Types and features of suspension forks of mountain bikes

Types and features of suspension forks of mountain bikes

The suspension forks of a mountain bike is an important part of the mountain bike. The question that friends who are preparing to start a mountain bike often ask is: Is the front fork really important? In fact, the pros and cons of the front fork of a mountain bike will directly affect the off-road performance and riding comfort of the mountain bike. Therefore, you should choose a different mountain bike front fork according to your riding environment. Today I will take you to understand the types and characteristics of mountain bike forks.

The name of the suspension fork

 
Let’s first popularize the appearance of the suspension fork and the names of each part. The common suspension forks are composed of an upper tube (rudder tube), a fork shoulder, a shoulder cover, a stroke tube (inner tube), and a fork barrel (outer tube). ), fork foot, brake seat and other parts.

Suspension fork classification

As the name suggests, the shock absorber is an essential function of its existence. When riding under the action of gravity and resistance, the shock absorber fork is compressed to the extreme, and then rebounds and repeats this action continuously during the riding process. It greatly reduces unnecessary bumps, provides a more comfortable riding experience, and has the effect of avoiding injuries and overturning. Now, let’s take a look at the suspension media of the suspension front forks. They can basically be classified: Youli rubber front forks, spring front forks, oil spring front forks, oil-gas front forks and dual gas front forks.

Youli rubber front fork

 Earlier, it was often used as a shock absorber for mountain bike bicycles, but now it is rare. UniGlue is made of polyurethane material, has a light weight, simple structure, and relatively low maintenance requirements. However, due to the continuous increase in fork travel in recent years, Youlijiao had to withdraw from the market due to its own shortcomings. Because this material needs to be stacked very high to achieve a long-stroke shock-absorbing effect, it cannot be compared with springs and gas forks.

Spring fork

 The spring front fork uses a spring as a shock-absorbing medium. Its structure is simple, generally there is a spring on one side of the front fork or springs on both sides, and the former is generally the majority. This kind of fork has low cost and low price. The famous brand is generally around 300 yuan, and the second-line brand is generally around 200 yuan. This kind of fork generally has a soft and hard adjustment function to obtain different soft and hard by compressing a spring, and at the same time, a certain stroke is lost. A nominal 80mm fork will lose about 20mm of stroke when adjusted to the hardest condition.

Oil spring fork

 This word should be understood separately: oil resistance + spring. This type of fork is based on the spring front fork with oil damping added on the other side of the spring. Oil damping is the use of oil to adjust the speed of spring rebound. This kind of fork generally has the function of rebound adjustment, locking function, and part of the stroke adjustment function on the basis of adjusting the softness and hardness. The price of this product varies greatly, ranging from 400-1000 yuan. Under normal circumstances, this kind of fork has no advantage in weight, but the locking function can show a greater advantage in leveling and climbing.

Oil and gas fork

 This is similar to the oil spring fork above, except that air pressure is used instead of the spring as the shock-absorbing medium. Adjust the softness and hardness by pumping up. Generally, for riders of different weights, there will be different corresponding air pressure values. Because this type of front fork uses air instead of springs, the weight can be lighter, generally below 1.8kg. But relatively speaking, the price is higher, generally above 1,500 yuan. This kind of fork also has the function of rebounding and locking.

Dual gas front fork

 The dual-air front fork uses a negative air chamber instead of a negative pressure spring, and the softness (rebound speed) of the front fork can be adjusted by adjusting the air pressure of the negative air chamber and the positive air chamber. This is a high-end product. The effect of adjusting the hardness of the front fork with dual air chambers will be better. The weight is lighter, the weight is about 1.6KG. But the price is relatively higher, generally above 2K.

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