Mountain Bikes Hub

Mountain Bike Fork for Safe Biking Experience

by Francis Mwendo

Nothing is as adventurous as mountain biking. But for that you require a good mountain bike fork. Mountain biking can’t ever be an exciting experience if the bike is not equipped properly. It is the Mountain Bike Fork that would actually determine how well you’ll be able to bike on a rugged undulating land. In fact a good fork will also reduce the risk of accidents and misbalances.

A mountain bike fork with generic suspension would be fine whereas a fork without suspension would be very problematic. Expert bikers always have mountain bike forks with full-suspension. Forks lacking suspension can sometimes bend due to excessive pressure and while making steep declines. At times such malfunctions can turn out to be very dangerous! Being unable to bear the force, the bent fork can spring up the biker from the seat and cause a pathetic mishap.

Now, the question is what exactly is the suspension fork? The suspension mountain bike fork is a recent technology undergoing regular innovations. The stretch of vertical movement provided by the mountain bike fork is known as suspension travel. The unit of measure is millimetres. For a steep and rugged terrain, a suspension travel of about 200mm is apt. But for hardcore bikers and more difficult terrains, a mountain bike fork suspension of 300mm is necessary.

Some suspension forks are constructed with effective shock absorbents which makes automatic adjustments while passing over rough terrains. This will help the rider to change the fork and smoothly bike over steep platforms. You can also have a mountain bike fork that will lock itself while taking a smooth, joyous ride around the town.

Most mountain bike forks work according to two basic technologies. Some bikes have suspension forks that use coil springs; the second type of forks is based on compressed air springs. The forks with coil springs are very heavy but the weight can be decreased with the help of various kinds of materials.

However, old-styled bikes should not be fixed with suspension forks. With an amount of about $250 you can easily get a good mountain bike fork which will definitely meet up your requirements for a combination of terrains.

How do you measure a Mountain Bike Fork with suspension?

If i want to upgrade my fork on a mountain bike, i would have to know the measure. sometimes i hear 5″, or 6″, but what is that? is that the whole fork or is that just the part that comes out of the tube. Sometimes its silver metal, coil or covered with rubber with a spring look to it. I mean a fork with suspension, not like a road-bike fork, a free ride mountain bike/dirt jumper fork.

Thanks

5″ or 6″ is the travel of the fork. That means the distance that the stanchions (the silver tubes) that can move inside the lowers. The longer the travel the plusher it should be. Free ride forks usually go from 6″ to 8″.

Dirt jumps forks are like 4″ or 5″, so they’re not the same.