Suspension Fork types

There are essentially 3 different kinds of suspension when referring to the front fork. While each uses a spring and provides extra suspension during riding, they all operate slightly differently and utilize different materials. Let’s get into the differences:

Oil suspension: Oil forks use a chamber of oil in the compression circuit to interact with the spring and provide smooth transitional movement. This is also known as an ‘oil damper’. This allows for smoother and more effective shock absorption than a traditional coil suspension fork. This style is gaining popularity in Europe due to its low maintenance and lasting durability.

Air Suspension: Air forks use an air chamber in the compression circuit to interact with the spring. Air forks have a progressive spring rate. This means that as the fork compresses, the air spring also compresses and the more it is compressed, the harder or stiffer it becomes.

Coil suspension: Coil forks use a metal coil as the spring. No additional material is used in the compression circuit to interact with the coil. Changing the spring rate is more involved — you need to remove the spring entirely and replace it with a stiffer or softer spring.