Dual Suspension

The Blackrock X1 is sprung at both ends. There is a 20 inch suspension fork at the front with a mechanical lockout on it, and a coil shock at the rear, sitting in the frame just ahead of the back wheel. That is what dual suspension means: both wheels can move up over a bump instead of sending all of it straight into you.

The front fork

The front wheel meets everything first, so the fork does most of the work. Over gravel, frost heave, a curb, a root across a trail, the fork lets the wheel travel up and come back down while the handlebars stay roughly where they were. Your wrists, elbows and shoulders notice that before anything else does.

The lockout is the part worth knowing about. It is the collar on top of the fork, and turning it stops the fork moving. That is what you want on smooth pavement, or when you are standing on the pedals and pushing hard, because a fork bobbing up and down with every pedal stroke is soaking up effort that should be going into the road. Turn it back off when the surface turns rough again. It is mechanical, so there is nothing to charge and nothing to go wrong electrically.

The rear shock

The rear is a coil shock mounted in the frame. Its job is to keep the back wheel on the ground over rough sections rather than letting it skip, and a wheel that is still on the ground is a wheel that is still driving and still braking. The rest of the benefit comes up through the saddle, or rather it does not, which is the thing you notice on a long ride or a washboard gravel road.

Working with the fat tires

Four inches of tire at sensible pressure is a suspension system in its own right, and it takes care of the small, fast chatter. The fork and the shock handle the bigger, slower hits the tire cannot swallow on its own. Between them, that is why this bike is comfortable on ground where a rigid commuter would rattle your fillings loose. The tires have their own page.

Looking after it

Suspension asks for very little. Wipe the grit off the fork legs when the bike is dirty, check now and then that the shock mounting bolts are still tight, and if either end starts making a noise it was not making before, look at it rather than riding it out.

The fork and the frame are listed on the full specifications. The bike itself is on the X1 product page.