Anita Handle Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 I don't like overthinking my suspension but at the same time, my fork is worth twice what my entire first mountain bike costed me back in the 90s and has all sorts of technology in it and I doubt I'm using it anywhere near to it's proper potential. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco_junkie Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 I'd be lying if I said I could tell any difference in adjustments and settings other than the lockout. I'm just not talented enough to detect the differences. Watching a bike review talk about small bump sensitivity is akin to a sommelier talking about wine. All above my pay grade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 7 minutes ago, taco_junkie said: I'd be lying if I said I could tell any difference in adjustments and settings other than the lockout. I'm just not talented enough to detect the differences. Watching a bike review talk about small bump sensitivity is akin to a sommelier talking about wine. All above my pay grade. I used to think that, until I did the Specialized suspension bracket testing. Basically, you repeat a section of trail for several hours while trying different bump/rebound settings (with a method of course) after setting a baseline sag and settings at the shop. For me, the biggest changes: 1) Fork pressure had been too high before adjustment. With a second person holding the fork high rather than "tipping" over by myself, I realized even being super careful there was still extra compression going on that was causing me to be high 15-20psi. 2) Fork rebound, I could tell the difference the best in a downhill loose corner. I was able to carry more speed with the proper setting (went to slower rebound). The other place this made a difference in was going up a ledge. Now that I slowed down my rebound, my timing when trying to pop the front wheel up was off. It took me a while to adjust to it. 3) Shock rebound, I am now more confident going down ledges since I don't feel my bike is trying to buck me off and flip over. Other people had more drastic changes. At least one person had to get some stackers removed from their fork on their brand new $6k bike. I got the bracket testing for free since this was the training for the BSS mechanics, but I still think it's worth it if you don't have confidence in what your'e doing regarding. If we're riding around in $3k-10k bikes, $200 (I think) for a couple of hours 1:1 testing with a mechanic is worth it, especially if you race at all. I have experience setting up suspensions, and the testing needed for it, and I had "been meaning" to do it forever but I never did. For those of you who wear glasses/contacts, the bracket testing is kind of like getting your eyes checked: "one, or two, one, or two" "three, or four, three or four" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockshins Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 (edited) Found this video pretty helpful as it's different than the usual sit on your bike sag setup Edited January 3, 2019 by rockshins 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 7 minutes ago, rockshins said: Found this video pretty helpful as it's different than the usual sit on your bike sag setup That's a pretty good setup guide that gets you really close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 That Bike Radar video is basically the baseline settings I described in my previous post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 All in all you basically want the front and rear of the bike to feel the same. Once you find the sweet spot for your suspension you'll know right away when something doesn't feel right. Like the Shockcraft setup guide states you should be able to get a feeling for the suspension by frequency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Add a super stiff set of carbon wheels to the mix for extra fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 1 hour ago, ATXZJ said: Add a super stiff set of carbon wheels to the mix for extra fun! I do know how you like them stiff! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco_junkie Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 4 hours ago, Chief said: All in all you basically want the front and rear of the bike to feel the same. Once you find the sweet spot for your suspension you'll know right away when something doesn't feel right. Like the Shockcraft setup guide states you should be able to get a feeling for the suspension by frequency. Thankfully I'm on a HT so I only worry about one end. Just enough technology for me to handle. I did notice my fork getting better over the summer after I set it up to the recommended pressure. Then it felt kind of dead and I ended up topping it off under what the sticker said for my weight but I think I got the magic back. I did see one of those Quarq ShockWiz gadgets in the shop. I wonder how close to feeling right that thing would get for someone who knows what they are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chongo Loco Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Don’t know if BSS is still doing their suspension class, but it was well worth it when I bought my Hightower a couple years ago. I had a half off coupon (thanks D!) but it would have been worth the full price.Yeah, it was a bit monotonous riding the same 50-75 yds about 30 times changing things one click per run but it was pretty eye opening on where I started and where I ended up on my settings.I think the biggest take away was there is no magic setting ANY website or wrench can tell you that you’re going to be 100% satisfied with or get it to perform as designed right out the box. You have to take a day and slowly dink with it ‘til it feels right ON the trail. Only way to do that is pick the typical spot you want it to perform best at and do it over and over and over and over. Like 99.9% of us I would do a full ride then try to adjust, then do another full ride...no immediate feedback that way. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I went through this getting the Ducati setup on the track. It really takes time and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 As i recall Peddler Cedar Park has a shock wiz they rent out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJsnoozer Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 You have to get rear sag right to get the fork to “sag” on some bikes if there is high stiction. Use manufactures ratings as a starting point based upon your loaded up weight. Evaluate travel used throughout the ride. I shouldn’t be going through full travel at walnut or GB main trail until drops get to 3 feet For me. Adjust rebound to fit your general riding style and change per trail if you really go somewhere different. For the most part, Austin is set and forget at middle- slower for “most” people. A Houston rider might come up running a very fast rebound and get ping ponged everywhere. I really speed things up for Bentonville and places with smooth kickers. This is just my preference and not gospel. Most of my equipments runs lower than manufacture settings for air pressure, except for my new bike which runs a ton of air in the rear relative to manufacture settings. Also, know how much your shock travels because full travel may not be the entire shaft of the shock. Correct sag on my shock is only 11mm. Visually I set it at 17ish at first and that was almost 50% sag and the bike was sagged out and rode and climbed wonky as hell. Some Specialized stuff with auto sag shouldn’t be too hard for the rear. On my wife’s bike I have to release the red valve then have her bounce to equalize and then hit the auto sag release again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 14 hours ago, taco_junkie said: I did see one of those Quarq ShockWiz gadgets in the shop. I wonder how close to feeling right that thing would get for someone who knows what they are looking for. Shockwiz doesn't work on all suspensions. I know that for a DVO Diamond it's useless due to the fork having a negative preload spring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 13 hours ago, FJsnoozer said: Some Specialized stuff with auto sag shouldn’t be too hard for the rear. On my wife’s bike I have to release the red valve then have her bounce to equalize and then hit the auto sag release again. Good to know. I have the autosag Specy. It always felt too stiff, so I'd just end up sagging it in the old fashioned way. I'll try the release-bounce-release method. One release was clearly not enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Also found this video on the Pivot site: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larlev Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 I was checking volume spacers on my Fox rythym 34. There was none. Curious if this is what it's supposed to look like inside? Looks like a big wad of grease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridenfool Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 (edited) Some do use a big wad of grease as a volume spacer. Add or remove grease to change the volume. Or, buy the volume spacer kit from Fox. (Edit: if available for the specific model of fork or shock) Either way will achieve the same result. Edited January 9, 2019 by Ridenfool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larlev Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 (edited) So this bike is brand new. Should I scrape that out? Aren't they supposed to come with st least 1? Edit, just saw s different chart. My 150 does not come with any. Edited January 9, 2019 by larlev 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridenfool Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Considering how the Rhythm can use volume spacers it may just be grease from assembly in there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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