ALL ABOUT SUSPENSION FORK FOR MTB

INTRODUCTION

It is common among cyclists to have suspension forks on their mountain bikes and most of those can be full suspension fork. What follows illustrates the different types of forks associated with different mountain bike disciplines as well as all the features they have

Forks feature the same basic components. Starting from the steerer, the crown, the stanchions, the lowers the axle and the cable guide. On the reverse side, one can find also the brake mount.

Steerer

Steerers come into two different materials. The first one being alloy as well as carbon. Concerning seizing, the old-fashioned model (one inch and one -eight) and secondly one inch and one eight to 1.5 which is called tapered and most fashionable. Lastly, there is also an oversize type which is 1.5 inch from top to bottom. When buying a fork, one should make sure to match the steerer set up to not only the headset but also the frame.

Crown.

The are usually 2 different types of crown fork. The standard type being called single crown and the second one being the dual crown fork. One can find a crown at the top with longer stanchions that comes right up to the top of the head tube. The reason behind this is to add more stiffness of the chassis from top to bottom, two crowns providing extra strength and stiff steering. Perhaps, the only disadvantage of this lies into the added weight on the fork. They tend to be substantially heavier then single crown model that we have seen earlier.

Axle

The most conventional set up for axle consists of a 15 mil axel which opens and closes. Concerning more gravity-oriented forks, they tend to have a bigger axle which sets a 20 mils. Obviously, its purpose is to simply add strength to it. Axles feature as well pinch spots, which you do not get on the trail fork.

Wheel Size

With 26 inches being the original mountain bike wheel size, things change drastically over the last years with the introduction of 27.5 which set the standard for all disciplines across the board using that. 29 inches wheel is more oriented towards the XC kind of market, but it is surely still a cool feeling when one go out and ride on the big wheels. If one is thinking of changing forks, one should also think of matching the fork to the wheel size. It will be a specific fork for specific wheel size.

Travel

Travel is normally measured in millimetres and it consists of the amount of movement that one have in the stanchions. What one discovers is that from the shorter travel fork moving up to the bigger more gravity-fed forks the stanchions tend to get slightly wider. This is for to ensure an enhanced stiffness for the fork and

Cross country

Broadly speaking, those who opt to race on hard tails, they use about 80 to 100 mil choosing for the lightest fork possible.

Enduro.

Enduro forks are balancing act. The purpose of enduro suspension fork is being stiff enough to take the punishment on the ride descent, but then not to hinder the characteristics of the bike too much when riding or single track or climbing. Most of riders would normally look between 140 mil to 170 mil of travel

Downhill fork

Downhill fork features stanchions going all the way to the top of the frame. It also presents 20 mil axles as opposed to 15 on the trail bike type. This suspension fork type characterizes itself itself for a super supple feel. Something worth mentioning is the weight level which is around 2.7 kilograms and also have around 200 mils of travel.