How To Set Up Bike Suspension
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Bated from having working brakes, there are few things more of import than getting your break setup properly. It's common for folks to go intimidated by their suspension, but a few basics can have you confidently establishing and maintaining your fork and daze setup in no fourth dimension. The purpose of this postal service is just to become us familiar with those basics, and get out on the trail armed with them. Nosotros dive deeper into suspension fine-tuning in another post.
Become prepped, know what's up
Starting time things first, let's go some basic things established. Here are a few guidelines when it comes to your bicycle's suspension:
i. Bank check your interruption setup often. Like, every fourth dimension you lot ride. Modest changes tin have big impacts on the ride quality of your bike and your experience out on the trail. If your sag is off by just a piffling scrap, things get a whole lot less efficient. Going for a longer ride and carrying more weight in your pack? This will affect your suspension setup. Only similar you're preparing yourself by packing more nutrient and h2o, y'all should too set up your bike.
2. Don't be scared. This stuff is way simpler than information technology might seem. Play around with information technology. Acquire it. Agreement your suspension volition pay off in the long run. I skilful tip for learning what all the adjustments do is to use the extremes. Run the rebound all the way fast, and all the mode slow, and feel the difference. Do the same with pinch, and even preload. And remember, suspension is user-specific. In that location are guidelines to getting your suspension dialed in, but ultimately, not many steadfast rules. In the end, it'southward all about how it feels to you.
3. Suspension setup is besides condition-specific. The more than comfortable you lot go with your intermission, the more you can dial it in for every ride. Not anybody is going to want to do this. Sticking with one setup for all conditions is perfectly fine, but, just as yous might run unlike tire pressures in unlike weather, yous tin can punch your suspension in for the terrain. You tin, for case, run softer suspension in low-grip environments, just trails with berms and hard g-outs might call for more support. Rough, loftier-speed terrain might phone call for faster rebound whereas you might slow it down a bit for jump trails. Again, the level of per-ride tweaking will vary from one person to another, but knowledge is power when information technology comes to getting the most out of your dampers.
4. Speaking of noesis, read your fork and shock'southward user manuals. Know what adjustments are available and where they are. And read upwardly on your bike, too. Dissimilar bikes take dissimilar sag recommendations, some even accept a more comprehensive recommended shock setup, based on that bicycle's specific rear suspension system.
five. Finally, carry a stupor pump with y'all when you ride. And whatever other tools y'all might need to make compression and rebound damping tweaks. This will come up in handy when you lot commencement getting things really dialed-in, because making changes out on the trail allows for instant feedback. Besides, being prepared is always a good thought. The mini shock pump I keep in my ride pack is ane of the most frequently used tools I carry.
Speak the Language
Now that we have that down, let'south make sure we're speaking the same language. At that place are a ton of suspension-specific terms, but here are the few basics y'all'll demand to first with:
- Preload – Too known every bit spring force, or simply air pressure (in virtually cases). About of us accept air-sprung suspension, significant that an air chamber, rather than a coil spring, is the forcefulness that keeps the shock or fork extended and allows information technology to jump back after an impact.
- Sag – This is how much the break compresses with just your weight on it. We adjust the bound forcefulness up or downward to achieve the desired corporeality of sag.
- Shock stroke – How much travel your actual shock has. Not the bike. Your bike might accept 150mm of rear travel, but that is achieved through linkage and stuff. The shock of a 150mm bicycle might simply take 50mm of stroke. Knowing how much stroke your stupor has is important because information technology will let you translate a percent of recommended sag to an actual number you can measure. Shocks are measured by length (middle-to-eye) and travel (stroke). An case is: 210 10 55. Meaning 55 is the stroke in millimeters. We're not worried about middle-to-middle in this lesson.
- Damping – Not "dampening". All interruption is made up of two principal things: a bound, and a damper. Damping is what controls the forces going through the pause, in the form of oil running through special valving. The damper is what keeps the spring from being a pogo stick and launching u.s. to the moon every fourth dimension our pause rebounds from an impact. Its as well controls the way it compresses when nosotros hit stuff. Calculation damping slows stuff downwards, while reducing damping speeds things up. Faster = less damping. Slower = more damping. Compression damping controls how fast the suspension tin compress, or essentially, how quickly it can respond to an impact, while rebound damping is the contrary. Rebound damping controls how chop-chop your suspension recovers from an impact. How fast it bounces back.
Getting Dialed
Getting your suspension prepare up requires three main adjustments: Sag, compression, and rebound. Simple as that, right? Let's dig in.
Setting Sag
When it comes to rear suspension, your bike has a recommended sag range. Figure out what that is. And while you lot're there, expect up the stupor stroke, too. Y'all'll need that. Most brands recommend somewhere between 25 and xxx pct sag. Per centum of the full stupor stroke, that is. If your daze has a stroke of 55mm and your bike should have thirty percent sag, your sag measurement is: 16.5mm.
You may non need to calculate your sag number. RockShox laser-etches gradients in its shocks, and some manufacturers will just give you the number, or amend nevertheless, they might requite yous a starting air force per unit area based on your weight (and sometimes height). Off the tiptop of my head, I know that both Specialized and Ibis do a great job of this. Many other brands do as well. Some even requite starting compression and rebound settings. Apply them. They're unremarkably pretty shut.
