Tips about E-bike fork suspension

 

1. Introduction

 

Electric bikes, also known as e-bikes, have gained immense popularity in recent years as a greener and more efficient mode of transportation. With their rising popularity, the demand for electric bike Suspension has also increased. Suspension play a crucial role in ensuring a smooth and comfortable ride, especially on rough terrains. In this ultimate guide, we will provide you with everything about electric bike Suspension.

 

2. What are electric bike Suspension and why are they important?

 

Electric bike Suspension, also known as suspension systems, are mechanical devices designed to absorb the impact and vibrations that occur while riding on uneven surfaces. They are an essential component of e-bikes as they help to improve ride quality, enhance comfort, and ensure better control and stability.

 

These suspensions consist of various components such as springs, dampers, and linkages that work together to absorb and dampen the forces encountered during a ride. When you hit a bump or go over rough terrain, the Suspension compresses and releases, absorbing the energy and minimizing the impact on your body and the bike.

 

The primary purpose of electric bike Suspension is to provide a smooth and comfortable ride, making them particularly important for off-road or mountain biking. They help to prevent excessive bouncing and bouncing, allowing you to maintain better control of the bike and reduce the strain on your muscles and joints.

 

Moreover, e-bike Suspension also extends the lifespan of your e-bike as it minimizes the stress on the frame and other components. By reducing the vibrations and impacts, they protect the bike from potential damage and ensure its longevity.

 

3.Types of bike forks

 

In fact, the advantages and disadvantages of bike forks will directly affect the cross-country performance of bikes and riding comfort, so according to your riding environment, you should choose different bike forks. Today I will take you to understand the types of bike forks and their characteristics.

 

Shock Fork Component Names

 

Let's first popularize the appearance of the shock fork and the name of each part, common shock forks are composed of the upper tube (rudder tube), fork shoulder, shoulder cap, travel tube (inner tube), fork barrel (outer tube), fork legs, brake seat and other parts.

 

 

 

Shock forks classification

 

The suspension fork, as the name suggests, Suspension is the necessary function of its existence, when riding under the action of gravity and resistance, the Suspension fork is compressed to an extreme point, and then rebounds to repeat this action, in the process of riding to greatly reduce the need for bumps, to provide a more comfortable riding experience, and has the effect of avoiding injuries and rollover. Now, let's take a look at the Suspension medium from the Suspension fork to see what kinds of it, basically can be categorized: Urethane fork, spring fork, oil spring fork, oil and gas fork and double gas fork.

 

Urethane forks: Earlier often used in bike bicycle Suspension, but nowadays it is rare. Urethane is made of polyurethane material, which is lightweight, simple, and requires relatively low maintenance. However, due to the increasing fork travel in recent years, Urethane has had to be withdrawn from the market due to its own shortcomings. Because this material needs to be stacked very high in order to achieve a long travel shock effect, it cannot be compared to springs and air forks.

 

Spring fork: It uses spring as the Suspension medium. Its structure is simple, generally, there is a spring on one side of the fork or both sides, generally the former is predominant. This kind of fork cost is low, the price is not expensive, the famous brand is generally in the 300 yuan, and the second-line brand is generally in the 200 yuan up and down. This fork generally has a soft and hard adjustment function by compressing the spring to get different soft and hard, at the same time, to lose a certain amount of travel. A nominal 80mm fork in the adjustment to the hardest clear condition, will lose about 20mm of travel.

 

Oil-spring forks: This term has to be understood separately: oil resistance + spring. This type of fork is a spring fork with oil damping added to the other side of the spring. Oil damping is the use of oil to adjust the speed of spring rebound. This kind of fork usually has rebound adjustment, and lockout function, and part of it has a stroke adjustment function on the basis of adjusting the softness and stiffness. The price of such products varies greatly, ranging from 400-1000 dollars. Generally speaking, this kind of fork has no advantage in weight, but the lockout function can reflect a greater advantage in the flat road and climbing.

 

Oil and gas fork: This one is similar to the oil spring fork above, except that gas pressure is used instead of spring as the Suspension medium. The softness is adjusted by pumping air. Generally, for different-weight riders, there will be different air pressure values corresponding. This kind of fork can be lighter in weight, usually under 1.8kg, because it uses air instead of spring. However, relatively speaking, the price is higher, usually more than 1500 dollars. This type of fork also has the function of rebound, lockout.

 

Dual air fork: It uses a negative air chamber instead of a negative pressure spring, and you can adjust the air pressure of the negative air chamber and positive air chamber to adjust the fork's softness and hardness (rebound speed). This is a high-end product. Dual air chambers will be more effective in adjusting the fork's softness and stiffness. The weight is lighter, around 1.6 kg. But the price is relatively higher, usually more than 2K.