How Do Pros Run Their Suspension - Hard or Soft?

Sep 29, 2017 at 9:50
by Pinkbike Staff  

It's the last EWS of the year and riders are up against one of the rowdiest courses of the season in Finale Ligure. With seven stages over two days, we check in with the pros to see what suspension the pros are running in Italy; hard or soft?


MENTIONS: @EnduroWorldSeries



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Member since Jul 22, 2013
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77 Comments
  • 171 3
 Someone sum it up for me please. In class without headphones and can't have men on my phone talking about whether they like it hard or soft. Thanks in advance.
  • 4 1
 im in the same boat as you man, i gotta know!
  • 4 0
 Same boat here, Wireless earbuds are killer. Literally everybody is running ultra hard, or in between. And higher pressures in the tires.
  • 2 0
 We used to want more shimz. Now I want more volume spacers!
  • 31 2
 These types of articles should really include a written portion. Not everyone browses PB with high speed internet or in situations where videos are acceptable.
  • 31 1
 TL;DL
1. a bit harder
2. in the middle
3. in the middle
4. a bit harder
5. button controlled
6. -
7. coil first
Fin: there are various setups
  • 1 0
 Ditto
  • 14 0
 So is it better to be hard....or soft?

Asking for a mate
  • 3 0
 Yoann has a good set of man boobs.
  • 1 0
 Ride happy and be hard.
  • 1 0
 @Waldon83: Legitimate belly laugh. What I've come to recommend people is just do what they feel is best. This wouldn't even be a video in 1950, because everyone would just be like, "what are you dumb".
  • 3 0
 Semi
  • 69 2
 Completely useless video since we didn't get any insights about suspension setup.
  • 56 2
 I start out soft, than go full on hard.
  • 11 1
 Aggressive!
  • 3 2
 I only run my suspension hard when I'm racing. Casually walking around the park or watching TV, I keep them soft.
  • 11 2
 "then I go full on hard" I remember when I was your age...
  • 5 1
 I like the front to be soft and grippy and the rear to be firm and supportive when your slamming into a hole.
  • 21 1
 Marsh: "Yeah, you don't want to get flat tires. That's the worst thing ever." Poor Greg.
  • 12 0
 With all the hulahulahypehop wide rims/corecrushprotection blablabla, and at the end, they keep it hard to avoid flats... talk about innovation!
  • 1 2
 @TDMAN: "hard" pressure is relative. nothing wrong with a little innovation and new technology
  • 19 1
 I think like 2 racers actually said they run their suspension hard or soft. The others just kind of talked?
  • 13 0
 Who was it who quipped "run it as hard as possible, and go faster and faster until it feels good"...?
  • 3 0
 Brendawgg
  • 39 1
 Ive lived by motto that ever since he said it and I can now say without a doubt I am marginally faster and much more uncomfortable when I ride
  • 4 0
 Troy once said comfortable is not winning.
  • 3 1
 Lol I learned that in moto. Was a newer rider and was complaining my gearing was wrong for the track. Was told if I was going faster I wouldn't need to shift down. Touche!
  • 1 1
 It might not be the best way to learn but as you get faster, you'll feel you need to stiffen up your ride so there's some truth to that.
  • 7 1
 Man. The EWS has their shit going on! Good videos highlighting riders, bikes, race previews, and by have a specific topic, they answer questions that we all have. Well done. Heaven forbid UCI does anything at all to support their DH Racing. Must be too busy counting money.
  • 9 1
 Digging that grip lock-out. I mean, I can’t really justify having it but I can pretend can’t I?
  • 2 0
 Is that for the shock or seat post?
  • 11 2
 I don't even care what my riding buddies run let alone the pros.
  • 1 0
 Amen, brother. I like that attitude.
  • 1 0
 Haha totally. I hop on friends bikes and I think 'jeez this is crap' like 90% of the time. Its so personal.
  • 6 1
