How to choose the right front fork suspension for your dirt or mountain bikes?

How to choose the right front fork suspension for your dirt or mountain bikes?

The front fork is the most important part for mountain bikes and dirt bikes besides the frame, so how much do you know about mountain bike forks, how do we choose the right front fork for ourselves, and can we maintain the shock ourselves? Let’s understand some of the conventional shock suspension knowledge.

 

Let's first understand the composition of the fork, although it contains many complex components, but the working principle is simple and easy to understand, the absorption of energy through compression to mitigate the impact of path obstacles. A Mountain dirt Bike Suspension Forks has three main elements: damping, spring, and outer tube (chassis).

 

Damping: The role of damping is to convert the energy absorbed by the spring into heat, usually by allowing oil to flow through an adjustable hole or stack of laminations. Damping can help control the rate of compression and rebound, and it is usually located in the other fork leg opposite the spring. Spring: The spring is used to absorb the energy of the impact and store it, converting it into heat energy through damping when the front fork is extended. The outer tube (chassis): The Mountain dirt Bike Suspension Forks chassis houses the spring and damping, providing a strong and stable working platform for precise handling while riding.

 

 

What is the difference between coil springs and air springs in shocks?

 

There are two types of fork springs available today: air springs or coil springs. The coil is more linear, and some manufacturers have coil springs with variable coil spacing that require more force to compress the spring at the end of the stroke. Fastace ALX13RC dirt Bike front fork is the coil springs

 

 

 

What does a negative pressure spring do?

 

Before the front fork begins to respond to impact, there is an initial resistance, which is the static friction of the seals versus the pressure on the air piston in the positive air chamber. To reduce this resistance, a negative pressure spring is used as opposed to a main air chamber spring. Most air negative pressure gas springs use a valve to balance the pressure in the negative pressure spring and the positive pressure spring, so the initial pressure is the same for both.

 

What is rebound damping?

 

Rebound damping controls the rate of compression of the fork after it hits the ground. If the rebound damping is too low (-), the fork will expand and contract faster and will feel bouncy and out of control. If the rebound damping is too high (+), the fork will stretch slower after compression and performance will be reduced if you are going on high speed bumpy roads.Fastace ALX13RC front fork uses rebound damping.It helps to set appropriately according to the rider's weight, habit and road conditions When riding on hills or curvy roads, you can turn the rebound adjustment screw clockwise to slow down the rebound of the front reduction.

When riding in the city or on bad roads, you can turn the rebound adjustment screw in the counterclockwise direction to make the front rebound a little faster and more active to reduce the hardness.

 

What is low speed compression damping?

 

Low-speed compression damping is a slower compression rate (not bike speed), which affects the mid-travel of the fork. If you feel you have a spring with high sensitivity for small vibrations and anti-bottom, but feel the bike lacks mid-range support, especially when braking, or flying dropouts, then more low-speed compression damping is needed, but it will reduce fork sensitivity, so add the lowest level to get enough support.

 

What is high speed compression damping?

 

Some high end forks and rears have a high speed compression damping adjuster (HSC) that controls damping when the suspension is compressing at high speed. If you find that the fork or shock bottoms out easily, the high speed compression damping can be adjusted.ALX13RC is best  forks for dirt bike and mountain bikes

 

How fork preload (Sag) is adjusted

 

Sag is very important for fork settings and refers to the degree to which the fork compresses under the rider's weight (including equipment). most fork manufacturers recommend between 15-20% depending on riding style. sag also changes the bike's geometry, with less sag making the front end taller. More Sag provides better comfort and grip, but lower front end height during heavy braking and downhill. Generally speaking more Sag (20%) is good for cornering and less Sag (15%) is good for pedaling.

 

What is fork offset?

 

The concept of front fork offset is simple: a short fork offset has a long trail, and in theory a long trail has more stable handling. 29er forks have a longer offset and therefore a shorter trail, for faster handling. Some brands offer a variety of fork offset options, such as the Fastace ALX13RC dirt Bike Front fork which offers 51 and 42mm. in back to back testing, we found that the difference in ride feel between the different offsets was minimal and easily offset by the rider's posture. We prefer the shorter offset and there appears to be no loss of rudder agility or response.

 

Is more rigidity in the outer tube better?

 

The new 38mm fork is a popular product for Enduro, and increasing it by 2mm seems exciting. Increasing the diameter of the tube will make it four times more rigid for the same wall thickness, which means the small change in diameter is greater than one might think. But you can't have it both ways. With an increase in tube diameter comes an increase in weight, and with increased rigidity comes a decrease in comfort. If you race a lot and are heavier, then larger diameters can be considered. If you are looking for light weight, or just casual riding, then 36/35mm is enough.

 

How often should I service my forks?

 

The reality is that many people don't have the concept of spending money on maintenance, and we prefer to spend it on other visible upgrades. But. Front forks or rear guts are complex moving parts, so they need to be lubricated regularly, and if you take care of them, you can enjoy the great performance they bring. Fastace ALX13RC dirt Bike Front fork uses suspension oil to lubricate the seals, the specific maintenance time depends on the frequency of use and the use of the environment, high frequency or poor environment, it is recommended to maintain once every six months.

 

Can I adjust the travel of the fork?

 

If you frequently get new frames or like to adjust the geometry of your bike, you may need a fork with adjustable travel. The current range of top endurance forks is fixed travel. However, certain forks (such as the Fastace ALX13RC Front fork ) have internally adjustable travel, allowing the user to change the travel themselves, but in most cases, a different length air spring or pads will need to be purchased.