For better or worse,
Vorsprung's location in Whistler gives us exposure to some of the harshest, most violent conditions bikes ever see. From A-line's infamous braking bumps (that the trail crew, fortunately, iron out a few times a year!) to the sheer brutality of In Deep, there are plenty of reasons why many riders here end up feeling like their hands are broken after a few days of riding.
Consequently, one of the biggest issues we deal with on a day to day basis is minimizing ride harshness. To achieve this, it is necessary to understand the physics behind bump absorption, which is what we are delving into on this week's Tuesday Tune. Rather than simply handing you a set of instructions saying "reduce X, increase Y, set Z to extra medium", we're presenting an introduction to the fundamental ways in which your suspension responds to encountering a bump. We hope that by doing this, that you can relate this to your own adjustments and find yourself making more productive changes when you are adjusting your setup.
This week's video is pretty heavy in theory, and it does assume that you are familiar with the basic functions of a spring and a damper (if you aren't, check out our video on the
functions of springs and dampers).
As usual, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to in-depth analysis, and should not be considered anything like a comprehensive explanation of everything to do with a smooth ride. Many factors not directly related to your mechanical suspension can influence the perception of harshness (and hand pain), including rider variables such as strength, fitness and fatigue levels, as well as cockpit setup and brake configuration. Tyre pressure is invariably part of the equation, and should always be the first thing to check when something feels exceedingly rough. It's also worth noting that your priorities for suspension setup may not be the same as the next rider - some people want the smoothest ride possible, some people want the fastest thing they can hold on to on steep terrain, most people lie somewhere in between. Setup is all about finding the compromises that work best for you.
MENTIONS: @VorsprungSuspension
*Not counting when i'm actually riding my bike, obviously.
I'll chime in with the others and express my gratitude to you, Steve @VorsprungSuspension, for getting accurate knowledge on suspension into the generalpublic. I can say that I might be seeing signs of it working, since I've been running into a lot more people who know what they're talking about when it comes to suspension setup.
m.pinkbike.com/video/460892
I'm 170-175lbs and run my lyrik with 3 tokens at about 75psi. Used to run at 80-90psi and it was a bit harsh.
Tokens are 100% necessary to unlock the potential of the pike / lyrik
Note that I ride aggressively and most of my local trails are feature driven
not that it matters, but ran into Curtis Keene locally and he was running 3 tokens at 90-95psi, and wasn't riding race pace or anything (was a pace I could keep up with...he was cruising)
Also if I ride in the wet, I usually slow down the rebound a click or two, I find more traction that way
My new trail bike is coming with a Pike, will see how it rides but I predict a Luftkappe being fitted when it's time for first servicing.
By a few clicks......is that correct?