How MTB Suspension Works Explained For Dummies
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- Ever wondered what the knobs on MTB Shocks actually do? Maybe you want to know what Compression and Rebound Damping mean? What the difference between the High and Low Speed Compression Adjustments. Today we're looking at how MTB shocks and suspension work, and explaining them in very simple terms. *This video is not intended for engineers. Many of the concepts have been oversimplified to help make sense of these adjustments. It's also worth noting that every shock is different and how these adjustments actually work will vary greatly between different make and models.*
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#MTBsuspension #mountainbikes #techtuesday
EDUCATIONAL VIDEO ON UA-cam?! NO CRASHES NO CLICKBAIT NO STUPID THINGS??? ARE YOU CRAZY?!
GOD BLESS YOU PHIL, THE LAST WARRIOR OF KNOWLEDGE!
Yeah but it’s still something you have to buy
Gabriel Leute what do you HAVE to buy here? I just watched it for free
@@maplica fork or shock
@@gabrielleute9911 some skills with phil stickers
@@HKgaming86 haha
If you taught science in high school, kids would never drop out.
I've always enjoyed teachers who took complicated topics and made them simple instead of trying to brute force the learning of information.
Probably one of the best explanations of different suspension systems this will definitely be a go to video I will recommend to people wondering how suspension adjustments work and generally just how suspension works. This is a wonderfully informative video and even though you think your animations skills are lacking I thought they were great!! Awesome video!!
I agree. I admit that I wasn't terribly interested but I watched anyway. The examples and illustrations are well done, they explain the mechanics clearly and I learned some things. In the end, I found this quite interesting!
Second. A very to the point and well explained video for explaining what the shock does including High and Low Speed Compression which would also apply to Damping. Thanks.
Couldn’t agree more.
I'd love to see a continuation of this where you're out on the trail and adjusting things and marking the differences and referencing this video (which is an awesome explanation). Great job on this explanation. I love the "how stuff works" approach. I learned something from this.
Please
This is a great idea...I would love to see this while you are prepping for a race
I think your "Limited" animation skills actually work better here to explain this in a simple manner. This is a great explanation! Thanks Phil.
Wow Phil thats the clearest explanation i have seen. Keep up the good work.
This seems sarcastic
The “S H O C K I N G” truth. Jesus Phil... 😂
Hopefully the suspense didn't kill you... I'll see myself out.
Why Phil why?! 😂😂
somehow I missed the puns and just saw clickbait. lol it was actually a great video though
I almost break down in tears
I think he prefers just Phil
i am a mechanical engineer and let me tell you that is one great explanation on how bike suspensions work, there are a lot more details on designs and fluid mechanics but your video goes straight to point. Great job
You look as bored as me when watching those types of videos. Thanks for all that you do for the MTB community.Great breakdown and easy to follow, just what the Dr. ordered !
I personally find them interesting, but a lot of times they cab be really hard to follow. Lots of jargon is thrown around which makes them very hard to follow.
That demonstration with the spring-loaded plunger might be the best visualization of how a suspension works that I've seen yet!
You are like a "moron whisperer". I never really understood the way the adjustments worked before. I knew what they were for, but understanding how they work goes a lot further into being able to use them properly. I have experienced this a few times watching your videos. Your knowledge is pure. The ability to explain fairly complex things in a simple and concise manner is a bit of an art. You sir are an artist. Thank you.
I'm a bike mechanic and have tried thousands of times to explain this to people. Brilliant job man. Question though. Who's idea was syringe thing? I’m kind of jealous I didn’t think of it. It’s a perfect way to help people visualize what’s going on.
Mine :) I've been had this video idea brewing for a while. And Hailey works in a biology lab. The hardest part was figuring out how to visually demonstrate these things.
Skills With Phil absolutely brilliant. I might even set something like this up at the shop for demonstration. Credit for the idea will go directly to you😁
I've heard a handful of lifelong bike mechanics explain suspension both in person and online. Two of them are at the top in terms of industry recognition. None of them explained it as concisely. Well done Phil. I hope they all just reference your video in the future.
Holy crap! Phil just sent it... with science!🤟
Your explanation was the best I've ever seen. It was simple and easy to understand. Keep up the great work!
Don’t depricate your animations. They were terrific. I thought I understood it before but. No. Now I really do. Thanks Phil!
one of the best illustrations of how it actually works. Awesome work!
After pouring through countless, well the first 90 seconds, of videos on suspension I finally see your clear as glass explanation and application. I second the comment “If you only taught high school science….”
