Originally Posted by
mgarikiparithi
Ok, so suspension fork is a bad thing in a budget bike. Can you do much trailing without a suspension though? and if I do decide to go in for a suspension, I would still need to find some good models before I go to my LBS.
How do I decide if the components are "cheap" or not?
Thanks for all the responses guys.
The word is "damping".
"Shock fork" is really a misnomer. "Suspension fork" would be more accurate. A car suspension, for example, has both springs and shock absorbers (dampers). Cheaper bicycle suspension forks make do without the shock absorbers so they have no damping. When you hit a bump the wheel compresses the spring and travels upward. If you hit the bump hard enough, momentum continues to carry the wheel upward until it loses contact with the trail.
A properly damped suspension fork doesn't do that. It holds the tire in contact with the trail so you have much better control. It doesn't feel faster because you eliminate the drama but a good suspension fork will make any rider MUCH faster on the rocky downhills.