trek front suspension question

jilltcnj said:

i just recently purchased a used 2002 - trek 820 bike and was told that i should get a front suspension put onto it for the type of riding that i plan on doing...i am completely new to bikes and their parts...and i wanted to buy the suspension fork (i think that's what it's called) online on ebay for cheaper than a store...are there specific brands that fit treks, or which brands should i search for online that are good??

thanks for any help
Jill

buying forks online can be pretty tricky. there's many kinds of forks, including air and coil forks, forks that can only be used with thru-axles, and forks with different sized steerer tubes. today a guy came into the bike shop i work at asking us to install a fork for him. he had ordered the fork online, and didn't know how to install it himself. we took the fork from the bag only to realize that it was a thru-axle, and the guy didn't have a thru-axle hub.

Greg-O said:

buying forks online can be pretty tricky. there's many kinds of forks, including air and coil forks, forks that can only be used with thru-axles, and forks with different sized steerer tubes. today a guy came into the bike shop i work at asking us to install a fork for him. he had ordered the fork online, and didn't know how to install it himself. we took the fork from the bag only to realize that it was a thru-axle, and the guy didn't have a thru-axle hub.

i see...so i should prolly bring my bike to a bike store and have them tell me exactly what i need.

thanks!