Which Bike?

  • Next Page
Author Message
flag rkuhn
Posted: Jan 25, 2009 at 9:29 Quote
Congrats! And welcome to long travel bikes! Beer
flag rkuhn
Posted: Jan 25, 2009 at 10:12 Quote
If you haven't done so already, get the manuals for the fork and shock from the respected websites so you that are familiarized with all the available adjustments available to you.

Because this is your first long travel bike it will be hard to have a point of reference but my advice would be to first the sag for the front and rear.

Suspension settings are both a personal preference as well as the terrain it will be ridden on the most.

On a new fork, I will set the settings in the middle. In other words, if the max number of turns on a rebound adjuster is 14 then I will set it at 7 and see how it feels and adjust from there. If the fork has a zillion adjustments (or "infinite" travel adjust as they like to call it), I will sometimes note the adjustment I made in the manual or in a notebook along with how it felt. This provides me a point of reference later.

I do the rear shock pretty much the same way. Since the shock you have is simple, rebound, compression and preload, dialing it in will be pretty easy and for the most part quick.

Ideally you'll want the rear to be setup to where you get as little pedal bobbing but not have it too stiff where it bounces around like a pogo stick. Since that shock doesn't have a Fox like Pro-Pedal feature you'll be tweaking the compression speed and the amount of preload to get that happy medium; on my past shocks which didn't have Pro Pedal, I'd run the compression slightly softer, slowed the compression slightly and made the rebound slightly faster.

In the end, you'll have to experiment and don't get frustrated if you don't get it the first time out. I just completed a new build and I've got 90% of the suspension dialed in but it won't be until I take it out on a few rides before I get it dialed in to my liking - and I have to learn how the bike reacts too.

Another thing you can do is ask for advice from other riders on the trails that you ride.

I would see if you're LBS would be willing to help you get it dialed in. Some shoppes will spend a few minutes with you and not charge anything and others will charge a fee; chances are they will charge a fee since you didn't purchase it from them. It will depend on the shoppe and your relationship with them.

Ultimately it's going to be a trial-by-error sort of thing and you'll just have to ride often. It's a new bike to you and you're still learning it. You'll also have to learn how to ride a long travel bike - newbies tend to believe that if they get an 8 inch travel bike that they can now do huge drops and large gaps right away.

Because I don't know what sort of rider you are, your riding skills, etc. I'd say start small and work you way up. If you've got decent riding skills and ride with people who are equally or better than you then you should have no problem in getting it dialed in fast.
flag Kornowski
Posted: Jan 25, 2009 at 10:25 Quote
Ok, I'll look up the manuals. I never thought of that, thanks.

That's a good idea, also. I'll try that with the forks. Would I do the same with the rebound and compression? I'll be doing most of the riding at my local (Delamere), which has a fair variety. There's some small drops, berms, and rooted sections. I don't know if I'd have to dial it into anything particular, or would I be able to set it up for everything?

I'll have a play around with the forks tomorrow, I have a bit of time in the morning, so that'll be good.

I get on pretty well with the people that work at my LBS, so they'll probably help me out if I ask 'em.

Yeah, I didn't expect to be hitting big things just yet. Since the whole bike feels completely different to my hardtail on so many different levels. I'm just going to build it up like you said.

Thanks a lot, you're a great help!
flag rkuhn
Posted: Jan 27, 2009 at 7:52 Quote
Kornowski wrote:
I don't know if I'd have to dial it into anything particular, or would I be able to set it up for everything?

It is possible to have the front and rear setup to where you rarely have to touch it. But this really comes down to knowing what each adjustment does, knowing how your bike handles and your overall riding skills and experience.

Also keep in mind other things contribute such as handle bar positioning, your saddle position and the air pressure in your tires.

Do you what weight the spring is on the rear shock? There will be a number painted on the shock. ex: 550 x 3.0. The first number will be the weight.

I ask because this might be the first thing you swap out. Maybe... Smile

Edit: here's a link to a basic "How-to" article on setting up and tuning the 888. It may not be the same model 888 you have but it will at least provide you with some guidance - http://www.go-ride.com/Articles/Tuner_888.htm
flag Kornowski
Posted: Jan 27, 2009 at 12:41 Quote
Ah right, Ok, thanks. That guide was very useful. He said there was hardly any difference in the compression settings (out of the 22 clicks it had). So, I'm going to set it in the middle (11) and go from there, and see if there's any difference, and I can get something that suits me.

The Rebound had a pretty good method too, pushing it down as far as he could, then sharply lifting the bike of the ground, getting it to extend with the lift, sounds like a good theory. I'll have to experiment a little.

It's the rear shock that I think I'm going to have to spend the most time setting up. Finding the right amount of sag, compression and rebound. I'm guessing I'd want the compression pretty much full open for DH and full closed for hucking?

Thanks!
flag rkuhn
Posted: Jan 27, 2009 at 14:32 Quote
Kornowski wrote:
It's the rear shock that I think I'm going to have to spend the most time setting up. Finding the right amount of sag, compression and rebound. I'm guessing I'd want the compression pretty much full open for DH and full closed for hucking?

The rear usually is the hardest and takes the longest to dial in - especially if you don't have much experience. Getting the right amount of sag is always important and the amount recommended (usually 25% to 30%) is just a starting point. In other words it's not a requirement but rather a recommendation; go up or down from there but 30% is usually the norm. FWIW, I tend to be more in the 25% sag setting but that's me and it's more of a personal preference.

You don't want to run too high of a compression otherwise it will bounce you off the bike. And you won't get the small bump dampening as well. If you're going really big all the time then higher compression is what you'd probably do but you'd most likely go with a heavy weight spring instead.

Each rider has their own preference. For me, I have my rear suspension setup to where it's soft and plushy but not too soft to where if I stand up and start to pedal that the rear bounces up and down (pedal bobbing). It bounces a little (which is expected) but not a lot.

Other riders do their setup in their own way but I set my spring preload (compression) with the rebound setting set it's fastest. This give me an idea as to how fast the spring itself reacts. Once I get the preload set close to where I like it I then slow the rebound a click at a time. Often times as I adjust the rebound speed I make small adjustments to the preload as well. Eventually I get it to where I want it.

Then I take it out on a ride - one that I know - and do any final adjustments on the ride.

It's also not uncommon to make adjustments all the time which is why it's important to ride a lot so you know how the bike reacts.

My Norco took me about 2 months (riding 2 to 3 times a week) to get it dialed in and then an additional 2 months to feel comfortable on the bike to where I didn't even think about it - my previous bike was so dialed in and I was so use to riding it that I just didn't think about it - point it and go Smile Now my Norco is setup that way and I'm comfortable to where I just point it and go as well.

Sorry for the novel.
  • Next Page

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.018213
Mobile Version of Website