Why is one suspension better than another?

Oxygen Thief

Just wondering what makes a good suspension really? As in airs better than coil but why? And how are some air ones better than other air ones etc? Is it it's responsiveness? Ease of cmopression or what?

Any info much appreciated

nicklouse

neither is better.

oh and Air is a spring.

I guess you mean air or coil.

Oxygen Thief

Yeah that's what I meant ;-)

Some suspensions are better than other's though, why?

ride_whenever

quality of construction
tightness of seals
ease of use
nature of rebound/compression circuits


Generally any travel adjust air fork is pretty rubbish due to the increased number of seals required and therefore massively increased stiction.

anto164

Some are better due to weight, responsiveness, plushness, useful levels of adjustability, long term performance, service intervals, ease of services etc..

and don't forget rider preference..

A good suspension fork is one which is predictable, controllable, and smooth through it's action.

Oxygen Thief

Cool, few of them was as I thought, but thanks for the others. Guess I'll not know properly until I get a bike with a decent shock and then compare.

llamafarmer

What is 'a suspension'? Are you talking forks or rear shock units or different rear sus designs?

No offence mate, but it's not a very well thought out question. There's a whole range of properties that can be an advantage, but some might be conflicting - eg a coil fork might feel better and maybe give better performance than an air fork, but will also weigh more and be less adjustable.

It's like asking 'which car is the best?' or 'which television is the best?' - What are you doing with it and what features are most important to you?

nicklouse

ride_whenever wrote:

quality of construction
tightness of seals
ease of use
nature of rebound/compression circuits


Generally any travel adjust air fork is pretty rubbish due to the increased number of seals required and therefore massively increased stiction.

Mmm many use the same seals..... and same number off.

Oxygen Thief

llamafarmer wrote:

What is 'a suspension'? Are you talking forks or rear shock units or different rear sus designs?

No offence mate, but it's not a very well thought out question. There's a whole range of properties that can be an advantage, but some might be conflicting - eg a coil fork might feel better and maybe give better performance than an air fork, but will also weigh more and be less adjustable.

It's like asking 'which car is the best?' or 'which television is the best?' - What are you doing with it and what features are most important to you?

Well I didn't ask 'what is best' did I? I asked what makes a good suspension? I could ask what makes a good car as a perfectly valid question jsut like this one.

llamafarmer

jonbonjovial wrote:

Well I didn't ask 'what is best' did I? I asked what makes a good suspension? I could ask what makes a good car as a perfectly valid question jsut like this one.

You still didn't answer my first question.

And I still stand by my main point - some things contradict each other depending on what you want. If you're talking forks an XC racer might want lightweight and good small bump response, whereas a trail rider might be happy to sacrifice some weight for extra stiffness and be more concerned by how it handles bigger hits.

Oxygen Thief

What's a suspension? I was mainly talking about front forks. But you can answer for rear sus too if you wanted. Either would come under the category of 'suspension' in my eyes. I was looking for any info ata ll on what makes a good suspension. If you'd asnwered on back or front that would have been great, info was all I was after.

I can accept it differs for different types of activiities and compromises have to be made. Was just looking for as much info as possible. Got sme too, people listed characterisitcs which is what I was after. Simples!

I bet if this question was asked to you with the a million quid reward if you answered it you would have answered it with as much nifo as possible and not questions 'what's a suspension?' etc. Pedant much! it's in the beginner section, obviously I wasn't looking for anything specific.

llamafarmer

I was trying to keep the criticism constructive so you could get some more specific answers, but never mind.

Oxygen Thief

Thanks, basic understanding I am after at moment. With all the variables I would then have had a think about what may be beneficial where etc and then came back with more questions. Cheers for advice I just like to get the basics then see what I can make of them before asking mroe and seeing how wrong and right I was.

Cheers for the bit about trails, XC etc that gives me a head start on my thinking

bartimaeus

For full suss one of the key considerations is how well the rear suspension can be tuned to give you enough travel when you need it (over bumps) and no travel when you don't need it (e.g. when you stamp on the pedals). All the manufacturers will claim that their system is the 'most active', the 'most active under braking' and the least susceptible to 'pedal bob' - and some systems allow you to lockout or limit the travel for different conditions - but you'll have try out different types to see how much is marketing hype and how much really helps.

5pudgun

I am a fan of air suspension.You can tune it to suit yourself using a shock pump.But then again I ride mainly xc