 Is an elephant heavy or light? For a mammoth light, for a human heavy. It all depends. So for a pro hitting rocks twice as big twice as fast than me, he better run suspension twice as firm. Although he himself might not consider the set up firm- just convenient for his purpose. For me and maybe the average PB user this is considered firm. Like the elephant standing on my foot: Firm for my foot but not for the mammoth's. Wink
  • 1 0
 None of them really know anyway. That's what I get from these kind of videos.
  • 4 0
 If you twist it back and forth, you can have both hard or soft. Or twiddle the small tab up and down. Some have it front and back.
  • 5 0
 dang, had no idea minnaar was on the start list for this event. Will be fun seeing how he goes about
  • 3 0
 We didn't get much suspension talk, did we? A simple interview about riders' riding style, weight and suspensions stiffness would have been better IMHO.
  • 4 0
 Fuck the interview, just write the words. Numbers don't need to be video'd...
  • 1 1
 Seems like it would depend on what type of riding you do...
Big hit? Firm to soak up all the weight on landing.
trail use? Moderate for all aroundness
XC, supple to keep you pedaling with the most efficiency.
Or maybe I'm just talkin crazy
  • 2 0
 For XC it's better on the firm side to prevent it from bobing. You need it to soak bigger hits and be as efficient as possible.
  • 2 0
 that might work if there were only three settings; "firm," "moderate" and "supple". But with air pressure from 0 all the way up into the hundreds, volume reducers, coil shocks with different springs, high speed and low speed compression, high speed and low speed rebound and lockout switches its actually a little bit more complicated than just using three completely subjective terms; firm, moderate and supple.
  • 1 0
 @dtrotter: hey there Captain *wavinghand*
  • 3 0
 At least a few settings in the answers would have been a tad more insightful!?
  • 4 0
 Yoann don't ever change!!! Make me laugh every time!
  • 3 0
 What do you do if you start out hard and it goes real soft on you? Asking for a friend
  • 2 0
 Generally start off soft, then when the riding gets harder and faster it is hard to beat a nice stiff setup.
  • 2 0
 That's what she said?
  • 3 0
 I want my 5 minutes back. That was totally useless..
  • 4 1
 Freaking yoann at the beginning
  • 1 0
 "Flat tires are the worst. That's why we're running off-the-shelf DHR 2s--it turns out that the Minnaar prototype had an ancient curse."
  • 1 0
 Waste of time...I don't care what there running..but I care what I'm running. Extra hard all night day all night...I'm like a dam energizer bunny!!!
  • 1 1
 Soft or hard, compared to what? Your cock, my cock, your friends girlfriends titties, your mumsies titties or maybe a roll of triple layer toilet paper?
These interviews are pretty much useless....
  • 3 0
 HARD AS FUCK
  • 2 1
 The obvious answer is some where in between depending on rider and track surely ?
  • 2 0
 "Rough!..Just the way your mother likes it Trebek"-
Sean Connery.
  • 2 1
 Pros go for 5mins to an hour or so. I go all day and night. Who's hardest?
  • 1 0
 ... did he say expresso? That's what I want to know.
ride your tyres how you like em.
  • 1 0
 I want my 5 minutes back!
  • 1 0
 SAF TUNE: stiff as f$&@!
  • 1 0
 Soooooo was this a teaser video?
  • 1 1
 Why u just asking riders SAG set up that's easier to know its he/her setting harder,medium,softer ????
  • 1 0
 "24-26PSI, I like to race slowly in order to go slow"
  • 1 1
 only one person really answered your quest
  • 3 3
 That ol' "hard-soft" innuendo- hilarious.
  • 1 0
 Ask the ladies Razz
  • 1 1
 I guess hard
  • 1 3
 I think our host is actually a vampire. He looked like a scene from Blade at the beginning.
  • 1 5
flag therealtylerdurden (Sep 30, 2017 at 15:11) (Below Threshold)
 Gay.
  • 1 1
 *bought you by sram







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