Front suspension question - air or oil or what....

beverick

I'm looking to spend about £500-£750 on mountain bike for occasional off road use inlcuding woodland and XC as well as hammering down the odd trail and towpath. I've convinced myself that I want a hardtail but I'm not sure about the different types of front suspension - basically air or oil damped.

What is the basic difference in handling, performance and maintenance of front sus for either oil or air damped. On what should I base my decision and why is one type better than another?

Bikes in the "possible" list are Cannondale Trail SL2, Boardman Comp (but I can't bring myself to give that much money to Halfords for a bike) and Claud Butler Cape Wrath 27. Any comments on the merits or demerits of the above would also be welcome.

Bob

nicklouse

if the fork is damped it will be oil damped.

the spring may be coil or air.

Oh some really cheap forks may have elastomers for some "damping" or have no damping.

But dont worry about the for as the bike as a package is more important.

have a look at the stickies in the buying advice forum.

stumpyjon

Coil forks are supposed to be smoother and plusher, air forks are easy to adjust for rider weight and style (coil forks may need the spring changing if the rider is outside the springs standard weight range).

Don't discount Halfords, some of their bikes, including the boardmans, are decent specs and often good value for money. Halfords real weakness tends to be customer service and mechanical skills although this can vary massively from store to store.

beverick

stumpyjon wrote:

Coil forks are supposed to be smoother and plusher, air forks are easy to adjust for rider weight and style (coil forks may need the spring changing if the rider is outside the springs standard weight range).

Don't discount Halfords, some of their bikes, including the boardmans, are decent specs and often good value for money. Halfords real weakness tends to be customer service and mechanical skills although this can vary massively from store to store.

Thanks for that. Do you have any thoughts on how durable air/coil shocks are (ie will one last longer than the other?).

I know my hatred of Halfords is perhaps misplaced but I can't help feeling that they'll eventually kill off the LBS, where you usually can get real assistance from a cycle "mechanic" who knows what they are talking about, and we'll be left with the stock answe of either "dunno" or "you'll have to buy another bike" in response to even the most elementary question.

Bob

nicklouse

beverick wrote:

Thanks for that. Do you have any thoughts on how durable air/coil shocks are (ie will one last longer than the other?.

both are as good and as bad as each other.

some coil forks are crap, some coil forks are fantastic.

Air forks can have problems some dont.

like i said you have to look at the whole package.

diy

To help..

Air shocks are a little easier to set-up and are often a tad lighter than their coil equiv. If you have an air shock and know you are going to do some more rugged stuff, you can reduce the stiffness very easily.

In your budget look out for bikes fitted with Rockshox tora Solo air. Its a tough flexible shock which includes a lock as well as air spring. Locks are useful because they let you set it nice and soft and then switch the lock on for the odd bits of tarmac you might find.

Air shocks are less suitable for very heavy riders (say 17 stone +)

supersonic

They can be more suitable to some - some find coils don't go up to suitable weights.

But never go over the top air limit.

beverick

diy wrote:

To help..

.....

Air shocks are less suitable for very heavy riders (say 17 stone +)

That shouldn't be a porblem, I'm a light-heavyweight 12st 7lb (or a tad over this close to Christmas!)

Thanks for the assistance.

Bob