These days there are many different MTB companies what they call a "quality shock" to mount up on the front of your pleasure cruiser. Many of these forks are of at least decent quality, and there are different applications for all types. Some are designed for light off-road riding, while others are designed for full tilt downhill MTB racing. Some are designed for lightweight (mainly for XC riders), and others are designed for strength (for lack of a better word "extreme" riding). This page is here to help you make a decision which is right for your riding style and budget.
COIL SPRUNG FORKS- FOX Vanilla
In most cases, a nice coil sprung suspension fork will be the optimum choice for your budget/ and all around riding. Coil Sprung forks are your most reliable choice, are user-servicable (at least sort of), can be adjusted easily, and can be tuned easily. Usually the only down side to a coil over fork is the added weight due to the actual steel springs inside the fork. Since coil sprung forks are a bit on the heavier side than an air sprung fork (next section) the fork is usually made heavier duty to add extra stength. If your considering DH racing, lots of jumping, or just doing all around wild riding, this is the stly of fork you need. These 2 below facts make it a nice all around choice:
1- Very reliable
2- Added Strength
* FOX forks are our weapon of choice.
AIR SPRUNG FORKS- FOX F forks
So your looking to shed some weight off your bike with its present 6lb suspension fork? Look no further! Over the last few years the big hitters in the MTB suspension fork industry have made air sprung forks much more reliable, and less pricey so the masses can now enjoy them (in '98 the first RockShox SID was about $650). A great choice for any XC racer, or for anyone who wants to adjust his/her fork drastically before every ride: Air sprung forks all take a low volume/high pressure shock pump to adjust air pressure. As long as you have a pump, you can take it from 0psi - 300psi on the trail and in a minute. What makes this style of fork so much lighter than coilovers your asking yourself? It relies on air pressure to make the suspension action. When you compress the fork the internal pressure builds in the chamber and when the load is taken off, the added pressure rebounds the fork back up to its correct position. These 2 below facts make it a nice all around choice:
1- light weight
2- ease of adjustability
PRELOAD/REBOUND/COMPRESSION-
Preload- If you have a coil sprung fork and it is at its factory settings, there is minimum preload on the suspension system. By turning the grooved top caps clockwise, you are adding preload to it. All it really means is that by turning those caps in that manner, internally the elastomer/spring is being pressed down thus making the fork feel firmer. The down side to this is that it does eat up some of the forks travel: but not much.
Rebound- When you push down on your fork, rebound is the speed in which your fork springs back up. Suspension forks with rebound adjusters are a good thing, but you don't need to have it. Forks that are rebound adjustable, you can adjust to your own preferences. On most suspension forks these days, rebound can also be adjusted by changing the oil weight in the cartridge/or fork legs.
Compression- The opposite of rebound; This is the speed in which the fork goes down through its travel, instead of the speed in which it comes back up. Not many suspension forks are compression adjustable. As long as the forks innards (coil springs/air pressure) are adjusted for your rider weight, compression is usually cool.