There are a couple things to know when setting sag. Full suspension bikes are very weight-sensitive. If you lost 5 pounds since the final time you rode, your romantic interest may or may non find, only your wheel will. That'southward why we always set sag when dressed and set to ride. We phone call this "rider weight". It'due south important to wear what you'll be riding in, including whatever pack you might wearable, water and all.
In one case yous know how much sag you lot should start out with, go ahead and bust out the stupor pump and measuring tape (or better yet, a ready of Vernier calipers). At that place's a footling sag-indicating o-ring on the stanchion of the shock. That'southward what you'll measure.
Make sure whatever fork or shock lockouts are not engaged, and go next to a wall or something you can lightly lean against to remainder. Now, get on the bicycle and assume a riding position. Like you're about to attack a descent. Weight balanced, pedals level, elbows out. All that business. Then, without holding the brakes, bounce up and downwards on the bike a flake. This will get the bike prissy and settled into the sag. Side by side, slowly reach down while advisedly trying not to shift your weight, and slide the o-ring up confronting the seal of the shock'southward air tin can. So, slowly unweight the bike. Information technology'southward important not to bounce on the bike at all later you set up the o-band. You can grab the brakes again to aid stabilize everything. Then, footstep off the cycle carefully without compressing the suspension any more.
Measure the distance between the seal and o-ring. That'south your sag. Repeat this procedure until you're on target. It might take a few rounds.
This petty side note is of import: Whatever fourth dimension you lot add or remove air from the daze, yous must bike it several times (like 10) earlier taking another measurement. We don't need to get into negative air chambers in this lesson, merely nosotros practice need to know that all air shocks have them, and most of them are filled automatically via a transfer port from the positive air sleeping accommodation (the 1 your daze pump is connected to). Cycling the shock allows the positive and negative chambers to equalize. If yous add a lot of pressure to a shock all at once, you might notice that it's really hard to compress the first time and feels like a pogo stick, just cycling it a few times will normalize it. That'south the positive and negative chambers equalizing, and that's another reason why nosotros bounciness upwardly and downwards on the bike a few times before sliding the o-ring into identify.
Related: How To Set Your Cockpit
Sag on Forks:
Setting sag on forks tin can be done in this same way. Generally, you're looking for around 20 percent of the fork travel. Simply, fork sag is much more than near feel than the shock sag is. Shock sag determines how the cycle will pedal, your traction, and even how much influence the drivetrain has on the interruption. This isn't exactly the instance with forks, then you tin actually set the compactness of the jump more on feel than annihilation else. Also consider your terrain. If most of your descents are steep, more than of your weight will be concentrated on the fork, and you will desire less sag. If your descents are non so steep, your weight will be more counterbalanced and you lot can get away with more sag. Or, start off with the nautical chart on the fork leg and go from there.
Adjusting Damping
Impacts are separated into two categories: low-speed and high-speed. Not how fast the wheel is moving, per se, but how fast a certain type of crash-land makes the fork or shock move. Low-speed impacts come from rolling terrain and our trunk-weight moving effectually on the bike. Loftier-speed impacts come from square-edged things like rocks and roots. When your wheel hits things like these, it requires the suspension to react quickly. Speeding upwardly or slowing down a fork or shock's damping determines how it'due south able to track the ground underneath us. The vast majority of riders run their damping manner too dull.
Some high-end interruption products have more external aligning than others. For instance, many forks and shocks take depression-speed compression and rebound knobs, while high-speed pinch and rebound are set from the mill. No affair what y'all have at your fingertips, the basic rule of pollex for damping is to run it as fast every bit yous can without your cycle feeling like a pogo stick. Start fast, and add together damping as you need to. Call up, adding damping ways slowing the motion down. Clockwise always adds damping, counterclockwise always speeds it up.
Pinch:
Compression is often indicated past blueish. If y'all have just one knob for pinch, information technology's a low-speed knob. A lot of what low-speed pinch damping is responsible for is controlling how "bobby" your suspension feels. Adding low-speed compression volition quiet how much your suspension moves every bit you're bouncing around on the pedals. It'll as well go on a suspension fork college in its travel on steeper terrain. But, be careful how much yous add, considering too much volition make the pause experience harsh on minor impacts. I similar active suspension, then I typically run my compression damping either wide open or just a couple clicks in from wide open.
Rebound:
The red knob. The same rule applies to rebound damping. Starting time off quick, and add damping every bit yous need information technology. I generally encourage riders to get used to faster damping considering it allows the tire to maintain better contact with the ground, but finding merely the right setting will vary betwixt riders. And, continue in mind that the more than air in your fork or stupor, the faster it'll want to spring back. Therefore, heavier riders will require more than rebound damping than lighter riders, and whatever significant change to preload may require an adjustment to rebound damping.
And in that location you lot have it, folks. Those are the basic principles effectually suspension prepare. Side by side fourth dimension, nosotros'll dive more than into the tuning side of things.
Photos: Ryan Palmer
Source: https://www.betamtb.com/technique/higher-education-suspension-setup/
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