Am I damaging my fork when it bottoms out?

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Am I damaging my fork when it bottoms out?
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flag crosbie
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:27 Quote
I bottomed out my marzochi 66vf twice today while hitting a drop. Is it bad for the fork when It bottoms out? What could happen?
flag vashonbiking123
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:35 Quote
no i dont believe it is bad for a fork, but you may want to make your fork a bit stiffer to prevent this from happening a lot.
flag ninjamastr999
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:37 Quote
no. it is not bad for the fork to bottom every so often.

however, if you are bottoming it drop after drop, yes. it can damage the fork. if you are bottoming it often, you need a heavier spring. if you need a spring rate inbetween what is offered, then simply keep the softer springs and put a heavier oil in it. this will also slow the rebound, though.
flag kona962kamloops
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:38 Quote
i heard u should bottom once a ride, thats wat i heard....
i dont think its bad for it though but its probably not good either
flag signorvince2
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:39 Quote
ninjamastr999 wrote:
no. it is not bad for the fork to bottom every so often.

however, if you are bottoming it drop after drop, yes. it can damage the fork. if you are bottoming it often, you need a heavier spring. if you need a spring rate inbetween what is offered, then simply keep the softer springs and put a heavier oil in it. this will also slow the rebound, though.

couldn't you mix and match springs, like put a medium on one side and a heavy on the other?
flag crosbie
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:41 Quote
Yea I really do not bottom it out all that much. I have the fork loose for trail riding so it's sensitive. Every now and then I do freeride so the fork bottoms on drops and jumps.
flag vashonbiking123
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:41 Quote
well on a lot of forks there is air in one leg and a spring in the other, or dual air, but maybe if you have a fork with springs in both legs.
flag thomas-b
FL
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:42 Quote
kona962kamloops wrote:
i heard u should bottom once a ride, thats wat i heard....
i dont think its bad for it though but its probably not good either
Yea, my dad's theory is that you should bottom out at least once a ride so that you know you're using all your travel, but you shouldn't be bottoming out all the time, that would mean your fork is not set stiff enough.
flag signorvince2
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:44 Quote
vashonbiking123 wrote:
well on a lot of forks there is air in one leg and a spring in the other, or dual air, but maybe if you have a fork with springs in both legs.

yeah, i guess that's true, I ride 04 super t's and they have dual springs. gotta love old technology.
flag geezir
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:45 Quote
If you are bottoming out hard all the time, then yes, you are doing damage.

But bottoming out once in a while is fine. Forks are designed to be bottomed out. If you don't bottom out then why have all the travel. If you set you 8" fork to never bottom out and you only use 7" of the travel, why not get a 7" fork.
flag vashonbiking123
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:45 Quote
yep those must be fun
flag dirt-life
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:45 Quote
I ride 06 Dj pros and I ride them stiff and have no problem with street riding and park riding.I say it depends how you ride.
flag aniyn
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:47 Quote
You aren't doing any favours to your fork by bottoming it out. You want to try to set it so you use as much of your travel as possible without bottoming it out. All this "bottoming it out once a ride" stuff is baloney.
flag vashonbiking123
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:48 Quote
well if your riding dj or street you should run your fork really stiff, but this guy rides trails, so he needs his fork to be really plush.
flag vashonbiking123
Posted: Nov 27, 2007 at 20:48 Quote
aniyn wrote:
All this "bottoming it out once a ride" stuff is baloney.

I agree with that.
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