In Part I of Underneath the Voodoo, we discussed the fundamental properties of bike suspension. In Part II, we apply this knowledge to understand popular suspension designs and examine how they affect the performance of our bikes on the trail.

All forms of suspension, from the simple Single-pivot used by Orange bikes, Yeti’s innovative Switch Infinity or the wild R3ACT platform used by Marin and Polygon, share the same purpose – to allow the sprung mass (rider and most parts of the bike) to move forwards while keeping the wheel tracking over uneven ground. However, the way in which different designs achieve this is very different.

If you believed the marketing hype you would think there are a million different suspension systems currently being used. However, underneath the sexy acronyms, most bikes use one of just four designs. Single-pivot, Linkage-driven Single-pivot, Twin-link, or Horst-link. There are some rare exceptions to this rule, but these four designs cover most full suspension bikes on the market.

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