When Should I Lock My Mountain Bike Suspension

A lot of people who are mountain bikers often wonder when they should lock their suspension. There are two main reasons for locking your suspension. First, it will keep the bike in a stable position and make it easier to ride uphill or downhill. Second, it will also prevent the bike from bouncing up and down as you ride and make it more enjoyable to ride.

The best time to lock your suspension is when you are starting a new trail or going uphill. You can unlock them again when you go downhill or at the end of the trail.

Do I need suspension lockout?

If you don’t need the suspension, it’s going to be much more efficient to be able to disable it. If you know that you’re never (or close to never) going to be riding the bike on paved surfaces then you probably won’t need the lockout, but if that’s not the case, then you almost certainly should favour the lockout.^[1]

What is the benefit of having your suspension locked on a bicycle?

The advantage of not having any suspension systems equipped on a mountain bike is that you will get unparalleled responsiveness out of the pedals. No energy is being absorbed by the suspension so it is all going into the trail. This is good for uphill and level terrain.^[2]

Can you lock out suspension while riding?

Yes, you should generally stop and set the suspension to an uncompressed/unloaded position before you switch, especially if it’s a cheaper lockout. Similarly, you would not try to change the position of a deadbolt on a door while the door is partially open.^[3]

Can I lock rear suspension mountain bike?

Many rear shocks (as well as front forks) have a lockout feature, which essentially stops it from compressing, and “locks out” the shock in a fixed position. This is used to at specific times when riding to help prevent wasted pedalling energy in the form of bobbing of the suspension.^[4]

Are lockout forks worth it?

You definitely don’t need a lock-out on your fork. On steep smooth climbs where you’re out of the saddle a lock-out is nice – as it prevents the front end from bouncing up and down. However it’s not necessary, and unless you spend a lot of time out of the saddle it isn’t important at all.^[5]

Is 120mm travel enough for downhill?

Mid-travel bikes are a good compromise between downhill performance and pedaling/climbing efficiency. They usually have 120-140mm of travel. Many call these bikes “quiver-killers,” because they can do it all (well, almost).^[6]

Does bike suspension slow you down?

The suspension will increase the bike’s weight and will absorb some of your pedaling power, so on soft trails and climbs the suspension will work against you and will slow you down but on rough trails filled with rocks and roots having suspension will help maintain traction and this will allow you to ride faster.^[7]

What is preload suspension on mountain bike?

The preload refers to the amount of sag the shock will allow when the bike is at rest with the rider’s weight bearing down on it. Determining the correct preload is important because if it’s too high, it takes more energy to move the shock and compress the springs, resulting in a harder and desensitized shock system.^[8]

What is a speed lock on a bike?

As far as i know there is no such thing, called speed lock. Especialy for indian bikes. If your are talking about Revlimiter, it’s used to stop engine from over reving which leads to serious damage to the engine. Of course there are Speedlimiters , but they are only used in Superbikes.^[9]

How does MTB suspension lockout work?

A Lockout is a small switch placed atop the front right stanchion of your MTB/Hybrid Bicycle’s suspension which when engaged decreases the low speed compression rate of the front fork, adjustable to the point of being fully rigid. This switch can also be routed to the handle bar which is called as a remote lockout.^[10]

How does fork lockout work?

When a fork is locked out, that port is closed, preventing the fluid from flowing. If a fork is low on oil, on the damper side, there can be air between the damper and the oil. You will be able to compress the air, and the fork will still travel when locked out.^[11]

Can you add lockout to a fork?

Though I agree that most forks can’t add a lockout without you designing one on your own. Cheap discs are worse than the cheapest V brakes, its likely the bike the OP is talking about has the cheapest discs available. Any V brake can be upgraded by installing better pads.^[12]