“Well played sir”.
if you're looking into suspension mechanics for the first time, this video is a great start. Watch 30 more videos and come back here and this will make even more sense
Been watching a lot of suspension videos and still cannot get how it works but this is so far the best I've seen. I don't know why I'm only seeing this now.
Brilliant! Thanks for bringing this stuff back to earth for us common folk to understand!!! Several months after buying my bike - Santa Cruz 5010 - I realize that I left the shop without knowing the language I needed to dial-in my ride. Thanks to great UA-camrs, like yourself - I FINALLY feel as if I have dialed-in a great ride!!! Thanks!
Just seeing this now for the first time after a google search for the topic out of curiosity and I gotta say Phil, that is one of the best explanations of sus ever! Always crushing the MTB content dude!
Bro, this is the best suspension video I’ve ever seen. I work in a shop and literally until this video I could not wrap my head around low and high speed compression adjustments.
Jesus Christ, this is a great video. Nice animations dude
I just watched 5 different video on this. And finally someone who enlightened me with this simple but yet very clever technology.
Great video and thank you. I was admiring your animation skills and thinking... "Maybe I should just retire from making videos" because they were that good. I am now a little less confused about my suspension.
Phil, this is *really* well done. Hits the fundamentals, clear, concise, doesn't distort facts in an effort to simplify. The only thing I can suggest is slightly lower levels for the background track!
Great and as always super clear explanation...whether its teaching jumping or explaining rebound, u are simply the best at explaining it. Period. 👏👏👏👏
Hi I am building up my first full suspension bike. My frame is supposed to arrive vis USPS this afternoon. I just got both of my tubeless tires seated this morning. I will adjust suspension using this video. I love you
Fantastic explanation! All new to me. I’m guessing 97% of bike owners, riders, and youtubers couldn’t explain what’s actually happening in those long bouncy things.
This is actually a really good explanation of how shocks work for anything. Good job!
Even my english skills are limited, I understood everything. Love the video. Thank you for explanation!
Thought that you did a great job of explaining it Phil. Animation more than adequate to explain a properly nuanced subject. I feel that I will understand suspension for AT LEAST the next hour. I made need to rewatch to consolidate my knowledge (and tweak my suspension adjustments) .Thanks man, good job
Seriously one of the most concise and clear explanations on UA-cam. The animations were on point too!
Perfect! Simple explanations + used layman's terms + simplified diagrams = VERY UNDERSTANDABLE.
I love your explanation on the suspension... but can you help with understanding WHY you would want volume spacers and why you would want to adjust your damper/rebound settings and how they effect your riding? If I have higher PSI in my rear shock, I should have my rebound settings slower... but that's just what I hear. How does that benefit my riding vs having higher psi and faster rebound? How does that effect my riding when I have volume spacers? I suppose I just dont understand what I should be feeling when I am on the trails.
Yeah, that something I wanted to put in this video, but it honestly took me forever to do this so I had to scale the scope of the video back a bit.
The first step of suspension is dialing in your spring rate.
You do this before adding any compression daping
Your spring rate basically determines how rebound damping to run.
So ideally you want ~20-25% sag
Scenario 1)
You're a heavy rider and you need 90psi in your fork to get ~25% sag
You like to send it off big drops, and at 90psi you are constantly bottoming out really harsh many times a run.
To solve this you'd add a volume reducer and go ride.
Let's say now, riding the same terrain you're still bottoming out quite a bit.
Add a 2nd volume reducer and go ride.
This time, riding the same terrain you're still bottoming out but only 2-3 times per run.
Now you can add a few clicks of High Speed Rebound.
Compression Damping is used for fine tuning
Scenario 2)
You're a light rider and you need 60psi in your fork to get ~25% sag
You like to send it off big drops, but even at 60psi but completely unable to bottom your suspension out.
Check to see if you have any volume reducers installed, if yes remove 1 volume reducer.
Let's say now, riding the same terrain you're still not bottoming out.
If you have another volume reducer to remove, do it.
By this point you should be able to bottom your fork out
If you still can't bottom your suspension out running the correct sag and no volume reducers,
Try running a less PSI and little more sag ~30%.
If you still can bottom out your suspension something is wrong; call Fox, Rockshox, Cane Creek support
Hopefully this helped a little?
@@SkillsWithPhil thanks man you solve me all the doubts I had... great video....
Skills With Phil what about low speed compression? Can you give me a scenario for that.
Skills With Phil wow! That’s awesome. So much good info. I weigh 185 lbs and when I was bottoming our my forks or shock I was just adding more air... #fail or would just increase the damper. We just had a new jump line built in Chattanooga that’s comparable to the trails in Knoxville - baker creek area - and learning to adjust my suspension settings for jumps too... so much to learn!
