Bikes Cars and Boats

The front forks of bicycles have changed massively since the invention of the mountain bike. Due to the introduction a requirement developed for protection from impact of rocky mountains. A requirement that simply had not been there before.

Generally on MTB’s now days you will usually find that the front forks have an integrated set of shock absorbers, with the blades being made from upper and lower extendable tubes, called ‘legs’. These telescopic tubes allow the impact of the rocky terrain under the tyres to be reduced, thereby making the bike much easier to control in rough conditions.

The characteristics for MTB Forks can change massively, with the forks travel and handling characteristics setup to a specific discipline of mountain biking. For example, the cross country rider will require a different suspension fork to a downhill mountain bike racer, who will have a different fork again to a freeride rider. Cross country bikes will not require as much suspension fork travel, typically near eighty to one hundred millimeters and can be made from lighter metal when compared to the suspension used on a DH mountain bike. This is basically as they won’t receive as much punishment as they might in other situations.

When suspension was initially introduced onto mountain bikes, a travel distance of the above amount was normal. Now though, DH forks offer typically around 150 to 200 mm of travel. There are some downhill mountain bike forks though which can offer anywhere up to 300 millimetres of travel for the most extreme conditions!

Some mountain bike suspension forks may also allow the rider to change the suspension travel to suit particular sections of terrain. A higher travel for DH and extreme terrain, and less travel for the not so rough cross country or up hill sections. The rider may even want to completely eliminate suspension fork travel all together which would be an advantage on a smooth concrete road for example. This lockout capability may even be activated remotely from the handle bars making use of a cable.

Whatever the discipline of mountain biking you do, it benefits you to choose your mountain bike front suspension forks carefully as when you pick the right forks you will gain a noticeable performance advantage.