Suspension

The suspension is one of the most important pieces of your mountain bike. It’s what keeps you rolling smoothly over all the bumps and jolts on the trail. It hugely affects the handling of the bike and what you can use it for. Shock absorption relies on either a metal spring to absorb bumps or an air shock, which uses air compression for the same purpose. The suspension system is so important that bikes are labeled based on whether they have both front and rear suspension (“full suspension”), only front suspension (“hardtail”), or none at all (rigid).

Types of MTB Suspensions

High-end mountain bikes can have different types of suspensions depending on their intended use:

  1. Hardtail: These bikes have a suspension fork at the front but no rear suspension. Hardtails are generally lighter and more efficient on climbs and less technical trails. They’re a popular choice for cross-country (XC) riding and racing. A lot of riders also appreciate the direct feedback of a hardtail for an old-school riding style or fine-tuning their technical skills. Hardtails are also much more affordable than full-suspension bikes.
  2. Full Suspension: These bikes have both front and rear suspension systems. Full-suspension bikes are designed to handle more aggressive and technical terrains, providing better traction, comfort, and control. Most high-end mountain bikes are full-suspension.
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How Does a MTB Suspension Work?

The whole suspension system design varies from brand to brand, but overall they share a few basic components.

Front Fork

The front fork is what connects the handlebars and the frame at the front end to the front wheel. A fork can be rigid or it can have suspension integrated into it. The whole fork can be changed out on most bikes. High-end forks are typically made from carbon fiber or high-grade aluminum. A suspension fork can use either air springs or coil springs.

Air Springs: These are more common in high-end forks due to their lightweight and easily adjustable nature. Riders can fine-tune the air pressure to suit their weight and riding style.

Coil Springs: These provide a more consistent feel and are often preferred for downhill and freeride applications. However, they are heavier and less adjustable than air springs.

Understanding the technical terms

There are a lot of technical terms about mountain bikes suspensions. Here are some of the more important ones.

Damping: This basically refers to how the suspension behaves when your bike hits a bump or a drop. It “damps” the hit and softens the impact.

Rebound Damping: Controls how quickly the fork extends after compression, affecting how the bike handles successive bumps.

Compression Damping: Controls how the fork compresses under load. This can be adjusted for both low-speed (e.g., small bumps and pedaling forces) and high-speed (e.g., large impacts) compression.

Travel: Refers to the amount of movement the fork allows. It’s measured in millimeters and ranges from 100mm (or even less) for cross-country to 200mm (or even more) for downhill.

Tuning: Tuning means adjusting how the suspension behaves. Suspension should be stiffer for heavier riders and softer for lighter riders. There’s a lot more to it than that, and there are different ways to tune a suspension for riding on gravel or doing big jumps, but essentially it means adjusting the settings.

Lockout: Lockout means essentially turning off the suspension. You lock it in place. The purpose is to get maximum efficiency out of your pedaling energy, since the up and down movement offered by a suspension naturally uses some energy.