@@clarkpark Phil here (I'm borrowing Hailey's Computer for a second to reply) Low Speed compression is for things that will compress your fork/shock slowly. For example, you're coming to a stop in the parking lot and you pull your front brake. That's going to cause your weight to shift forward and your front end is going to want to dive. That's where low speed compression comes in. If you don't have enough LSC, your front end will dive. If you have your LSC completely maxed out, it'll resist the forces and your front end shouldn't dive nearly as much.
i know a lot about suspension components coming from the auto industry, but this was a clear and concise explanation dude!
Appreciate the straight forward explanation, the diagrams make this sooo much easier to understand. Thanks you
Phil, you continue to amaze me with your awesome ability to explain complex things in easy to understand videos!👨🎓📜🧠💥
As I slowly learn how to do some of my own bike work suspension is 1 thing I have no idea about, and to avoid being "that guy" who tears my bike apart and messes it up more I don't even consider anything shock related. Thanks for picking this topic Phil
Great explanation on the different adjustments, I think a good follow up would be going through the processes of dialing each setting. Like when to adjust low speed vs when to adjust high speed
Thats a really clear explanation, thanks. Definately do more tech videos like this.
Judging by the thumbnail, I never would've thought this video to be so well done
i was thinking about the syringe explanation for a long time. Good work phil. Not even rockshox or fox can explained better
Very appropriate, very applicable, very insightful, and very helpful. I thought I knew a little bit about shocks... but, I was apparently mistaken. This enlightened me a lot. To be honest, before this video, I just thought shocks were F M. (Fricking Magic) lol!
Seriously great video man. You should make this a recurring segment, Science with Phil
Just started the video and I'm already stoked that you called out the "damper" vs "dampener" issue. Your shock has adjustable damping; if you want to adjust your dampening you should get a fender.
Edit: Start to finish, an excellent video with great demonstrations and illustrations. Quite possibly the best short primer on how suspension works.
Great job Phil with explaining how suspension works! You're pretty much spot on! All you need to cover is the high and low speed rebound and you're pretty much covered most of it.
You said on your podcast what you wanted to do regarding these tutorials and you absolutely nailed it. Best suspension video ever.
This was the best video I've seen in months.
Man, you killed it with this video. The visuals really help. I think a good follow up would be why you'd want to make changes and how does it apply to the trail.
Good to know your still making videos phill. I was gettin worried cuz i needed my skills with phill fix. Its been a couple months and i didnt know what to do lol. Love your videos man. I still have a couple stickers left, but will be ordering more after i find a place for the ones i still have. Keep up the great work man🤘
Wow! Hands down, probably the best explanation video for laymen I've seen to date. So simple, straightforward, yet very informative at.
By FAR the best suspension video I’ve ever seen!
Excellent video, thanks. I would love to see a follow up with you explaining how you like your suspension to feel and how to get it how you like it. I am trying different ways and feel as I am not knowing what to look for.
*DUDE!* You did nothing short of an *_A W E S O M E_* job here!!! 🏆🙌🏻
🎳 All the essentials on point! 🎯
Thank you.
I love how you go so in depth with the explanation but do it in a way everyone can understand, Great video!
This was a GREAT video on suspension- the syringes with and without the damper was great- awesome to see it in action. I still think LSC is alchemy, but I know something happens when I turn that dial! Anyway, it helped to SEE what happens, not just say it happens. Well done Phil! Keep it up!
Fantastic explanation, knowing what the adjustment actually does, will help you (me) get the shock to do what you want it to. Thanks.
I have been trying to understand this for ages and this just worked perfectly thanks for all the excellent video's, especially this one
Nicely done. Best visual representation I’ve seen. This will help beginners really under stand what they’re trying to control.
Thanks Sean! This one was a really challenging to illustrate/animate, but I'm glad it paid off.
Hey nice job with the animations! I think that simplified it very nicely without being condescending. Thanks Phil!
I like the anvils makes the concept really easy to understand, great job!
All the fox videos I watched on this finally make sense to me now
for me the how the shocks works is simple but to know exactly how to adjust is hard :D
That's probably the clearest explanation of high vs. Low speed damping I've seen. Cheers!
Love your vids Phil, big fan. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for making the most informative and understandable video on UA-cam
Those animations are key for an easy understanding for everyone, thanks for the work 👍👍🤘
This is the best explanation I have come across yet
As somebody who wants to become an engineer and make suspension, this is such a good video! Thank you
One of the best sus explanations so far! Keep up the good work!
Awesome video man! Finally, I understand how the adjustment works properly. Tnx!
