What fork do you use and what's best?
There is no one "best", as it depends on too many factors to narrow down very much.
Even saying whether suspended or unsuspended is better, depends on the design of the rest of the bike, rider's needs, terrain, weight limitations, etc.
That said, what I'd use if I could would probably be a modified moped or motorcycle front fork, simply because of the loads I need to carry and the bad road conditions around here (where "construction" doesn't ever stop, and is rather more like they just want to spend money digging things up and patching them over and over, rather than doing things right the first time and having a road that will last 20-30 years or more, instead of "fixing" things every few months (or leaving them unfixed for years, which is more common)).
I'd also probably use a motorcycle rear shock, for the same reasons.
I'm sure they make bicycle stuff that can do what I need it to and weighs notably less than the MC stuff, but it also probably costs more than a small car or nice motorcycle--meanign I could buy a whole motorcycle and salvage it for all of the parts I'd need for my "ultimate cargo bike" build cheaper than just getting a single bicycle-type fork. :lol:
The "nicest" fork I've ever had is an old (2005?) Manitou Skareb air/oil fork, which leaks air and has to be repressurised every other ride (several times a ride if I am carrying a load on the front). But it was old when I got it, already in this condition. New, I'm sure it was better. I still like it better than the other forks I've got but it won't do the work I need it to, mostly. The oil damping needs work, as it has some bob to it, regardless of adjustments--probably bad seals somewhere inside--but it was probably nice when it was new.
The nicest reliable fork I've ever had is a Suntour low-end spring/elastomer I forget the model of, but I have two--one from a bike shop junk shelf and one from Mdd0127. Does way better than any other similar fork I've had, including the pretty similar RST omni that came on DayGlo Avenger (probably from 2005, as that's when the bike was made). But it isn't adjustable and isn't designed to handle what I put it thru with CrazyBike2, so Ic an still easily bottom it out especially going straight into a driveway or parking lot entrance--I ahve to enter those at diagonals even at low speeds (<10mph), or BAM!
Beyond that, all the other suspension forks I've had are crappy.
Non-suspension forks; well, I have a few bikes with very similar ones, typically the "OTS" curved types. These are nice cuz they're lightweight and strong--never broken one so far. They do ok for what they are, but I can't use them with my heavy cargo bikes without risk of destroying the wheel that's on them (have broken wheels using unsuspended bikes for heavy stuff on our roads here). I also have another similar but even stronger one that LI-ghtcycle sent me, by Trek, I think, but it is a good strong one I could probably use on a cargo bike at lower speeds (<10mph) or on nicer roads, for instance if I stay in the left side of the righthand lanes, not going rightward of the center of that lane on most roads.
