A full suspension mountain bike is also known as adual suspension mountain bike because it is equipped with shock absorbers for both wheels. This is in contrast to the hardtail mountain bike which has a shock absorber just for the front wheel. Both types of trail bikes have their own uses. The hardtail bike is better to pedal and is quicker than the full suspension bike on smooth terrain. However the latter kind can run quicker on coarse terrain as the shock absorber allows more traction by soaking up the effects of stumbling blocks. Apart from offering the rider a more comfortable ride, the bike suspension also reinforces efficiency and safety.
Kinds of bicycle Suspension
The suspension system can be implemented through a suspension stem, suspension front fork, rear suspension, suspension seat post, or suspension heart. A mixture of these systems could also be applied. It should be noted the suspension stem is not popular.
The front suspension is usually made feasible by trying a couple of shock absorbers for the front fork. The shock absorber is often made from a spring and a damper. The spring could be a coil spring, compressed air, or elastomer. The damper is mostly provided by letting oil pass through shim stacks or small openings.
Types of Rear Suspension
Rear suspension is often regarded to mean full suspension because mountain bikes with single suspension often apply a front suspension technology. The types of rear suspension include the single pivot, soft tail, Horst link and 4 bar suspensions, unified rear triangle, Virtual Pivot Point, FSR system, DW-link, Equilink, Monolink, and split pivot.
The single pivot is the simplest kind and is also the least expensive. Various bike makers have implemented their own designs for rear suspension and each design has its own advantages and drawbacks. It is up to the purchaser to establish which of the features are most critical to him.
Purchasing a Full Suspension Mountain Bike
When planning to get a full suspension mountain bike it’s vital to ask if you’re actually serious about having the ability to ride across coarse terrain. A good hardtail mountain bike will be quicker than the least costly full suspension bike as the latter is mostly heavier except for being loaded with the basic drawbacks of a rear suspension.
The quantity of suspension travel is also important when buying this type of mountain bike. For uphill or cross country racing, suspension travel should be less than 4.5 inches. These are lighter because the less suspension travel, the lighter the bike.
However for those who want to do some jumping or free riding, the extra weight is not a primary concern. Thus, this sort of off-road bike will sometimes require 6 to 8 inches of suspension travel. And between these two is the trail bike, which requires up to 6.5 inches of suspension travel.
Top Selling Full Suspension Mountain Bikes
- BMC Fourstroke FS03
- GT Sensor 2.0 2010
- Focus Super Bud 2009
- Felt Virtue 3 2010
- Iron Horse Bootleg 1.0
- BMC Trailfox TF02
- Rocky Mountain Element 30 2009
- BMC Fourstroke FS02 2009
- Felt Virtue 3 2009
- Rocky Mountain Element 10 2009
