Mountain Bike Suspension Setup Tips & Tricks - How to Make Sure Your Suspension is Setup Properly
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2024
- In this back-to-basics episode, The Loam Wolf covers how you can setup and adjust your full suspension mountain eBike for peak performance. We cover eMTB suspension that is setup incorrectly and talk about the importance of air quantity and rebound to maximize your bike's performace, control, and comfort. We also discuss how to setup your mountain bike suspension for a variety of different trail types that you may encounter. Mountain bike suspension can be intimidating, but it is all about personal preference and keeping yourself safe on the trail.
Still have questions about setting up your bike's sag, rebound, and compression? Contact us!
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Chapters:
0:00 - 0:23 Intro
0:24 - 1:38 The test sections and too little air
1:39 - 2:55 Repetitive impacts
2:56 - 6:25 Air pressure recommendations and ride height
6:25 - 9:35 High Speed and Low Speed compression
9:36 - 11:29 Retesting and rebound
11:30 - 11:51 Closing
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A great explanation of how things work and what each setting means. thank you.
I think you just explained exactly how I crashed a year ago. Steep chute with a catch berm at the bottom. Up until just now I had no idea how it happened, but I remember I used to ride with a bit too much sag, then on the top of that I would run the fork compression fully opened. Makes perfect sense now.
Recently purchased my first full suspension and I thank you for all the vital information you provided great video.
Thanks very much for letting us know it helped you out. And congrats on the new bike!! Hope you enjoy it.
This video helped a lot. I just upgraded my trek with the fox 38 fork And fox coil shock. I am looking forward to getting my suspension dialed in. Thank you. I will definitely be keeping your video in my library for reference.
Thanks so much. Glad it helped. And congrats on the upgrade.
I love this channel because it's not overproduced. Just the right amount of polish and real life riders. Legit.
Thank you very much!
I was wondering why I was always using all the travel on my fork all the time, now I know why. I always had my compression all the way open and I shouldn't be running it fully open. Gave the compression a few clicks and it now rides perfect.
So awesome to hear. Hope you enjoy the ride and glad it helped.
Great vid guys, some real gems info wise here, suspension can make or brake your riding in so many ways!
Thanks a lot Jason. Appreciate you watching.
That explanation has helped so much thankyou
I come from the bmx dirt jumping world...i have never ridden a bike with suspension until recently ... This helped
Awesome thanks and we’re glad to hear it was helpful.
Perfect timing on the vid. On a Marin Rift Zone 3 I just upgraded the RS Revelation to the 2.1 damper and increased travel to 130mm from 120mm. Since the marks dont line up anymore I started with a little more than half my weight ( 84 PSI) and the rcc rebound is -10. I started from all the way + and worked my way back which leaves 9 more clicks toward - . Also the damper top on the RTC3 has a compression LSG over the selector. Can you do a video or explain this? Thanks for any feedback.
Great explanation on what is a bit confusing for me at times.
Glad it was helpful!
Jordi is the man, he's got suspension down to a science.
Yeah he really is. Love listening to him and learning tips along the way.
Good explanation. Now I have a better understanding of why my Fox 38 felt so low in its travel as soon as I started a steep decent no matter what I adjusted. I need to up the coil spring weight now. Figured 24% sag on the fork with 170mm was about right, felt good for regular trail riding, but horrible for steep chunky stuff.
Nice to hear the feedback and hope it helped your future rides!
Great advice!Thank you for the very informative video 👍
Glad it was helpful!
My preferred saddle helps with comfort just as much as appropriately tuned suspension . Also buzz kill handlebar end plugs help . I don't like recent FOX forks .
Hey, thanks for the vid!
Why do you want to ride on both your spring and your compression circuit? What’s the theory on that?
My first hunch would be it’s best to ride only on the spring and use volume reducers to balance how much you want of sensitivity off the top, mid travel support, and not bottoming out.
great video, super useful
Very helpful tips
Not a bike rider would be terrified to do any of thise things but im a new subscriber.. appreciate the content and information
Thank you very much for joining and we’re so glad you found it entertaining and informative. You’ll be hitting bigger stuff in no time!
Very helpful. Thank you!
You're welcome!
Great tips
Thx - brilliant video !
Thank you!
Have you compared your dialed settings with shockwiz to see how close both nunbers are?
