The damper cartridge in a fork is a cylindrical chamber, like the center of a toilet paper roll, with a shaft-mounted piston in the middle that oil has to pass through as your suspension compresses into its travel and rebounds back to full extension.
How important is a mountain bike fork?
While generally a little slower,
riding rigid forks allows a mountain biker to burn calories faster than when riding with front suspension
. Riding rigid also places a greater importance on trail skills, particularly the reading of terrain and selecting the fastest/smoothest line.
How do I choose a mountain bike fork?
How does a fork lockout work?
A lockout is a small switch placed atop the front right stanchion of your mountain bike’s suspension which
when engaged decreases the low speed compression rate of the front fork, adjustable to the point of being fully rigid
. This switch can also be routed to the handle bar.
How does a MTB damper work?
Are air forks better than coil?
Air forks provide better bottom-out resistance
Near the end of the range, it takes a huge amount of force to further compress the air inside. The total amount of force required to compress an air fork and bottom it out is greater than a coil fork. This is assuming that both are set for the same rider weight.
Is 120 enough to travel?
In addition, you’re not likely to notice much difference between a 120mm, 130mm, and 140mm fork. Honesty,
a 120mm fork is enough travel for most Trail riders
.
Are Mtb forks universal?
No, sadly not
. There are a number of factors that you need to take into consideration before choosing your perfect fork and the first is wheel size. Mountain bikes are available with 26in, 27.5in (650B) and 29in wheels and each requires a specific size of fork.
Can you put a 27.5 fork on a 26 frame?
Condensed answer:
A 26-inch wheel can be easily installed on a 27.5 fork if both are disc brake ready
. If the fork uses rim brakes, however, the braze-ons would be a bit higher, and the calipers won’t catch the rim.
How do I know what size forks to buy?
Wheel sizes
If you have 27.5/650B or 29in wheels then you need the corresponding size fork
. Tip: if you have 26in wheels you can use 26in size forks (obviously) but you can also get away with running a 27.5/650B fork without messing up your bike’s handling significantly.
How do I know if my fork traveled?
If you are trying to measure total travel you will have to let the air out to easily cycle the fork through the entire range of motion.
Use a zip tie around the stanchion to make the measurement. Push the zip tie down to the wiper seal and then compress the fork all the way
. This is your total travel.
How do you unlock front suspension on a mountain bike?
How do you use suspension on a mountain bike?
Is suspension lockout necessary?
Yes, a lockout can definitely mimic the feeling of a fully rigid Bicycle. Overall,
a Suspension Lockout is great at what it is meant for and can still help you out when you are switching between trails and riding on flat surfaces
.
What is a suspension fork?
What is a suspension fork and what difference does it make? A suspension fork is
a front fork that offers some travel and absorbs some of the bumps and imperfections of the road
. Riding two different bikes on the same rough terrain, the one with a suspension fork feels less shaky and offers a smoother ride.
Do air forks have oil?
Rather than do what’s required with conventional forks (that is, bottom the fork out and then carefully measure oil heights), all you need to know with the AER is that
there’s 200ml of oil in each leg
. Pus the oil contained within the WP air fork’s outer chamber is purely for lubrication.
How do rear MTB shocks work?
When the shock absorber is compressed, a piston inside it forces oil to
pass
through a small hole, called an orifice. It takes energy to force the fluid to pass through the orifice, and this energy is converted to heat in the oil.
How do I know if my forks are spring or air?
Do coil forks have oil?
In saying that however, coil forks are simpler to maintain and service than air forks; a couple of seals and
some oil
is all you need to keep them running smoothly. Coil forks are generally a bit cheaper than air but are also heavier. These forks are best used on bigger travel bikes that go deeply into their travel.
Do air forks have springs?
Air forks come as standard equipment on many KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas motorcycles. (1) Air forks.
Instead of a spring
, compressed air is used to support the weight of the bike and rider on air forks.
Is 160mm travel too much for trail riding?
160mm of travel is only really needed if you’re hitting big hucks, or you’re smashing really long bouldery fast descents
. Do I need 160mm travel? 99% of the time, no.
Is more travel better MTB?
A longer-travel bike will be better downhill
and a shorter travel bike will be more efficient for racing. Ultimately, if you can only have one bike for casual riding, or you’re unsure what type of mountain bike you need for your local trails, this category is the best option.
Is 100mm travel enough?
yes, it’s plenty
. pro-Dh’ers need/use 200mm-ish. mere mortals will be riding stuff that’s half as gnarly*, half as fast*. that’ll be 100mm being plenty for us then.
How do I know my bike fork size?
Can you put a longer fork on a mountain bike?
In general,
bikes will happily accept forks that are up to 20mm larger than their designers intended
. Feel free to go beyond that if you must, but be prepared for a bike that the manufacturer didn’t really intend to create. That doesn’t mean it will suck, but it’s just something to be aware of.
What is fork offset?
Fork offset is
the distance between the front axle and the steering axis of the fork
. The diagram above shows how the front axle is offset so it is forward of the steering axis. This offset is measured in millimeters. Its purpose is to adjust the amount of ‘trail’ in the steering geometry.
