these need less maintenance and take more punishment than XC cross-country forks.
Cannondale Lefty’s and Headshocks have more moderen suspension fork technology, which integrates all mechanisms within the frame of the bike. The fork is kind of trustworthy, with some top-end variants coming with lockouts for easy adjustment. These forks typically result in more responsive handling, with active suspension and better traction.
Top Mountain Bike Forks
- Marzocchi 66 ATA 140-180mm Travel Fork
- Surly 1×1 Rigid Fork
- Marzocchi 55 ATA Micro 125-165mm Travel Fork
- Marzocchi 4X World Cup 100mm Travel Fork
- RockShox Reba Team 29er Dual Air Fork
- Magura Menja Fork
- RockShox Sid Race Fork OE 2009
- RockShox Reba Team Dual Air Fork with BBMC
- Surly Instigator Rigid Fork
- Marzocchi 22 LO Remote Control 100/120mm Travel Fork
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December 13, 2009
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