VOTE: Coil or Air Spring for Front Fork on Road Bike (MTB)

[Grider]

My setup is: 26" MTB Bike w/ 52v rear Hub Motor.
I need help choosing a front fork for the road that will be nice and cushiony, not rough and harsh.

Narrowed my choices to these two:
1) Rockshox coil spring 26" 30 Silver TK, OR
2) Rockshox Recon 26" with Solo Air Spring

Endless Sphere Universe, please pick the choice you would go with and reasons why.

 

[fechter]

Personally I would go for the coil spring. Air is better for big bumps. Coil springs are better for small bumps and you never have to worry about the air leaking out.

 

[dogman dan]

Air for the win, when riding up a rock staircase on a desert singletrack.

But for the road, the coil will be a lot longer lasting, imo. No need to get into shock pumps to keep riding for one. In fact, for road you might not need much more than the cheapo pogo stick fork, unless you are loading up, cargo, or you weigh 300 pounds.

 

[neptronix]

What speeds will you be traveling at, and on what kind of road? ( pothole nightmare - smooth as glass - what? )

 

[Chalo]

Coil spring is easier to live with and a little more supple, but that's assuming you get the spring rate right. If the spring is too hard or soft for your weight and application, it's a much bigger hassle to change it than it is to change the pressure in an air fork.

 

[Grider]

I've ordered the coil shock. It comes stock with a medium spring. I'm about 160 lbs. Will be riding on the streets...nice and smooth, but sometimes I encounter bumps, or have to ride on the sidewalk, mostly going 10 - 20 mph. Now I need help choosing a spring because I know the medium spring will be too firm. I just installed a 250lb rear coil spring shock with damping which works SUPERB.

I would like the ride to be nice and plush, so do y'alls recommend:

Extra Soft (Rockshox Silver) OR SOFT (Rockshox Yellow)????????

Need others' perspectives. Thanks in advance.

 

[markz]

How easy can you buy parts for stock susp forks?

My Norco CityGlide needs a new fork, the fork on my Townie is not long enough. Townie is too flashy to ride, I get too many compliments on it. The Norco CityGlide looks dingy enough that I've been mistaken for a bum atleast once, probably more no doubt.

I was pondering the XCT, XCM
https://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspension/confused-about-low-end-suntour-suspension-forks-640272.html

Doug from SR Suntour here. The hierarchy from low to high would be XCT, XCM, XCR. V2, V3 has to do with the 'version'. higher number is newer generation.

Forks specified by different bicycle brands can be configured in a number of different ways, so its hard for me to understand exactly what you are looking at, that being said;

Our XCM and XCR models come with 30mm stanchions. ( the upper tubes) if you compare this to other forks in the price range, many of our competitors will often use 28mm stanchions. Larger diameter = improved stiffness and strength. Also, the pitch, or width of these two forks is 130mm. You will find that to be a bit wider than many of our competitors. Generally speaking, wider is better.

Second, our XCM and XCR models are what we call QSP, or quick service products. That means if your fork's internals ever wear out our suffer a problem, the fork can be fixed easily by replacing the entire cartridge.

Finally, if you are shopping for a bike that is less than $1,000 I'm sure you have seen that many of those bikes are equipped with SR Suntour forks. The primary reasons for this are based on the fact that the bicycle brands have come to trust SR Suntour to supply them with a reliable product that performs well. (that may seem simple, but its a big deal) Additionally, we operate service centers in North America, Asia and Europe to back up our product.

 

[Grider]

Thread Hijacking just occured? Thanks a lot. Lol

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Thread%20Hijacking

 

[dogman dan]

Well, you never said you wanted super plush ride. Just not too harsh. IMO, not too harsh you get with a zoom pogo stick from a dumpster bike. For sure, the air shock is easier to experiment with, finding the perfect ride.

I just said spring, since you can still adjust rebound on them easy, and they have plenty of travel for street ride needs. Better reliability, and you don't have to carry a pump. Nothing like limping home with an air shock that just blew its air. I found the cheap rock shock fork more than adequate for a bit better ride on street. Nothing like a 700 buck air fork, but plenty plush for riding over all those crappy cracks in pavement.


I think you still made the right choice. Personally, I stiffened up air or spring shocks for my street ride. I didn't want to pogo so much when pedaling hard, and did not need plush. I did need all the travel when I got shoved into the pothole by the car using up the lane next to me. I was not looking for plush ride on the street.


On the dirt, riding over big roots and small boulders, couldn't get a front shock plush enough, and there air for the win. Not really that much pedaling the way I rode dirt, so pogo could be lived with on dirt.

 

[MadRhino]

Spring is cheap and easy to service.

Air cartridge has a wide tuning range and long reliable service, but expansive to replace.

On the street I prefer the solo air because it is never bottomed or beated on such terrain, and can easily be limited in effective travel.

In the mountain trails I like a robust spring loaded old school fork that can survive any abuse. Yet I prefer the tuning, light weight and ride quality of modern air racing forks. I use both, a heavier bike for careless exploration riding, and a lighter one for performance on the nicest well known trails.