Bike Forks Review

Bike forks hold the front wheel and give the rider the ability to steer and balance on the bike. If you buy your bike fork from an established brand like Answer forks or a Civia fork, it is sure to last a long time. The fork consists of: two dropouts which will hold the axle of the front wheel; two blades which are connected at the fork crown; a steering tube, or steerer as it is sometimes called, through which will run the stem of the handlebars. The steering tube of a bike fork works with the frame through a set of bearings. Bike forks will have what is called a rake, or offset, that will cause the dropouts to be placed forward of the steering axis. This is achieved a couple of ways, but in suspension forks the dropouts are placed just forward of the blades’ centerline. This is because the suspension mechanism on the bike forks and suspension must have straight blades in order to provide adequate shock absorption. Ritchey forks and Odyssey forks carry durable shock resistant forks.

The whole purpose of the bike fork’s offset is to shorten the ‘trail’, the distance between the ground contact point of the front wheel and the point that the steering axis also intersects the ground. A shorter trail means better handling. Bike fork offset will influence the geometric trail which will affect a bike’s handling. An increase in the offset results in a decrease in the trail, and a decrease in the offset will increase the trail. Other advances in bike fork design, as you can see from Tange forks and Sinz forks, include suspension forks with adjustable travel which allows a rider to change the suspension fork’s travel to match the current terrain profile. Usually more suspension travel is needed for downhill terrain than would be needed for uphill or flat terrain. Another option is the Edge Composites fork.

DMR Forks carry some very advanced designs which have the ability to ‘lock out’ the bike fork’s suspension travel all together. This lockout will drastically reduce or even eliminate the suspension fork’s travel to offer better handling over very smooth, flat sections of terrain. Some manufacturers, like the Dimension fork and the Eastern fork, have designed other variations of suspension in bike fork design. One such innovation are single bike shocks, which is built into the steering tube, an example of which are Fox bike shocks. Another design includes suspension forks with only one leg that has a single shock built right into it. Still other manufacturers have designed suspension forks that utilize linkages that provide mechanical actions instead of the usual telescoping elements of most shock absorbers.

Bike fork parts are made from aluminum, carbon fiber, steel, magnesium, titanium, and various combinations of materials. As an example, a fork could consist of an aluminum crown, carbon fiber blades and titanium steering tube and dropouts. The weight, shape, and design of bike forks will noticeably affect the handling of the bike. Bike forks made of carbon fiber, like Oval Concepts fork and Pace fork, are quite popular because they are lighter and can be designed to offer greater shock absorption.

Models

Cannondale forks and Charge forks are dependable models. RST forks and Salsa forks are also models that cyclists prefer. Supercross forks are also notable as are Surly forks.

Pricing

Bike forks very in price dependent upon the design. For low end, non-suspension models one could expect to pay under $100 US. For high end suspension models the price could exceed $600 US.