To the Point - Suspension Setups for Enduro Racing
Fox Factory tuners are in the pits at every major enduro race. We contacted global marketing guy Mark Jordan to give us a quick rundown on the differences between a general trail tune and the ones that Pro Enduro racers use. Every bike and rider requires a slightly different suspension setting to achieve similar results, so the following tips are intended to provide a conceptual understanding of an enduro-specific tune and a starting point for knob twisters.
![Dan Atherton Interview]()
Is there a difference in the general suspension settings between a standard trail tune and an all-mountain or an enduro racing tune?
Does Fox do any significant internal damping changes in the fork and shock?
![photo]()
About spring settings. Do you set the spring stiffer than a typical trail setup?
In a general sense, what do you look for in the low-speed compression and rebound settings?
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What setup mistake do you see most often at enduro type events?
Do top enduro racers feel that remote platform or lockout features are important?
![It was no problem for Fabien Barel who just smashed into the catch berm and then placed it nicely on the high line out of trouble. In the scratch results from today he was third overall.]()
To say that Dan Atherton runs his suspension firm would be an understatement. We thought it was locked out when we gave his GT the trailhead test.
Is there a difference in the general suspension settings between a standard trail tune and an all-mountain or an enduro racing tune?It depends on the rider and type of enduro race – single-race format, multi-day format – but in general, I would say yes. Most racers cater their bikes to the terrain and run a firmer tune than they would for typical trail riding. But for multi-day/stage racing with little practice, a rider may choose more of an overall tune to cover a variety of terrain.
Does Fox do any significant internal damping changes in the fork and shock?It depends on the rider. This year we have all of our riders on new enduro fork tunes and some will get custom shock tunes.
A firm trail tune is used if the venue does not allow racers to practice the course to ensure a higher average speed on every type of stage.
About spring settings. Do you set the spring stiffer than a typical trail setup?Yes, most racers run a stiffer spring setup with only 10 to 15-percent sag
In a general sense, what do you look for in the low-speed compression and rebound settings?.
Low-speed compression is for support and handling. LSC can help the fork stay up in the travel, which helps provide control during heavy braking, cornering and on steep terrain. Rebound is for bump recovery and control. Rebound needs to be responsive, so the suspension can recover from an impact and allow the tire to track the ground.
What setup mistake do you see most often at enduro type events? Riders not taking the time to setup their bikes for the terrain or focusing too much on a single obstacle. Steep terrain may require you to change the suspension to balance the bike, but don’t change your entire setup for just one, five-second obstacle.
Do top enduro racers feel that remote platform or lockout features are important? It varies, but many riders are seeing the advantages of on-the-fly remotes to increase their bike’s efficiency.
Fabian Barrel attacks a red-hot gravity stage at the Val de Allos EWS. The position of the O-ring on his stanchion tube indicates that his fork is set stiffer than the shock - a tune that sets the ride height to favour for steep, technical descending.
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Member since Mar 23, 2011
Lower SAG
More Low Speed Compression
Faster Rebound
But I think that it applies to any sort of racing vs fun setup.
The stiffer you are the more #Enduro you are.
"We contacted global marketing guy..."
Yeah! Marketing! Whenever I want accurate unbiased information I always ask the marketing department.
Set it and forget it.............right?
Idem dito for park riding, more low speed means more pop and being able to pump better. For XC it means better pedalling.
Given that there is no clear definition as to what Enduro is (I thought Enduro was a race format for a riding style that could be described as DH like descents with XC flats and climbs), in some ways, the article is 100% spot on. Enduro is different according to every opinion out there and will vary considerably with the location.
I think its fair to say that the racing format that most of us would think about was born in Alpine Europe and yet here in Australia we hold "Enduro" events on tracks that really only require a 120mm hard tail, provide an uplift vehicle and the idea of multi stage is simply to do another run from the same starting point either on the same track or "the other" track.
They rarely (if ever) resemble anything like the European races and thats nothing to do with the fact that we don't have real mountains.
So the take home message from this article could be: Run what suits you and alter the settings to suit the course.
Pros will ALWAYS run settings stiff but thats because they go fast in the first place. Stiff can be fast, but fast requires stiff. They hit rough stuff twice as fast as we do and therefore soft settings would bottom out too often and ruin the ride. A beginner shouldn't start out with stiff suspension as they won't have the experience of skills to handle a rough riding bike. But as they improve, they will find that a small tweak (e.g. stiffening, slowing down this, speeding up that) will help them to cover ground faster but with the trade off of a rougher ride what will potentially fatigue them more.
I'd also love to see some rider stats including: rider weight, bike / travel, tyre pressure, suspension brands with pressures / spring rates, settings on C&R, is the suspension stock or modified.
But I guess ultimately it is still very individual. Factors such as how the rider sits in the bike (do they ride the front or the rear), geometry, stem and bar combo in relation to their height / weight etc. Hell it would be great to know if certain riders exploit strengths with their set up. EG, if a rider is a strong descender and flat sprinter but fatigues quickly on climbs and has a poor lactate threshold etc does that affect their set up.
It would be great to get an explanation from a rider as to how they want the bike to feel. We could all run the bike at the same settings as a pro but it might feel just awful. If however you could replicate how the bike FEELS (i.e., doesn't drop into holes, skips over rough but without feeling skittish, take huge impacts without harsh bottom out etc, is firm enough to be as efficient as possible but without inducing excessive fatigue for a run that should take no longer than 10 mins etc), then that is something we could work towards.
We need another in depth interview with that Barel bloke!!
Really?
You don't think all of us with your overpriced 'OTB specials' bought in the last two years hadn't noticed?
I feel closer to nirvana now I have been enlightened.
Steve Romaniuk stands out as someone with a very soft tune. In his video parts I've watched he'd bottom out his Boxxers just compressing in to the small undulations in the run up to a drop... goodness know how he nailed so many crazy gaps with a set up like that!
Correct. We don't, but pro's ride like that.
"Oh I see you're not using your suspension travel?"
"That's because I have less shock for blah riding and blah racing"
...anyone tried the new mavic blah wheels? You run double the psi in the tyres for a blah specific set up.
I like watching blah racing. Though I don't like all the blah specific stuff. Let's remember , blah is just trail riding...but serious
What I learned from this article is that I can say I have an "Enduro" tune by adding 10-15psi to my suspension.
enduro-mtb.com/en/product-release-wtb-saddles-optimized-for-650b
It's hard to tell sometimes if RC is a smart guy writing for dumb people or .....
in short.
TO the Point :Supension settings depends on the rider,
Noted I have purchased expansions such as Enduro Helmet, Enduro650b and Enduro NW ring.
Fork and shock each have air reservoir with remote operated gate between air chamber and reservoir. In 'low sag' mode (high pressure in air chambers), you hit the button opening the gate, and use dynamic bodyweight to compress front and rear - you release button at maximum (or desired) compression. Air goes into reservoir. Hey presto, you now have lower pressure in air chambers i.e. 'high sag'. To go back to low sag, hit button without compressing suspension which will dump higher pressure air from reservoirs into air chambers.
You read it here first.
10% SAG? Is it cause Fox fork have way to little LSC??
Well at least formula 1 starts Thursday!
"Well, i still have my 7X7 bike, my full face, and my camelbak... Better go race enduro because free ride's dead right?"