We have heard like way too many arguments about this situation as to which one is better. There was another one where the argument was which shocks are better, Telescopic or USD? and that issue has already been discussed. But this situation is a very tricky one because it is actually a relative thing. The diameter should be bigger or the suspension travel should be more. Well, the best case scenario should be if you can get both in one, right? But it does not really make so much sense when you think about it practically.Why Bigger Diameter of Front Shocks?
This is a very good question actually, but the answer lies in a basic concept. The bigger the block, the better it will be in handling the stress of the bike’s weight. So that means the bikes which are really heavy and front biased in terms of weight distribution make more sense to have large diameter shocks up front. Now consider this case; there is a super sports bike like a Suzuki Hayabusa or a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R. Those are humongous bikes turning the weight dials at over 250 kilos. If they are given shocks with small diameters and huge suspension travel, a single hard brake from 250 kmph to stop will take a toll on the shocks. The bike will dive forward and the shocks will not be able to handle the weight and the stress put on them and hence they will break.
Why More Suspension Travel?
Now let’s take an inverse of the previous case. Take a light motocross or an adventure centric bike which is like really light. They tip the scales at sometimes even less than 100 kilos. So suppose you give them large diameter shocks and less suspension travel what you think is going to happen? They will not be able to perform the adventure activities that they are originally designed to do and hence it is going to hamper the performance. Inversely this situation is the best case scenario for sports bike since they do not really have to tackle rough terrain so they can do with less suspension travel but they do have to manage heavy weights, hence the big diameter of the shocks come handy.
So Which Is The Best Fit?It all depends on the purpose for which the bike is made. Manufacturers put on thin shocks up front to save cost on the commuters and give it a considerable high travel suspension setup because they have to save cost and also they know the bikes are going to be used in somewhat tough terrains as well. But in case of other bikes, they all should be getting beefy suspensions with small travel because all they have to do is cruise on the highway and do not have to go off-roading.
But in case of adventure bikes, they are made light so that their weight does not become an issue for the bike to tackle the terrain and for this reason to handle the tough road they need large suspension travel to put less stress on the shocks and also handle the bumps and lot better and not just go thud on the bike when going over really rough patches. For this exact reason adventure bikes get large suspension travel and smaller diameter shocks to reduce the weight, while the heavy track bikes or street bikes are given large diameter shocks with small travel so that they stay steady on high speeds and do not wobble as well as are able to handle the weight shift of the bike under hard braking or if there are any sudden bumps on the road.
So for all those who are under a huge dilemma as to which is better, I hope this article answers your queries and doubts. If there is anything more related to this, do hit us in the comments section below and happy riding.
By: Pratik Patole