This is a really useful video. Never been happy with my 36 Fit4 forks; harsh even with no volume reducers and almost 30% sag. I'm fairly heavy, but not a really aggressive rider. Think I'm running too much compression damping in 'Open' mode. I'll give it a try. Thanks!
Thanks a lot Richard! We think you should add 2 volume reducers and try dropping a few PSI and compression in that fork! Check our How to Install Volume Reducers video, it's super easy. and please let us know how it works for you! curious to hear.
@@TheLoamWolf I think I'm in a similar boat to Richard, heavy rider, not aggressive, have tried everything from 85-110 psi with 1-5 volume spacers and love the fork when landing jumps or on big hits, but its terrible on braking bumps and on other small bumps and rocky descents when compared to the OEM Rhythm 34 in terms of comfort. I guess the flex of the thinner fork would have also helped to soften the ride. I noticed the same with my float x shock to a lesser extent. I guess its a case of performance or comfort, but not both
I call berms burns , because those that encounter them very fast have burning sensation associated with grazes and cuts when they over correct steering leading to a fall .
Interesting, but I've had the exact opposite experience with the Fox 38 in particular. Fox would recommend an air spring pressure of 97+ psi based on my rider weight (with kit). I backed this down to 87 psi and the fork suddenly came alive. Way less hand pump/fatigue, and significantly faster DH times over the season.
What I've gathered is that Fox's recommendations are really set around true race pace speeds. I think it's important to be honest with yourself when picking preliminary suspension settings. Are you truly a "top 1%" rider? Do you do local or regional races and place decently in the ranks? Are you truly a "riding on the front wheel" rider, or when the going gets scary do you keep your weight shifted rearward a bit? If the honest answer is no (as it will be for 90% of mountain bikers!), it's very likely that you'd do better to run a significantly softer air spring.
Completely agree. I am coming from Rock Shox sus and it is the same. Factory recommendations are too harsh. When I got my first proper bike, it was set according to the factory table and my hands and wrists were aching. I thought, it is my problem until a friend told me to run lower pressure. From that day I had a totally different bike, no pain.
The softer fork setting makes it more comfortable and supple for amateurs but racers forgo comfort for minimum mechanical loss to improved lap times . Their apparrel gives them some shock absorption .
according to manufacturer chart I need to put 160 PSI into my fork, but even 200 PSI is a bit soft for me. That for rockshock.
But as for manitou around 50-60 PSI works like 220 psi in rock shock maybe.
So weird))
PERFECT!!
So should I not have my compression unlocked for the small bump sensitivity. I'm on a hardtail so bear in mind it is fairly firm
Thanks!
You’re welcome.
I have a 2019 StumpJumper>>> i weigh now 210lbs ( im whipping back in shape , lol ) .... Any tips on my set up?
COOL !!!! THANK. YOU !!!!
What are your thoughts on using a ShockWiz
Well explained , such a shame the video let you down . Before and after shots are different angles . how disappointing you can't see the difference easily but awesome explained
I see you don't wear a neck brace device. How do you feel about them?
Hey, I'm curious if using 100% nitrogen is beneficial for maintaining a more linear rate, or..?
Great video. Good work at making a dificult subject much easier to grasp. BTW. When can we expect to see a full review of that Levo? 😁
Based on some of the things we've been reading with folks having reliability concerns and motor/belt questions, we really wanted to put as much elevation and mileage in on this thing to report back...We know we're missing out on valuable views and SEO rankings, but when it comes to recommending someone drop 13k on a bike, we want to know we've done our homework....We're doing our best to ride it as often as possible.
@@TheLoamWolf I totally get that. I have those concerns myself after having multiple motors in my Gen 2. Even now my bike is getting a motor change. I apreciate you guys being responsible in that way. I'll (try to) be patient lol
Got a 22levo Pro and loving it. No motor issues to date apart from the crappy charge port cover falling off. Don’t the Soecialized engineers know that repeated bending of thin plastic usually results in breakage. Can understand why they didn’t pick this up in pre-launch testing🙈. Despite that gripe it’s a great confidence inspiring bike …so far
@@TheLoamWolf my forks feel really stiff even tho they register around 20-30% sag they are rock shox pike
Great video guys.
