It was only a matter of time before dedicated suspension forks for gravel bikes would show up, and in this article I’m going to focus on the best of the lot.
A suspension fork meant for extreme gravel riding enables you to keep riding comfortably and with maximum control. At the same time the overall ride characteristics of a gravel bike should remain. Or else you could just as well pick a cross-country mountain bike, which has all the travel you’ll ever going to need on the average hard-hitting gravel ride.
So what then exactly should you be looking for when opting for additional suspension to smoothen your gravel rides? If you look at what’s available on the market today, you can see that the amount of travel actually harkens back to what was common when front suspension first hit the scene.
Back in the early nineties 40 to 60mm of travel was common and mounted on mountain bikes that were also used for downhill. 3 decades onwards we of course have vastly improved suspension technology and the aforementioned amount of travel now seems to be the sweet spot for dedicated gravel bike front suspension.
It kind of fills up the gap of really low suspension you can get from a leaf spring stem or seat post, and the standard 100mm starting point of travel, which is the go-to standard for XC bikes. To me, it’s a very natural evolution of suspension products available, because the gap between no or extremely low suspension and XC was glaringly obvious.
In terms of technology, there really is no comparison between a fork using an air spring and damper and a leaf spring fork, stem, or seatpost. Suffice to say for now, they are lightyears apart in terms of complexity, adjustability, and ability to enhance gravel riding to the next level.
How exactly these suspension forks for gravel bikes achieve that goal, you’ll be able to read all about it right here. Enjoy.
Fox 32 Taper-Cast Factory
The Fox 32 Taper-Cast Factory is a performance-oriented gravel bike suspension fork with a pretty single-minded focus on racing. Here’s why.
The Kashima coated forks are available in the classic Factory orange and standard glossy black, with both forks being offered with 40mm of travel. Only the black version also comes in the 50mm variant. The Kashima coating strengthens the existing anodization of the stanchions, smoothing the microscopic porous surface and greatly enhancing durability with a marginal bit of improvement reducing stiction. And everybody will know you mean business with its characteristic bronze finish.
Its very racehorse nature stems from the fact it has borrowed the lightweight FIT4 sealed cartridge damper mounted in Fox’s XC forks, offering a staggering 22 clicks of low-speed compression adjustment with a 3-position on-the-fly lever for ease of use. At the bottom of the fork you’ll find the 10-speed rebound adjuster.
It furthermore sports the FLOAT EVOL air spring. The FLOAT EVOL (Extra Volume) air spring has a larger negative air chamber, besides the standard positive one. Aside from supporting your weight in a neutral position, the air spring offers a more linear spring curve that’s supple off the top on small bumps yet still has the support to resist bottoming out on those big hits.
The size of the positive air chamber can still be reduced as you’re used to with air volume spacers, without affecting the functionality of the negative chamber. By reducing the air volume of the positive air chamber you make the fork act more progressive, resisting bottoming out more for those of you who like to ride hard and aggressive.
Specifically meant for 700C wheels, the maximum tire clearance goes up to 50mm, with the maximum rotor size sitting between 160 and 180mm, more than enough to mount some serious braking power. Taper Cast in the name refers to the shape of the lower legs, a trait to further reduce weight without sacrificing torsional stiffness. It holds the 12x100mm Kabolt X axle, which is a bolt-on floating axle tightened down with a single-sided pinch bolt, adding characteristics of both stiffness and lightweight to the thru axle setup.
It really does this fork a disservice when stating that it just reduces road chatter. 50 or even 40mm of travel is no joke, and you have that amount of travel at your disposal in one of the very best damper and air spring combos currently available. It might feel counterintuitive to mount a suspension fork on a gravel bike, but this fork greatly enhances the bike’s flexibility.
Not only wil any type of road, gravel, and hardpack feel buttery smooth, if you know how to pick lines this fork will let you do some serious trail riding, and it climbs like an absolute beast. Sure it’s a bit heavier than your standard rigid fork, but who really cares when compared to all of the benefits, flexibility, and versatility it offers.
The Fox 32 Taper-Cast Factory is the missing link between pure gravel riding and cross-country mountain biking, and it literally opens up new paths for the most ambitious and adventurous gravel riders who want to push themselves to the limits.
- A gravel bike suspension fork that holds nothing back. Highly adjustable, race-quality front suspension for adventurous gravel racers.
- Seriously expensive
Fox 32 Taper-Cast Performance Elite
For a slightly less eye-watering price than its Factory counterpart you can obtain the Fox 32 Taper-Cast Performance Elite. The only difference is the lack of Kashima coating and the fact it’s only offered in the 40mm travel version.
