• As mountain biking has grown in popularity over the past 10 to 15 years, the range of accessories and components available has grown exponentially.
• Today, the choice is almost limitless, and has become highly specialized depending on the type of mountain biking you are into.
• It can all become a bit confusing, especially to newcomers to the sport.
• One of the biggest and most important choices any mountain biker needs to make is their choice of mountain bike suspension forks.

So, what is that you need to look for when buying suspension forks for your mountain bike?

Your choice of bicycle forks will depend on the kind of mountain bike riding you will be doing and what you expect from your bike forks. You’ll need to think about factors such as the bike fork’s movement, weight, and bounce.

So, what type of suspension forks do you need?

This is one of the first things you will need to consider. You can choose between coil or air shocks. If you’re planning on some heavy duty riding, then you may want to go with the coil springs. These are considered more reliable and can handle bigger and harder impacts.

If you’re looking to keep the weight down on your bike, then you’ll probably want to choose a pair of carbon bike forks with air shocks, as air shocks are lighter than coil shocks.

What type of movement do you want in your suspension forks?

Next, you’ll want to consider how much travel you need in your suspension forks. This simply means the amount of movement in the suspension when pressure is applied to the bike forks. If you are going to be doing a lot of downhill riding, then you’ll want your suspension to have more travel. If you’ll be on trails with a lot of uphill riding, then you’ll want less movement in your mountain bike forks as this will give you more efficient riding uphills. You should also check to see if the suspension on the forks can be adjusted. This way, you can have less travel when you’re riding uphill, and adjust them out for more travel when you’re on the way back down.

Another key aspect of the movement of your suspension forks is the bounce. This is just how quickly your suspension springs back to its original position after it has been depressed. The bounce in the suspension will affect the ride you get from your suspension. Try to find a pair of suspension forks that allows you to adjust the bounce.

If you will be doing a combination of road riding and riding off road, then you should look for a pair of forks that you can lock. This way, when you’re riding on the road, you’ll experience more efficient pedaling, as the forks will not depress when you push down on the front pedal, which disperses the energy you are applying to your front pedal. Then, when you need a smoother ride on the rough stuff, you can unlock the suspension.

When it comes to choosing the right suspension forks for your mountain bike, you need to think about the kind of riding you will be doing and then speak to the experts at your local cycling shop.

Tags: bicycle fork, bicycle forks, bike suspension forks, carbon bike fork, mountain bike fork, suspension fork

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 9:43 am and is filed under Suspension Forks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.