How important is Spring Choice?

PB Forum :: Downhill
How important is Spring Choice?
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flag Tintr
Posted: Dec 12, 2008 at 8:30 Quote
I am getting ALOT of different feedback from ALOT of different people i talk to about the corect spring for my weight. I am 165 lbs withought gear and i am riding a blindside for light downhill and light freeride. Im no bike hucker just like having fun! When i bought the bike it came with a 300 lb spring on the dhx 5.0 and it feels super plush. I want to get a ti spring for it and everyone is telling me a different story for what spring to purchase. I call one guy he says im fine with what i have, another guy says OMG you should be on a 450 lb spring and then yet another guy says any things good 300, 350, 400! What the HELLLLLLLL! Im getting pissed because i dont want to spend $350 on an obtanium spring and have it be the wrong one! By the way i just got this bike and am in the process of setting it up and it has not been ridden hard yet. and because ive only ridden the spring that came with it, i have nothing to compare it to like a heavier spring. Please HELP!!
flag stryke
Posted: Dec 12, 2008 at 8:33 Quote
feels good at 300?
get the ti in 300
flag JokerMachine
Posted: Dec 12, 2008 at 8:47 Quote
I think you should ride the bike hard a couple times before making that spring choice. I have a 450 spring on my Slash and it's pretty much perfect for me, and I'm only 150 lbs with full gear on.

Point is, if you're not riding hard, and buy a 300 rate spring, and then start riding hard and bottom the crap out of your bike on every small jump and drop, you will not like it.
flag jinx
Posted: Dec 12, 2008 at 11:12 Quote
tftuned has got some good advice, visit their homepage.
flag jettj45
Posted: Dec 12, 2008 at 12:39 Quote
Tintr wrote:
I am getting ALOT of different feedback from ALOT of different people i talk to about the corect spring for my weight. I am 165 lbs withought gear and i am riding a blindside for light downhill and light freeride. Im no bike hucker just like having fun! When i bought the bike it came with a 300 lb spring on the dhx 5.0 and it feels super plush. I want to get a ti spring for it and everyone is telling me a different story for what spring to purchase. I call one guy he says im fine with what i have, another guy says OMG you should be on a 450 lb spring and then yet another guy says any things good 300, 350, 400! What the HELLLLLLLL! Im getting pissed because i dont want to spend $350 on an obtanium spring and have it be the wrong one! By the way i just got this bike and am in the process of setting it up and it has not been ridden hard yet. and because ive only ridden the spring that came with it, i have nothing to compare it to like a heavier spring. Please HELP!!


First off people that just tell you a flat out spring weight probably have no idea what they are talking about. There are a lot more factors to consider than just rider weight.

Why do you even want to get a Ti spring? Are you doing it to save weight or making your DHX more responsive. If you're doing it to save weight you wont do that with a obtainium on a DHX. They are made specifically for a vivid. You have to get some adapters for it to fit a DHX properly and you end up not really saving any weight.

However, if you want a Ti spring to have a more responsive metal...May I suggest sending your shock into PUSH and getting a custom tune, it would be 20x better than a Ti spring.

The link will give you an idea of what spring weight you should run.
http://www.tftunedshox.com/tech-area/spring-calculator.html

I also have to ask, since you just got the bike have you tried increasing the your air pressure or playing with the rebound at all?
flag schwimble
Posted: Dec 12, 2008 at 13:40 Quote
base the spring weight on sag. for the type of riding you are talking about you will probably want about 30% sag, maybe 5% either way for personal preferance and riding style. if your hucking you will probably want it a bit stiffer about 20-25%.

to work out the sag find the eye to eye length of the shock, then find the length of the stroke, then find the lenght of the shock when you are on the bike in the attack position. subtract this from the eye to eye and divide it by the stroke of the shock, this will give you the sag.