What do you recommend for 120mm fork for hardtail with no air tocins also im a huge guy 6'6 and 220lbs
My fork is a budget air fork that only has a air valve and a fork lock that's it
We'd suggest adding volume reducers if possible! It'll be the cheapest way to get better control and progression out of your fork. If you just air up more and more, you lose sensitivity and get a harsh feeling just to keep it from bottoming out..If you are out riding the capabilities of the entry level fork, then perhaps you've reached the limits of that product and need to invest in a new or used fork that has more tunability.
@@TheLoamWolf thanks guys for answering my questions
Bike used in this Video?
Great video, very informative. Can i ask what shock pump are you guys using. The one i have when i unscrew it off i am losing pressure, about 5/10psi so i am never confident i have the pressure the same or consistent ride to ride. Also should i srart with no volume reducers and then go from there?
We normally run a Fox shock pump, either digital or analog models are available.
Start with the volume reducers that come in the shock/fork from the company as they spec certain sizes/numbers for their bikes. Go from there depending on if you're feeling too soft, too much bottoming out, or never using full travel.
My guess is that you’re not losing pressure when you unscrew your shock pump, it sounds like the 5/10 psi “loss” is probably only noticed the next time you screw in your shock pump? That’s air moving from your shock into your shock pump to equalize the pressure between the two. My rear shock psi drops about 10-12 psi and my front about 2-3 everytime I screw on a shock pump. The different values equat to the differences in relative volume between the shock and the shock pump. The front fork has a much larger volume than the rear shock, that’s why it only drops psi by 2-3 in order to equalize with my shock pump. Also the hissing sound of air escaping when you remove your shock pump is the air escaping the pressurized shock pump, not the shock. Hope this makes sense, hope it helps, and hope it saves you from having to buy a new shock pump.
In short: You don’t loose any air in the fork when unscrewing, its the air from the pump hose. Screwing it on again, you loose air from the fork, to fill the pump hose, thats why you are seeing a drop in PSI
Love all things Loam Wolf! You guys do a phenomenal job reviewing all things bike. Quick question: why are you recommending that riders should not run high speed compression circuits as close to wide open as possible? Could be personal preference but I prefer that the spring does the work instead and rebound circuits control the return. Personally I want the least amount of oil restriction in the high speed circuit possible. (adjusting for bottom outs off of flat drops and hard landings) My setup relies on getting a spring rate or pressure for my weight, fully open high speed compression then adjust low speed compression until I have just enough support to pump, pop and push the bike how I want. Just curious as to the downsides of relying on the correct spring rate for compression. Thanks guys!
Hey Craig, thanks for the kind words and we appreciate you. Something a friend of ours told us when we were setting up a test bike and told him compression was wide open, "So, essentially you're just riding the air spring?" When we thought about that long and hard, it got us thinking, that we'd rather rely on something we could tune, and control, rather than just bouncing off the air spring. We don't recommend running compression fully closed either by any means, but we think a few clicks of compression will be better controlled than an unchecked air spring. Hope that made sense ?
The problem with grip2 damper and many other dampers is that HSC always affects LSC, which gives you a harsh feeling instead of being plush. That’s why the new 2023 rockshox charger3 is trying to make HSC and LSC completely independent. Yes you paid a lot of money for the grip2 damper, but getting the air pressure and number of tokens right is far more important than adding compression.
@@TheLoamWolf I’m referring back to all of your suspension setup videos to really help myself out with suspension tips so I can get to know my MTB more and like you said safety and stability I’ll get it sooner than later and the weight distribution is on point for sure
You guys def need Jordy on for an E-mtb specific tuning segment.
That would be cool!
Yeti calculator was telling me to use 104-110 for 210lbs, but ahockwiz recommend me 99psi.
if the recommended PSI for my weight is 85psi but it leaves me at less than 25% sag (assuming i want to hit 25% sag ) should i leave it or should i let air out .
i am asking because i dont know which one to follow , sag or air pressure ?
Both. Ride it and see how it feels, see how much travel your using etc. It’s really hard to set sag on a fork and be consistent. Use sag and air pressure as a starting point to fine tune from.
I bought a < $5k bike called LUNA X2 and my weight settings, don't work because it's the YAri 160mm front and the RockShox Select+ 21055mm in the rear. It's to soft for my weight, & I need to upgrade my setup. I can't decide what Rear Shock to go with, & if the Lyrik internal upgrade for the YARI is from 160mm- 180mm On my dengfu e10 Frame. I am running air pressure for someone 50lbs heavier because It has so much travel on such little bumps. 210lbs in Rear shock & still get 30%sag. I'd love to get your advice. I don't need the carbon frame taking the shock. my front forks have 44Offset if that helps
Check our video on Volume Reducers first! It may save you some major money and improve the ride. I’d suggest adding a couple volume reducers to fork especially and shock it’ll prevent it from using so much travel.
