Direct steering, low weight and low costs - rigid bike forks have many advantages. On top of that, these traditional, low-tec forks do not require any maintenance or service and you do not have to adjust them to your needs and plans. Here you can read all about which suspension fork fits your bike and how you can bring some spring into the front of your bike even without extra-suspension.
The rigid fork offers the advantage of a very direct steering response as well as a very low weight. Unlike the suspension fork, it is not equipped with a suspension. The stiffness of the bicycle fork converts every steering movement in a targeted and direct way, you can steer your bike from A to B without hesitation. Thanks to the feedback of the fork, you can perfectly adapt your riding style to the conditions of the ground. The absence of a spring element makes a rigid bike fork cheaper, lighter and it does not require maintenance, unlike a suspension fork.
The benefits of a rigid fork:
- direct steering response
- clean look
- robust
- low weight
- favorable purchase price
- No maintenance or special service is required
Some exercise always goes - steel, aluminum or carbon bike forks
There is a very simple method how you can help your bike to have a little more compliance despite a rigid fork: Just pick the right material for your fork! Suspension forks are usually made of steel, aluminum, or carbon. While aluminium and carbon are particularly light (and you will have to dig deeper into your pocket for a carbon fork for a road bike), steel forks are a bit heavier, but they are more durable and the material yields easily. So a steel fork can give you a little more comfort on rough roads.
Which fork fits your bike?
To buy the right fork, you need to know some terms, which you will then find in the specifications of our products.
- The fork is inserted into the bike frame with the fork steerer, so the stem must fit your frame. There are different models with tapered steerer, Ahead steerer or threaded steerer. You can buy forks with different shaft outer diameter, common sizes are 1 inch or 1 ⅛ inch. However, there are other shaft dimensions as well.
- The fork also needs to fit your tire size. Some rigid forks work with wheels in multiple sizes. Others are set for 20 inches (BMX wheels), 26 inches, 28 inches, or 29 inches.
- Are you riding disc brakes or rim brakes? The fork must have the mounts for the correct brakes pre-mounted.
- The wheels are mounted on the dropouts of the fork, you need to make sure they are suitable for the axles of your wheels.
Fork geometry affects handling
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Agile or would you rather have a smooth ride? You can choose the caster, i.e. the slant of the axle in relation to the road surface, and thus the characteristics of a fork according to your preferences. A large caster offers very good straight-line stability, but requires more force to steer. A smaller caster makes the bike easier to steer. The fork bend has a big influence on the caster and thus on the steering behaviour of your bike.
For which bike is a rigid fork suitable?
On a fixie and singlespeed bike, rigid forks are usually installed; anything else would ruin the purist style of these bikes. Even on the urban bike, the minimalist-minded relative of the city bike, there are mostly rigid forks.
On a city bike, on the other hand, both rigid and suspension forks are common, because when it comes to absolute comfort on a bike, a little suspension travel definitely can't hurt.
No way would a bike designed for uncompromising speed be caught with anything other than a rigid fork! That's why rigid forks are mandatory on race bikes, cyclocross bikes and gravel bikes, with the particularly classy machines riding with carbon forks, of course.
On trekking bikes, dirt bikes and mountain bikes, rigid forks are rare, but every now and then you'll find one. With an MTB rigid fork, you experience mountain biking in its most purist and original form. The rigid MTB forkl is not only suitable for an oldschool MTB, but also lends itself very well to a conversion of your bike to a retro bike.