if its a bike you bought new from a good shop they will sort you out with the correct spring, they should do it free, or very cheap anyway
flag bxxer-rider
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 2:42 Quote
god check tf tuned, mojo and push industries spring calculators they will give you the right spring rate.
flag rstwosix
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 3:44 Quote
jettj45 wrote:
Tintr wrote:
I am getting ALOT of different feedback from ALOT of different people i talk to about the corect spring for my weight. I am 165 lbs withought gear and i am riding a blindside for light downhill and light freeride. Im no bike hucker just like having fun! When i bought the bike it came with a 300 lb spring on the dhx 5.0 and it feels super plush. I want to get a ti spring for it and everyone is telling me a different story for what spring to purchase. I call one guy he says im fine with what i have, another guy says OMG you should be on a 450 lb spring and then yet another guy says any things good 300, 350, 400! What the HELLLLLLLL! Im getting pissed because i dont want to spend $350 on an obtanium spring and have it be the wrong one! By the way i just got this bike and am in the process of setting it up and it has not been ridden hard yet. and because ive only ridden the spring that came with it, i have nothing to compare it to like a heavier spring. Please HELP!!


First off people that just tell you a flat out spring weight probably have no idea what they are talking about. There are a lot more factors to consider than just rider weight.

Why do you even want to get a Ti spring? Are you doing it to save weight or making your DHX more responsive. If you're doing it to save weight you wont do that with a obtainium on a DHX. They are made specifically for a vivid. You have to get some adapters for it to fit a DHX properly and you end up not really saving any weight.

However, if you want a Ti spring to have a more responsive metal...May I suggest sending your shock into PUSH and getting a custom tune, it would be 20x better than a Ti spring.

The link will give you an idea of what spring weight you should run.
http://www.tftunedshox.com/tech-area/spring-calculator.html

I also have to ask, since you just got the bike have you tried increasing the your air pressure or playing with the rebound at all?
Very good advice.
Now here's my advice - get the sag right first. 30% of the shock stroke. It wouldn't surprise me if you have too much sag with a 300lb spring.
Once you get the right sag (yes,it may involve buying a new spring) then adjust the rebound (slower than the front). Let the air out of the boost valve. Next set the propedal at 5 clicks in from open and bottom out resistance at 1.5 turns in from open. Now pump the boost valve to 130psi and ride the bike on a good bit of trail that throws a bit of everything your way. Now try the same trail with the boost valve at 150psi and then 170psi. You will notice the ride getting stiffer but the bottom line is you will be going faster from A to B. The boost valve is one of the most important features on the DHX 5. Experiment until you find the setup you like.
flag coldfusion
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 8:04 Quote
stryke wrote:
feels good at 300?
get the ti in 300
Ermm... NO. Ti springs are usually softer, so if you have a 300 right now get the 350lbs spring in ti. Also ti performance improvements are noticed best when you have a long stroke shock.
flag stryke
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 8:07 Quote
coldfusion wrote:
stryke wrote:
feels good at 300?
get the ti in 300
Ermm... NO. Ti springs are usually softer, so if you have a 300 right now get the 350lbs spring in ti. Also ti performance improvements are noticed best when you have a long stroke shock.

you cant be serious
flag coldfusion
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 12:21 Quote
stryke wrote:
coldfusion wrote:
stryke wrote:
feels good at 300?
get the ti in 300
Ermm... NO. Ti springs are usually softer, so if you have a 300 right now get the 350lbs spring in ti. Also ti performance improvements are noticed best when you have a long stroke shock.

you cant be serious
Does it sound like I'm joking?...
flag jonbikes
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 12:28 Quote
stryke wrote:
coldfusion wrote:
stryke wrote:
feels good at 300?
get the ti in 300
Ermm... NO. Ti springs are usually softer, so if you have a 300 right now get the 350lbs spring in ti. Also ti performance improvements are noticed best when you have a long stroke shock.

you cant be serious

It would make no difference if you had a longer stroke shock or a shorter stroke shock, it's all about leverage ratio, I'd say he is joking on that part.

As for the TI springs being softer, I too believe in going another weight class up, the general exception around here is 100 pounds heavier for a TI over a steel spring, but 50 or 100, who knows for sure, I know I don't.
flag stryke
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 12:36 Quote
there is no reason you should go up when buying a ti spring, buy what you use in a steel spring.
flag jonbikes
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 12:40 Quote
EVERYONE that I know that has upgraded to a steel spring says that they either wish they had of gone up 100lb or so or they are very glad they did. Different materials would mean that this is completely possible and likely.
flag stryke
Posted: Dec 13, 2008 at 12:41 Quote
300lbs is 300lbs, no matter what language, country, or spring material
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