ATTN: First Time Suspension Buyers
Oct 09 '01
The Bottom Line Research and patience is the best advice when shopping for a new fork or suspension bike. Visit and support your local bike shop.
So you're thinking about trading in that rusty pile of nuts and bolts for a shiny new suspension rig. Fantastic. But there are a few things you should know before rushing down to the bike shop and dropping your hard earned cash on that flashy new sled.
First off, find your price limit. If it's not more than $400 I suggest sticking with a nice hard tail. Sure, suspension is really cool and everybody wants it, but if you aren't prepared to spend the money to get the good stuff, you are going to be very disappointed in the performance of your new bike over time. Also, make sure you're not sacrificing frame quality for the fork.
Second, you need to figure out exactly how much abuse your fork is going to receive. If you are planning on giving a $200 fork a savage beating, you have another thing coming. That fork will give out on you before you know it. Heavy abuse requires a heavy duty fork like the Manitou X-Vert.
Next, you will need to take a look at what kind of terrain your new fork will see. If it's anything from smooth blacktop to stump jumping through the woods, make sure you get the right amount of adjustibility. However, if you ride, say, 90% rough singletrack, the adjustibility of the fork is going to be next to meaningless to you. Take a look at where you do most of your riding and judge the level of diversity in the terrain.
Finally, look at all the forks available on the market and do the research. Sure, you could just dump some cash into the register at your bike shop. The right fork might not be the most expensive fork. But ask for help at the shop. Those greasy mechanics live and die for this stuff, and no one knows better than them.
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Epinions.com ID:
sammy_marvelle
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Location: Eau Claire, WI, USA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
A plethora of bicycle knowledge ready for distribution!
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