Spire

I'm going to get my MTB out for the early spring to ride on while there is still salt on the roads. I know that brakes can freeze up or have a reduced stopping power as the temperature decreases. But is there anything to worry about with the suspection system? My bike has about 1.5 inches of travel. Do I need to be careful in the cold?

MeHT

AFAIK oil is stiffer in cold -> you'll get a stiffer fork. If it's air, I'd think the opposite.

MikeOK

Spire- depends on if you have oil/ and or air suspension. If oil, it will heat up after a little riding anyway so you will probably notice little difference after a few minutes of riding. If air, that's another matter. You want to check your pressure in the temp you will be riding in. Again, it depends on the model, but for example on both my kid's RS SID and my 5th element- if I pressure them up in the shop where it is, say 70 F (20 C), the pressure will drop considerably when I take it outside where it is say 32 F (0 C). On my 5th, if I pressure it to 125 psi and then take it out and check again, it might be down to 90 psi in a few minutes. That's a huge difference in damping. I don't think you would notice it that much on 1.5" of travel but still would make a difference.

PeterG1185

Think about it. Everything when it gets cold contracts except for water when it turns solid. So the air compresses in an air sprung fork and the fork gets softer b/c of less air volume. The oil will start to condense and thus get harder, but will warm up. These effects do happen, but only to a certain extent