Fox recommends for my fork 15-20 % sag. Some say that 30% for the fork and the shock is best place to start and I agree. I think that 20% for my fork is way too firm.
Personal preference, rider speed, and terrain certainly have a lot to do with ideal setup. Glad to hear you've found what you like.
I would just say you should go on your locals trail and set it up there.
You can always ask your local bike shops to help you with suspension set up. Let them know which trails you ride the most and they’ll have some inside info on the best set up. Ie flow trails vs chunky trails and high speed big hits vs low speed tech all benefit from different set ups
@@khansen12345 Hi I have kept it on 20% but it felt rather harsh and I was using maybe 60% of the suspension. Now when it is on 30 % sag, it feels amazing on trails and also on bikeparks, I dont bottom out but use something like 95% of the suspension. 30% / 30 % sag setup is perfect for me. Kyle Warner also recommends it on his channel.
Serious question. New to MBs... setting everything right in the middle as far as clicks.. at least as a starting point... is that a bad idea?
No not at all. It’s a great place to start, but we’d definitely suggest dedicating a day or two to experimenting with pushing those limits to either extreme. And not like turn it one way for a ride and leave it then a week later go the other way, haha. We’d say take a solid day to repeat runs or portions of a trail turn it all the way closed, all the way open. Feel the extremes. Then you can start “bracketing” and narrow down on what feels good, better best and worse. Run by run, ask yourself what was better, what was worse. Keep doing that and you’ll be ahead of a large majority of riders. Sag, rebound compression and progression (volume reducers). Don’t overthink it, just feel it out.
Have fun!
There is still compression dampening even with the circuits open. Its not zero, and just riding on the air spring.
Correct, we were exaggerating slightly to get the point across that it’s better to be using damping for control rather than mostly air spring and the least amount of damping possible.
In the beginning when you said you had low air pressure.
How much was it and/or what was your sag at?
30%, 40%, 50%?
I was around 30+%
104 psi for 170-175 lb rider seems a bit much? No volume spacers id assume? Even still seems a bit high? All personal preference though.
There are a couple of spacers in there. But you are correct, rider feel, terrain and rider speed have a lot to do with it. For some riders that may be way too stiff. For other riders way better and faster than me, they may need more!
I really like. The way. How you explain. All this. And is a great video. But for me fox 38 is a fraud. For my expectation fox 36 is better. With this I being playing all the settings according to.my weight. But I don really like. I being following all this advice. That is really great. But to me this 38mm fox . Doesn't work. like the previous fox 36. Thanks for bringing a great video
I don't know why my brain goes to mush when trying to figure this stuff out!
Hopefully this helped a little bit.
I hope at 6:45 you cycled the suspension before that...
Always
No air in my fork only pasta.
You shud invest n upgrade to a digital shock pump
Summary : got yourself a coil ready bike
There are certainly some advantages... we like both depending on bike, suspension design and application of the bike.
@@TheLoamWolf check a rally car what suspension uses … if you like big hits and pop berms trails then air but for everything else (real life natural trails)coil rules (if the bike leverage is ready for coil)
bruh all i do is pump it up to 300 psi then nothing else matters coz the suspension is to hard to feel🤣
Haha. YES! that and 40psi in the tires and you're the king of the trail, sliding all over and making the trail yours!
Do's means "do is."
Just say Dos.
L
Boo for ebikes
I get it if you are injured or old
Kinda
Dang, mad respect to you Hayduke! We don't know many rigid single- speeders still living that OG life!! Guess we just like technology too much.
Of all the bikes to choose from, you choose a moped. SMH.
Hey nice to hear from you again! Glad to see you're still bucking the trends of technology. Surprised a rigid singlespeeder like yourself wanted to watch a suspension video though...Afterall, suspension and gears and dropper posts are considered cheating for men who ride rigid singlespeeds. Mad respect for riding slower and sticking it to the man and his technology!
@@TheLoamWolf I ride a 19 Yeti SB6. I don’t have a problem with “technology”. Putting a motor on a bicycle is not “technology”. It’s turning a bicycle into a moped.