Spongy Front Suspension

[Worm]

My front end seems a bit spongy. I don't know what kind of travel I'm supposed to get but it seems to much to me. This from a guy who hadn't ridden a bike until two weeks ago. If I put my weight on the handlebars with the front brake held, it seems like the suspension bottoms out. It's kind of hard to tell sitting on the bike though. Is this normal or is there something I should check out?

Thanks

[jeremy_nash]

the gs tends to be sprung light, if your a big guy, that will make it worse.  a set of springs for your weight, and some slightly heavier fork oil will take care of you

[DoD#i]

Unless you are incredibly lightweight, if the front springs are stock, it's a pretty soft stock suspension. Not to say there could not be actual problems making it worse (fork oil leaks, etc). If it's not clunking when you hit bumps, you don't need to freak out about it. If it's so stiff it doesn't move, it doesn't do much good, either.

[Worm]

Are the springs inside the fork tubes? Cause there aren't any on the outside.

[jrains89]

haha yea the springs are in the forks, the springs create the force that keeps them from collapsing. replacing the fork oil in the forks with 20 weight helps alot. there are good writeups on how to do this on the board. read up

[the mole]

How heavy are you, and how old is the bike?
Might be that if its had a bit of use and never had the fork oil changed, that's all it needs. See how it reacts over bumps, if it bottoms a lot there's a problem, if not it could be as good as the standard forks can be! You'll get a lot of fork dive with heavy braking on a standard set-up, but if you make them too stiff they won't be supple enough to keep the wheel on the ground.

[Worm]

I'm about 240 and the bike is a 2005. I don't have any history of service for it. I do know the previous owner did no maintenance. So it is possible that new fork oil would do the trick but I was thinking that being a bigger guy, stiffer suspension may be helpful. It did bottom out on a rough bump today. It felt like the tire was low, but I stopped and checked the pressure right after and it was fine.

[the mole]

You could probably use heavier springs, lots of info on this site. Good idea to change the fork oil (maybe one grade heavier?) while you think about it.