Dh suspension opinions (not about settings)

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Dh suspension opinions (not about settings)
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flag Rcgarini
Posted: Feb 13, 2017 at 4:19 Quote
Just wondering about dh suspension and how they should feel. I mostly have experience with hardtails, a little with all mountain bikes, and now own a demo 8. I know they aren't meant for dj but for jumping in general, small or large jumps, mounds, etc. should there be any feeling of being launched at all? When going over smaller things in which an all mountain or hardtail bike would get maybe a ft of air, the demo sucks all the energy and therefore rolls down the back rather than jumping. Is anybody setup up where the bike launches off such things at all? Thoughts?
Demo 8 (L)
Fox 40 FIT (blue coil)
Fox dhx rc4 (was 550lbs/in now 650lbs/in)
Rider weight (210 - 220 for now)
flag CaptainBLT
O+
Posted: Feb 13, 2017 at 9:57 Quote
Suspension is there to keep your wheels in contact with the ground through variable terrain, allowing you to keep control at higher speeds. Go faster and pop, and you'll get air. Settings and bike geometry will affect how easy or difficult this is.
flag Loki87
Posted: Feb 13, 2017 at 11:49 Quote
CaptainBLT wrote:
Suspension is there to keep your wheels in contact with the ground through variable terrain, allowing you to keep control at higher speeds. Go faster and pop, and you'll get air. Settings and bike geometry will affect how easy or difficult this is.

This.
The only thing you can do is set it very firm increasing compression damping which will help, but at some point it´ll have a negative impact on suspension performance. Set it as it is supposed to be set and learn how to jump it.
Dirt and Trailbikes are easier to jump and pop off the ground. Adapt to your bike.
flag Rcgarini
Posted: Feb 13, 2017 at 17:38 Quote
Yes, I understand both responses and I understand the workings of suspension settings. I'm asking for the sake of what I should expect from a properly set dh bike. I know it won't pop like a dj bike, I guess my question would be, what should I expect a properly set dh bike to be able to do as far as popping vs how much is just needing to adapt. I have since rode the stiffer spring and it worked a lot more like expected, bike just nose dives now until I get a stiffer fork spring.
flag chickendog
Posted: Feb 13, 2017 at 17:43 Quote
this is a pretty basic example but if you don't know you don't know.Set sag at 30 percent,compression full open,set your rebound as fast as you can stand it without it without rattling yor eyes out of your sockets.Your bike should launch a little better,if it still just sucks it all up go to 28 percent sag and so on.A fullon DH bike does take a different approach to lips and jumps,and the technique does take some getting used to but you will appreciate it when you are going mach chicken down a trail that you can barely walk on,adjust compression settings after you get the rest more to your liking.I like my rebond on the slower side as it helps with control but at the cost of some poppiness
flag Rcgarini
Posted: Feb 13, 2017 at 19:19 Quote
Thanks! Yeah I think my biggest problem is probably that I'm too heavy for my fork spring, I haven't tried comp. Full open, just the opposite and everything else, I've run like 1-3 rotations of preload, and my rebound is full open. I would of assumed that it was fine, except that my gsx-r has more pop than the bike!
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