A full suspension mountain bike is sometimes called a twin suspension off-road bike because it is equipped with shock absorbers for both wheels. This is in opposition to the hardtail mountain bike that has a shock absorber only for the front wheel. Both types of mountain bicycles have their own uses. The hardtail bike is simpler to pedal and is faster than the full suspension bike on smooth terrain. However the latter kind can run faster on coarse terrain as the shock absorber permits more traction by absorbing the effect of obstructions. Aside from offering the rider a more comfy ride, the bicycle suspension also augments efficiency and safety.

Sorts of bike Suspension

The suspension system can be implemented through a suspension stem, suspension front fork, rear suspension, suspension seat post, or suspension center. A mixture of these techniques might also be applied. It should be observed that the suspension stem is not preferred.

The front suspension is mostly made feasible by trying a couple of shock absorbers for the front fork. The shock absorber is often made of a spring and a damper. The spring can be a coil spring, compressed air, or elastomer. The damper is mostly offered by letting oil pass thru shim stacks or small openings.

Kinds of Rear Suspension

Rear suspension is commonly regarded to mean full suspension because trail bicycles with single suspension regularly apply a front suspension technology. The kinds of rear suspension include the single pivot, soft tail, Horst link and four bar suspensions, unified rear triangle, Virtual Pivot Point, FSR system, DW-link, Equilink, Monolink, and split pivot.

The single pivot is the simplest kind and is also the cheapest. Diverse bike manufacturers have implemented their own designs for rear suspension and each design has its own advantages and downsides. It is up to the buyer to ascertain which of the features are most critical to him.

Purchasing a Full Suspension Mountain Bike

When planning to get a full suspension trail bike it’s critical to ask if you’re actually serious about having the ability to ride across rough terrain. A good hardtail trail bicycle will be faster than the least expensive full suspension bike as the latter is mostly heavier aside from being laden with the basic drawbacks of a rear suspension.

The amount of suspension travel is also crucial when buying this kind of mountain bike. For uphill or cross country racing, suspension travel should be less than 4.5 inches. These are lighter because the less suspension travel, the lighter the bike.

However for people that wish to do some jumping or free riding, the additional weight is not a primary concern. So, this sort of off-road bike will usually need 6 to 8 inches of suspension travel. And between these two is the trail bike, which needs up to 6.5 inches of suspension travel.

Top Selling Full Suspension Mountain Bikes

• Felt Redemption 1 2010
• Mongoose Boot’R Team 2010
• Mongoose Canaan Elite 2009
• GT Force 1.0 2010
• Focus First Extreme 2010
• Iron Horse Bootleg 1.0
• BMC Trailfox TF03 2009
• Rocky Mountain Altitude 70 (WS) 2009
• Kona One20 Primo 2009
• GT Fury 2010