I’ve put it here for comparison’s sake, but since the Kashima coating enhances the forks longevity I would always go for the Factory version should you decide which of the two you’d go for.
- Slightly cheaper than the Factory version
- The Kashima coating of the Factory version is worth the money, and a relative small additional cost
Fox 32 Taper-Cast Performance
The Fox 32 Taper-Cast Performance is difficult to review, and I’m going to compare it to the Factory, which is my favorite gravel bike suspension fork. And the fork which most closely resembles this one. The key question is whether or not the reduced functionality of this fork fits your requirements and budget more.
Let’s be honest, it’s still not a cheap piece of equipment. And just as the Performance Elite it only comes in a 40mm travel version without Kashima coating. The biggest difference is the damper, which is the GRIP one instead of the FIT4.
The GRIP damper has a single 3-position lever for external compression adjustability, with infinite adjustment in between 3 detents. A 10-speed rebound adjuster can be found at the bottom of the damper. The dial is tight enough to stay in place even on rougher rides.
What that means is that the fork is just as exceptional as the Factory version. It performs the same, offers great on-the-fly adjustability, and will greatly extend the types of ground you can cover. But it’s not Fox 32 Taper-Cast Factory, which is the tiniest bit better and offers a mode of adjustability the majority prefers (a dedented one). And if I have to be honest, knowing you are riding with the best of the best gear money can buy has its charms.
But there’s no denying that the money you save with this one can be very well spend on something else without truly sacrificing performance. So the choice is yours.
- About as good as the Factory version
- But not quite
RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR
Where there’s Fox, there’s always RockShox, and the RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR is its answer to Fox’s Factory version. Meaning it’s a top-of-the-line race-oriented gravel bike suspension fork.
Offered in both 30 and 40mm versions, there’s a teal-like colored option RockShox calls Kwiqsand, and a glossy black one, which is probably more suitable to the general color scheme of the average gravel bike. Not as fancy as the very smart and instantly recognizable orange Factory version, but if you want to you can distinguish yourself with the different colors.
And just as its biggest competitor, RockShox borrows the damper technology from its cross-country lineup, with the lightweight non-adjustable Charger Race Day damper firmly planting this fork into the racing category. It’s as straightforward as a damper can get, with an easy-to-setup lockout mechanism providing maximum power retention for both climbing and sprinting. Everything has been done to keep the weight incredibly low, so unlike traditional dampers, rebound adjustment is done with a 2.5mm hex key.
The SoloAir air spring simplifies suspension setup by being able to inflate both positive and negative air chambers using a single schrader valve. It means you always run the same pressure in both chambers. Although it is easier to set up, the fact that there’s no independent configuration of both air chambers does away with customisation of the initial travel characteristics, which translates to fine tuning small-bump sensitivity.
Since both chambers run the same pressure, it’s not possible to run a higher pressure in the negative air chamber, which is used for the downward stroke since it sits at the bottom of the air spring. This reduces the small-bump sensitivity obtainable with this type of air spring.
Furthermore the 700C-specific fork offers tire clearance up to 50mm, and placement of brake rotors between 160 to 180mm besides a 12x100mm axle. Both 45 and 51mm rake options are available.
You might argue that doing away with adjustability is a loss, but really it’s not. On the flipside of adjustability sits ease of use, and there’s something beautiful about a fork that’s either on for riding or off for climbing. And when the fork is on, it does the job admirably. Besides the obvious benefits of increased comfort, the fork enhances control as well. In fact the fork is so easy to dial in correctly that your tires, and lack of shoulder support, will turn out to be much more of a liability than than the fork.
Without the lockout the fork is not going to be as stiff when climbing as a rigid fork. It can’t be, but either with the help of a remote (TwistLoc or OneLoc) or a quick switch of your hands will do away with the bobbing effect.
A key issue against suspension is the additional weight. I believe that if weight is an issue, you’re either not using the suspension correctly or you really don’t need it. Because suspension used in the right conditions actually make you ride faster, more comfortable, and more in control.
Because of the amount of travel they offer, gravel bike suspension is often compared to early mountain bike suspension. However, if you take into consideration the Rudy Ultimate XPLR offers the latest technology, offering way more control, and is meant to be used on a bike with a totally different geometry, the comparison falls flat on its face. That being said, where the comparison does hold up, is in the respective forks’ ability to put a smile on your face as you explore more than you ever thought possible on your favorite gravel rig.
The RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR doesn’t turn your gravel bike into a cross country one. Not by a long shot. It doesn’t offer the amount of travel or adjustability you’d want. But once you get over putting a suspension fork on your gravel bike, I seriously believe that any gravel rider will not want to go back.
- For gravel riders with less familiarity with mountain biking looking for a big upgrade without turning the bike into an XC racer. Less options makes it incredibly easy to dial in for a rough gravel ride.
- Very expensive
MRP Baxter
There are two distinct factors why the MRP Baxter is not only a very good suspension fork for gravel bikes, but also a very capable bikepacking companion.
The most obvious clue is that the lower legs hold dual bottle cage mounts. Obviously they can also be used to hold other types of cargo with a carrying capacity up to 1.36 kg per side. It definitely is a clear indication of the fork’s intended use. Just don’t put any carbonated stuff in there.
The other notable factor, which sets this gravel bike front suspension apart from its competition is that it offers some serious off-road capabilities with both 40 and 60mm of travel being supported. On top of that the tire clearance let’s you install both 700C, 27.5 and 29 inch wheels, to support some of the burliest bikepacking rigs out there, with a maximum tire clearance of 2 inch for both the 700C and 29 inch, and 61mm or 2.4 inch for 27.5 inch tires.
The last option means you can basically mount dedicated trail tires. And because these measurements are on the safe side, you could probably squeeze in a couple of extra millimeters should you really want to.
Furthermore the fork supports 160 to 180mm rotors, a standard axle width of 12x100mm, and is offered with 1.125 and 1.5 inch tapered steerers.
It makes for an incredibly capable fork, which will turn any gravel bike into a trail eating monstrosity. I understand that a fully loaded gravel bike handles quite differently from a gravel racer, but the point is this fork covers basically any type of bikepacking needs in terms of suspension. In terms of maximum travel it is coming pretty close to your standard 100mm XC fork.
Unlike the RockShox Rudy, the MRP baxter is more of a short-travel mountain bike fork, because it offers a lot of travel with a high degree of adjustability. To enable the rider to ride smoothly 20 clicks of rebound adjustment are at your disposal on top of a 3-position dial for low-speed compression damping.
The FulFill Air air spring’s dual air chamber can be independently inflated. This means you can overinflate the negative, or lower chamber for additional support and provide greater control for small-bump sensitivity. Increased control on harsher terrain, and reduced risk of bottoming out are also more highly tunable.
The Colorado-based company has to compete with behemoths like Fox and RockShox and has done so by not only providing us with a superb fork, but giving it a very explicit character as well. Well-rounded suspension characteristics coupled with the broadest possible spectrum of gravel bikes you can use the fork for is a smart move, and one that’s bound to attract a number of followers.
- A fully adjustable, highly versatile gravel bike suspension fork offering up to 60mm of travel for all common tire diameters.
- It's as close as putting an MTB fork on your gravel bike without actually putting an MTB fork on your gravel bike. Look elsewhere for some additional lightweight suspension. Very expensive.
Specifications suspension forks for gravel bikes
Name | wheel size | travel | rake | axle width | rotor size | max tire width | damper | air spring | steerer | color | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fox 32 Taper-Cast Factory | 700C | 40mm | 45mm | 12x100mm | 160-180mm | 50mm | FIT4 | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | gloss orange | |
Fox 32 Taper-Cast Factory | 700C | 40-50mm | 45mm | 12x100mm | 160-180mm | 50mm | FIT4 | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | gloss black | |
Fox 32 Taper-Cast Performance Elite | 700C | 40mm | 45mm | 12x100mm | 160-180mm | 50mm | FIT4 | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | matte black | |
Fox 32 Taper-Cast Performance | 700C | 40mm | 45mm | 12x100mm | 160-180mm | 50mm | GRIP | FLOAT EVOL | 1.5T | matte black | |
RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR | 700C | 30-40mm | 45-51mm | 12x100mm | 160-180mm | 50mm | Charger Race Day | Solo Air | 1.5T | Kwiqsand, gloss black | |
RockShox Rudy XPLR | 700C | 30-40mm | 45-51mm | 12x100mm | 160-180mm | 50mm | cartridge damper | Solo Air | 1.5T | matte black, gloss black | |
MRP Baxter | 700C | 40mm | 40.5-44-47.5mm | 12x100mm-12x110mm | 160-180mm | 61mm | Baxter v2 | FulFill Air | 1.125-1.5T | black | |
MRP Baxter | 700C/29″ | 60mm | 41.4-45-48.4mm | 12x100mm-12x110mm | 160-180mm | 61mm | Baxter v2 | FulFill Air | 1.125-1.5T | black |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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