Quick point out: increasing the lsc will not preload the spring, but further limit the the oil pass-through chamber. The lsc spring preload is a factory adjustment that we consumers should never mess with, because the preload of that spring is what defines the threshold between lsc and hsc. In other words: if you increase the preload of that spring, you are not increasing the lsc, but simply delaying the transition from lsc to hsc. Your lsc would in that case activate much "later" or "at much higher speeds"
Amazing video. An awesome follow up would be how to tune your shocks to get the proper amount of "pop" when hitting jumps.
That's one of best videos explaining the functions of mtb shocks
Just started MTB and I am happy to see a good explanation on how the suspension works! Awesome!
Excellent content Phil! Better explanation than the one I got at engineering school years ago; seriously.
I thought this video was going to suck but he did a great job of explaining without over complicating. This video should make people realize a MTN bike shock shouldn't cost $1,200 even if it is high end. Unless maybe made out of gold & titanium alloy.
A 6061 aluminum frame with built in gas tank that's much more complicated to build for a motorized bicycle is around $200 VS $2,000 for some BS name brand MTN frame that's isn't nearly as complicated to build.
Good work Skillip. A gentleman and a scholar.
That was really good Phil, really helps understand it better.
Best explanation I have heard and seen. Now I can adjust my suspension and know what I am actually doing, thank you Phil!!!
That was really good actually - makes complete since.
Can you make a video on the difference between Air/Coil based on the same brand and type like the Fox DPX
🤯 Thank you for the detailed video on forks! Love the videos my dude!
This is really a fantastic video. Simple animations are easy to understand so it really helped me. Thanks!
Yes Phil! Really really well done. It’s amazing nobody has taken the time to simplify suspension like this. This will get a ton of views over the years, and I hope you get back into making more skills and informative videos. You’re really really good at them.
And I know you’ve watched a good video on the negative air chamber by... I forgot who. But you commented on it and said it was really good.
What if you two teamed up on the deeper science behind air chamber tuning? I think I commented this same suggestion on that video.
This part made so much sense, Rebound adjuster is to adjust speed of rebound from compression. Compression adjuster adjusts speed of compression. Along with the illustration it was perfect
The best suspension video I've seen so far for helping me to understand it. Thank you for all the work you put into this video
just like with video on geometry - I finally actually understood how it works only after your video. thanks!
Good explanation and the syringe demo is excellent. Only thing I would say is it might be worth doing a part 2 video to explain preload of the spring.
Great explanation, full coverage and yet concise.
I've seen alot of videos about how suspension works and this is by now the best video with simple enough animations so everybody can understand it.When do we get "Skills with Phil's Bike Mechanics and Suspension Kinematics for Dummies" ? :-P
mate that is the best explanations of suspension. thank you for that Phil.
Awesome work Phil that is the best description of how suspension works I have ever seen, btw love your videos
The video I've been looking for. It clearly explained the things that should be explained. Thanks man
Wait. I can't speak for a Fox GRIP2, but in the CaneCreek DBair and the Fox Float X2 it's the other way around with high- and low-speed damping, therefore it should be so for the GRIP2 too. By "other way around" I mean that the low-speed is adjusted with the size of the orifice and the high-speed knob tightens the preload spring on a pop-up valve. Can somebody confirm this?
Other than that, you did a fantastic job at visualising the difference between spring and damper! And the difference between damper and dampener... bugs me every time I see this! 😂
It's certainly possible, don't take this video as the gospel, I just wanted to try and explain concepts in simple easy to understand terms. Hence why I didn't even bother mentioning shim-stacks. I would also imagine there are several different ways to achieve similar results and different companies might go about doing certain things differently.
You are the real MVP Phil! now after this, everyone shoudl watch jordi cortes explanation on how to dial your suspension. then everyone would be fine :D
Jordi has been crushing the game lately. I know he's not editing those videos, but he's got a wealth of information to share and a great personality.
Great explanation and animations. Out of all the video's regarding suspension compression and dampening I finally understand it a lot better. Thanks Phil.
Really good video, I already understood how the suspension worked but only from watching a researching for a couple hours. This video breaks it all down really nicely. Maybe another video going into a little more depth as to why you would want to adjust these settings to get the best ride
Hey guys, I’m going to highland MTB park tomorrow morning for my first time and I’m bringing my specialized hard tail, i was just wondering about any good beginner trials you guys might know about, or anybody going to highland tomorrow!
Fantastic! This explains how the shocks work, but could you describe how this applies to different situations on the trail? Ie, how do you actually dial in your suspension while riding? What tuning problems do you find and how do you fix them?