They say that a bike is always the sum of its parts. So why are we explicitly focussing on the topic of "suspension" here? Quite simply: although stiffness, weight, geometry and the individual components influence the riding characteristics of a mountain bike, the suspension is particularly important when it comes to riding fun on the trail. The latest generation of bikes offers a few trend-setting approaches in this respect. They show the potential that still lies in suspension technology.
How efficiently does a running gear work?
A mountain bike suspension must fulfil a whole range of requirements and qualities. Qualities that play a decisive role in the enjoyment of biking and the range of applications. How efficient is the suspension when pedalling hard? How well can the suspension travel be utilised? How controlled does the bike ride over a rapid succession of obstacles? What if you could adjust your bike so that it could always be ridden efficiently uphill, but also as comfortably as possible downhill?
We have selected five current MTB suspensions as examples to show how diverse the approaches are with which developers are trying to further improve suspension performance:
- Cannondale Trigger Black Inc with Cannondale Overmountain
- Canyon Strive CF 8.0 with Canyon Shapeshifter
- Rocky Mountain Instinct 990 B.C. Edition with Rocky Mountain Ride-9
- Trek Remedy 9.8 29 with Trek RE:aktiv
- Yeti SB6c with Yeti Switch Infinity
The cult brand Yeti, for example, concentrates entirely on optimised, albeit complex, kinematics with its Infinity Switch. With RE:aktiv, Trek approaches the matter entirely from the damping side. Both systems have already delivered promising results in initial tests. Other concepts such as Canyon's Shapeshifter, Cannondale's Overmountain or Rocky Mountain's Ride-9 are increasingly focussing on the versatility of their bikes. The range of use - uphill or downhill - is modified through selectable options. The manufacturers want to achieve one and the same goal in very different ways - to equip a mountain bike with more than just one personality and a maximum range of uses. So: Spotlight on the most innovative suspension systems in the bike industry!
Chassis lexicon
1. Every bike suspension - whether suspension fork or rear suspension - consists of two basic elements: the suspension (air or steel spring), which primarily absorbs bumps and the damping, which dissipates the stored energy through friction and thus brings control to the chassis.
2. Kinematics is the sum of all lever and transmission forces acting on the rear triangle. It largely determines the course of the spring characteristic curve, but also has an effect on how strongly the drive and braking forces influence the suspension. Even small variations in the positioning of the axles and pivot points have a greater effect on the function than the fact whether it is a single-pivot, multi-link, floating-link or VPP rear triangle.
3. When it comes to damping, a distinction is made between compression damping, which controls the compression (important, for example, to keep the suspension sensitive to impacts but quiet when pedalling) and rebound damping, which determines how quickly the shock and fork rebound. Too little of this and the bike starts to bounce, too much and the suspension hardens on quick hits.
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