Best mountain bike suspension forks: buyer's guide

Finding the best mountain bike suspension fork can feel like a daunting challenge. How much travel do you need? Should it be air or coil? What on earth does stanchion size mean? There are so many questions to tackle that many people get lost on the subject. Let us cut through the jargon and break down why suspension is so important and what you need for the riding you do.

“Suspension is a plus for any vehicle attempting to cross rough ground at speed. Its benefits are well documented. When the wheels remain in contact with the ground, a rider can go faster with less effort and maintain control.” Those were the words of MTB Action back in 1989 when they were trying to explain why the first-ever mass-produced mountain bike suspension fork, the RockShox RS1, was such a big deal. Nearly 40 years later, they still ring true.  

Regardless of whether you are fighting for a cross-country Olympic medal, charging for a World Championship in downhill, or just taking a Sunday cruise along your local trails, a good suspension fork will make your ride better. By using the movement of the suspension to react to the trail, which is called travel, a well-set-up suspension fork will increase your grip, reduce vibration from the trail and absorb impacts, allowing you to stay in control of the bike more easily.  

If you are new to the world of suspension, let’s first break down what we mean when we talk about mountain bike suspension.

A mountain bike suspension fork lets the front wheel move independently of the bike’s frame. They are made up of two main parts: the crown-steerer unit (CSU) and the sliders, or lowers. The CSU is the upper part of the fork that is attached to the frame. There will be a steerer tube going upwards, which your bars and stem are attached to for controlling the bike. Below this, the steerer is bonded or bolted to what is called a crown. Attached to the crown, you will then find stanchion tubes, which are what the suspension slides on. The lower legs are then fitted onto the stanchions, and the wheel is then attached to them. It is the movement of the lowers on the stanchions that creates the suspension action, or travel.

Inside the stanchion tubes, you will find the damper and the spring, usually with the spring in one leg and the damper in the other. These two parts act together to control the suspension’s movement. If you can find a spring in your house, try compressing it. You will see that when you let it go, it will spring back (or rebound, as suspension experts would say) uncontrollably. This is where the damper comes in. With the spring providing the basic movement of the fork, the damper is the fine-tuning and control of that movement. A well-tuned fork will have the spring and the damper working in partnership to provide a smooth, consistent action that will help absorb the impacts and vibrations from the trail.

Mountain bikes are split into two categories: with and without rear suspension. Bikes without rear suspension are called hardtails, while those with it are called full-suspension bikes. A full-suspension mountain bike will be constructed with several pivots that allow the rear end of the bike to move up and down independently of the main frame, with a rear shock absorber (usually referred to simply as a shock) to control the movement.

Deciding whether to go for a hardtail or full-suspension mountain bike can be a tough decision. The main factor in deciding this is often budget. Because they are more complicated to produce and need a rear shock, full-suspension bikes tend to cost more than hardtails. More experienced riders usually go for a full-suspension bike because they offer more comfort and control.

That said, if you are looking for an affordable bike to test the waters of mountain biking, we would recommend going for a hardtail every time. An entry-level bike, like our Grand Canyon, has everything you need to get out and riding. If you would like to dive deeper into the hardtail vs full-suspension debate, then we have produced a buyer’s guide on the subject.

Diving deeper into suspension forks, there are some technical things it helps to understand.  

This used to be a big debate among hardcore mountain bikers - do you prefer an air- or coil-sprung suspension fork? These days, there is little debate and almost all mountain bikes, from cross-country scalpels to downhill sledgehammers, come fitted with air-spring suspension forks. Compared to a coil fork, modern air suspension is lighter, more adjustable and gives up almost nothing in terms of performance. 

Most mountain bike suspension forks feature a single crown sitting below the frame, connecting the steerer and the stanchion tubes. You may have seen that downhill race bikes use forks that have two of these crowns, one above and one below the frame. This kind of setup allows for much greater steering stiffness for the kind of extreme trails found in downhill racing. They are limited to these specialist bikes because they are heavier and limit the turning circle of the bike, making them unsuitable for most everyday riders.

Suspension forks are designed for specific riding styles and built with appropriate strength and stiffness for this. This means that a cross-country race fork with less travel will tend to be lighter and less stiff than a downhill fork with lots of travel. One of the ways manufacturers can make a fork stiffer is by increasing the size of the stanchion tubes. So, a cross-country fork will usually have stanchion tubes in the region of 32-35 mm, while a downhill fork can be between 38 and 40 mm in diameter. The general rule is that you need a larger stanchion tube for more aggressive riding.  

How much you pay for your suspension fork does make a big difference to how it performs. An entry-level fork will offer you a much more controlled and comfortable ride compared to a rigid fork. As you become more advanced as a rider, it is normal to demand more and more of your suspension, and for this you will need to invest more money.

High-end, high-performance suspension forks use better quality materials to reduce friction and weight, have more sophisticated dampers and air springs to offer greater performance, and include greater levels of adjustability to dial the fork into your preferences.

Mountain bikes usually have between 80 and 200 mm of suspension travel, but there is no single, definitive answer to how much you need. The basic rule of thumb is that the recommended amount of travel is proportional to how important the descents are to you. A bike built for climbing will have less travel than one aimed mainly at descending. The final answer will depend on the style of riding you do and your preferences as a rider.

If you are not sure what travel to go for, a simple rule would be to check the rear travel of your frame and either match that or add 10-20 mm to it. If you are on a hardtail, see if you check what travel the original fork has. You don’t want to add too much travel, as a longer fork can affect the geometry of the bike. And if you’re still weighing up the right setup, check out our MTB geometry guide to understand how factors like head angle, reach and wheelbase influence ride feel and performance.

