Cycling offers a huge selection of different options for bicycles designed for specific riding styles (aggressive, high-speed, quiet, trial and others), and depending on this, manufacturers equip the units for comfort and maximum pleasure.
The most common options with European quality and high comfort (within a bicycle) are models equipped with vibration dampers on the front fork, but there are even more comfortable models with rear shock absorbers. Naturally, you have to pay for comfort, and if there are rear shock absorbers, the cost of a real (not a Chinese fake) bike will be prohibitive.
Best Bicycle Forks: Hard or Cushioned
Bicycle forks fall into two main categories: hard and cushioned, but each of these models has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The benefits of forks with shock absorbers are the smoothness of overcoming various bumps and a high degree of control over the control of the bike. Due to shock absorbers, forks firmly press the tire against the road surface and allow constant monitoring of the control.
Rigid forks for bicycles also have their advantages: low cost, ease of construction, low-cost maintenance, and low weight. This type of front bike forks is mainly used in low-cost or high-speed models.
Disadvantages of Front Bicycle Forks
The disadvantages of forks of this type are the large (when compared with ordinary) weight and cushioning, which dampens the efforts of the cyclist when you press the pedal. Periodic maintenance of shock absorbers should also be included in the category of minuses of forks with shock absorbers, for which you will have to purchase additional keys and screwdrivers, but a set of tools would be ideal.
Iron bicycle forks have some drawbacks: they do not depreciate when riding on a bad road, which is why they have a bad effect on the entire structure and the cyclist.
Depreciation fork principle
Most forks with shock absorbers operate on the principle of telescopy, based on two tubes, one of which is smaller in diameter and the second is larger (inside it is a shock absorber that dampens sudden changes in the tube with a small diameter).
Depending on the layout, shock absorbing forks for bicycles are divided into three groups: regular, inverted and specific.
The usual layout consists of an upper tube of a smaller diameter and a lower tube of an increased size, in which the shock absorber is located.
Inverted forks work on exactly the same principle as ordinary forks, except that the piston (small diameter tube) is not on top, but on the bottom. This type of bicycle fork is inconvenient because of the constant contamination of the cylinder, but, among other things, its cost is significantly higher than usual.
Specific front forks are based on the same piston function as conventional ones, but are equipped with several pistons and levers compared to them, and one-leg forks are also included in this group.
Bicycle Fork Standards
Regardless of the design and the presence of shock absorbers, the front forks are divided into four main groups according to the diameter of the pipes used:
- Inch.
- 1 inch and 1/8 inch.
- 1 inch and ¼ inch.
- 1 inch and ½ inch.
For a different driving style, three types of piston stroke in the front wheel fork are used:
- Short stroke - from 2.5 to 3 centimeters (used for walking and high-speed driving).
- The average stroke length is from 5 to 7.5 mm (the main application in tourism).
- Long piston stroke from 12 to 30 centimeters (used for mountain descents).
Front forks for bicycles by type of shock absorbers
- Spring shock absorbers forks - the cheapest option with an initial cost of 600 rubles. This is the category of the most short-lived shock absorbers, suitable only for simple skating teenagers. Springs for this type of forks are divided by price category: inexpensive (from 600 to 1500 rubles) and expensive (from 1500 to 3000 rubles).
- Spring fork with an elastomer element that dampens serious shocks. Price range from 2000 to 3500 rubles. A practical model for ordinary driving, quite high quality in relation to the price.
- Shock absorbers air principle. The price starts from 7500 rubles. This is one of the most common models of bicycle forks due to quality and resistance to stress.
- Air-oil shock absorbers. The cost starts from 10 000 rubles. Wear-resistant model requiring constant monitoring of the oil cartridge.
- Spring-oil shock absorbers forks. Price frames from 7500 to 10 500 rubles. This type of forks is the most popular among fans of aggressive bicycle driving styles.
Front Fork Maintenance
The front forks on the shock absorbers do not require repair, but they (unlike iron forks) need to constantly monitor and check the condition of the boot, which, as it helps, can also hurt. Initially, the rubber gasket is installed to restrain dust and dirt, but it may happen that the dirt clogs under the boot and scratches the “piston”, which will lead to premature failure of the plug.
To control the shock absorber, inspect the boot and the “piston” (small diameter tube) for scratches and chips.
If at least a small hole is discovered on the boot due to wiping, it should be cut off and the condition of the shock absorber should be continued without it, otherwise the dirt will get inside, and it will not be possible to notice this trouble in time.
Note With constant wiping of the shock absorber cylinders and meticulous monitoring of their cleanliness, the service life can be significantly extended.
When the shock absorber is fully out, it will be easier to replace it, but there are workshops that can take on the repair of the front fork of the bicycle, the only difficulty may be the availability of spare parts for the broken shock absorber. Repair in most cases is impractical due to the high cost, it will be easier to replace the fork for the bike as a whole than to wait for the result of the repair and the arrival of original spare parts from the manufacturer.