Hello there docktoravalanche (nice nickname btw!)

My Twenty has a pair of pretty bottom-end 'Chili-Works' supsension forks that I got off eBay UK for about £15 GBP (approx. $25 USD). They do the job but are pretty heavy and clumpy.


Chili Works 20" forks

Choices for the Twenty are fairly limited because of the 1" threaded headset and its 'longer-than-most-bikes' headtube. This influenced my decision as at the time I could find no-sources of the RST 200k 20" forks that seem to be the popular choice on US upgraded Twenties. (See pic)


RST 200k 20" forks

A good place to start looking is at a specialist folding bike or recumbent store that is used to dealing in forks for 20" wheels; places like Gaerlan in the US, Optima Recumbent Parts in the Netherlands and Kinetics in the UK being good places to start. In my experience there seems to be quite a gulf in terms of mid-end components - being either über cheap forks with polymer bushes doing the damping or 'full-on' carbon affairs with disc mounts and lockouts, like the Meks Carbon AC fork - a snip at £225 GBP!


Meks Carbon AC 20" forks

If you change the headset on a Twenty it opens things up as you can then fit forks with an unthreaded 1" steerer. Alternatively you can get unthreaded forks threaded at your local bike shop — or even get someone who can weld/braze to replace/extend the steerer — but this is where things get more advanced [and of course - more expensive].

You could trawl small ads and eBay for kids' mountain bikes with no-name suspension forks. This would be a good cheap way of doing it though you may need to get the steerer extended to fit the long Twenty headtube.

Finally - I think there are two other potential options open to you:

One is to get a Pantour suspension hub. These are a cool alternative that have up to about 30mm of travel built into an eccentric wheel hub that means you can use an unsuspended fork - you just need someone that can build the hub into a 20" wheel for you.


Pantour Hub animation

The other is to get a pair of Schwalbe Big Apple tyres that have inbuilt cushioning and a wider tread that can roll safely, quickly and efficiently on lower inflation than narrower tyres making a softer and smoother ride.


Schwalbe Big Apple Tyre

Hope that's some help!
Huw