Cross-country bikes tend to have between 80 and 120 mm of suspension travel. As the sport has evolved in recent years, most riders are moving towards the 120 mm end of things to deal with the increasingly challenging terrain that is now part of modern XC racing.  

Trail riding can span a wide range of riding styles; this is why we have three trail bikes - the Lux Trail, Neuron and Spectral. These bikes feature suspension travel ranging from 120 mm up to 160 mm, to suit different styles of trail riders. We think bikes in this travel range provide the right balance of climbing and descending performance.

Enduro riding is characterised by long steady climbs and fast, technical descents. For this kind of gravity-focused riding, most riders opt for between 150 and 180 mm of suspension travel.

For freeride and bikepark riding, the question of climbing doesn’t really come into the equation. Most riders will typically use shuttles or lifts for this kind of riding, so the question then becomes: how much travel do you need to have fun? Generally, 160 mm travel is the lower limit to help reduce the fatigue from repeated long descents, and then it goes all the way up to full 200 mm travel downhill bikes. The deciding factor in how much travel you want for this is often not about bikepark riding at all, but whether you want a specific bike for this kind of terrain or would prefer something you can still use for your everyday rides at home.  

In downhill, there is one clear answer for how much travel you need: 200 mm. Because it is all about maximum speed on the most difficult terrain you can find, all serious downhill riders and racers agree that a full 200 mm of travel is the best way to go.

Our high-end mountain bikes are all equipped with RockShox and Fox suspension. These are the two biggest brands in the world of mountain bike suspension, with well-earned reputations for providing consistently high-performing products for all kinds of riders. If you go through our model ranges, you will see a mix of these brands at different levels.

Some experienced riders will have developed personal preferences for which of these brands they prefer based on their personal experiences. If you are new to the sport, we would honestly say that it does not matter which of these brands you go for. Our product team spend a huge amount of time making sure that every bike we sell will put a smile on your face straight out of the box, so all you need to do is find a bike that suits your budget.

We make a wide range of mountain bikes, each with unique suspension characteristics to suit different riders and riding styles.

We worked closely with our factory racing team to create the Lux World Cup. Designed for maximum speed on cross-country race courses, it is engineered to help you dominate the climbs and the descents. With a 120 mm fork and 110 mm rear travel, we think it strikes the perfect balance of climbing efficiency and technical capability for the modern cross-country racer.

For riders who want to adventure away from the race course and push harder on the descents, we built the Lux Trail. Taking the very light, very efficient DNA of the Lux World Cup and increasing the travel to 140/125 mm and adding a pinch of progressive geometry, we think we have created the perfect package for the everyday cross-country or fast trail rider.

The Neuron is all about confidence and control. Designed for riders who are looking for a fun, easy-going bike that will help them ride longer and adventure further, the Neuron is a great everyday partner. With a 140 mm fork and 130 mm rear travel, its suspension is focused on helping you feel comfortable and safe out on the trail.

We designed the Spectral for demanding trail riders who want to get out on the trail and play. With a burly frame and rugged components, it is ready for anything from backcountry adventures to your local jump line, or even the occasional bikepark lap. To handle all this, it has a 160 mm fork and 140 mm rear travel.

If you want to take the big hits, but still earn your turns by pedalling back up, then the Torque is for you. It combines downhill- and freeride-ready performance with enough climbing capability to tackle enduro racing. With 180 mm travel front and rear, it’s ready to go as far as you can imagine.

Developed in partnership with our Canyon Factory Racing programme, the Sender is all about downhill speed. Designed for the extreme demands of World Cup racing, it is a pure-bred race machine sporting 200 mm of rock-eating suspension travel front and rear. 

If you're still deciding which bike is right for you, our mountain bike buying guide is a great place to start. And if you're considering pedal assistance, check out our e-MTB buying guide to compare the different Canyon models and find the best match for your riding style, terrain and goals. 

Finding the right settings for your bike can be a big challenge. Professional racers spend days and days trying to find the right balance, so you’re not alone if you feel daunted by this. Most suspension forks have air charts on the spring leg of the fork that will tell you what air pressure to use for your weight. Once you have that, you then need to set the rebound and compression. If you visit the website of your fork manufacturer, you will find information on what settings to use for your fork. If you are struggling to find this information, we produced a short guide on how to set up your suspension. 

Suspension needs looking after to keep it working in a good way. This starts with the basics of keeping your suspension clean and wiping the seals after each ride to help keep them in good condition.

• Fox recommends that riders have their lower legs serviced every 30-50 hours of riding time, while RockShox says 50 hours. At this service, the fork would be disassembled, the seals changed, and the oil replaced - competent mechanics can often do this service at home, although less experienced ones may want to get some professional help.
• At 100 hours, the fork will need a more comprehensive service, which will include changing the oil in the damper, which is usually best left to experienced mechanics.

Getting the right fork for you and your riding style can make a huge difference. They are one of the most expensive components on any mountain bike; it’s worth taking the time to understand the subject before you buy. If you are not feeling confident with the topic, we would recommend buying your fork from a shop that will help you set your fork up when it arrives. So long as your fork is appropriate to your bike and riding, then setup is the most important thing: a well-set-up, but basic fork will feel a lot better than an expensive but badly set-up fork.

If you are not sure what sort of riding you want to do, our bike finder tool will take you through a series of easy questions to match you to a bike. Once you find the right bike for you, our model comparison tool will let you compare specs to understand what you get at each price point. And if you would like to try a Canyon bike before you buy, check out one of our Experience centres, which will be more than happy to set up a test ride for you.

We hope this has demystified the world of mountain bike suspension forks for you. See you out there on the trail!