@@087pro Try using the speed up playback. There are few UA-cam channels that I love to watch but they just put me to sleep on normal speed on 1.25 or 1.5 they are perfect.
OK, so I commented only 7 hours ago. I have been running 30% sag on my forks for 3 years with the belief that less air = more plush. However, I literally hit my local trail a few hours ago purely to test this video theory. I added 10psi to bring sag to 20% expecting it to be more firm. It WASN'T in-fact it was awesome. For the first time I understand sag properly. What an awesome video. Thank you Semi-Sendy
Take away - “Run more pressure than you probably think”. Totally agree. I’ve found this out through trial and error. It doesn’t feel more harsh at 100psi compared to the 85psi I was running previously and I’m sitting higher in the travel.
In a MTB video space that is overrun with suspension set-up guides, this is legitimately good advice that is typically not stated elsewhere, and I can personally vouch for the truth in both of your points. Super quality content, love the channel, keep it up.
Other channels don't mention this because they assume that people will actually follow the manufacturer's instructions and not try to be smart by doing their own thing. Putting your settings on the lower side of the range is still "in -ange", and there's nothing wrong with it as long as you make your adjustments while keeping the settings in-range.
OMG!! I've been making BOTH those mistakes for years! Finally, a video that clearly explains why more air/less sag is actually a solution to more supple ride. I love how this is not a manufacturer specific issue but something that should really be considered "Air Shock 101." I've never considered adding air pressure out of fear it would make my riding experience worse, but it has changed everything for me. Not only have I finally found the suppleness I've been searching for, but my bike is handling significantly better. I actually started to blame my bike as potentially having a "poor design" for the sketchy loose feel. Funny...such a simple (but hard-to-find) solution.
Excellent teaching voice, because you talk at a steady pace and use clear simple language.. I'm a retired/tired English teacher and your explanations are the best I've encountered. Thanks for your help in making my riding safer and more enjoyable!
I come from brakeless bmx, so my natural inclination has always been to run a high pressure for a more "rigid" feel. Plenty of people have told me I should drop 10-15psi in my fork, but I always felt nothing I was doing needed that much travel. This completely validates what I already kinda knew, and without the youtube fluff!
exactly the same here, I run way higher psi than others especially with the rear shock, I'm so used to absorb impacts with my body I don't need that much travel, I'm running 120/120 on trails
Exactly the same here. I find myself constantly wanting the rear end to feel instant and poppy like it used to. Been a real shift in how my brain operates a bike
YES, thanks for sharing this! This same exact topic gets hashed over and over again on every forum, etc for 'rough, harsh' feeling suspension! LESS isn't MORE!
if you have "bottomless tokens" or volume spacers in your fork/shock, remove them before changing air pressure/sag. the ramp up in spring force will happen later in the travel. Works especially well for lightweight riders like myself on longer travel bikes.
Very much depends on your situation. To not bottom out my fork when riding, i had to decrease my sag below the advised values. At that point it can actually help, as too little sag is also not good for performance.
agree completely. on forks 160mm and greater, using full travel is rarely desirable. the fork travel is there to both maintain a certain 'dynamic ride height' and geometry for riding hard and the last say, 20mm of travel are purely reserve for the biggest (and probably, unplanned) hits that are potentially saving you (maybe) from full loss of control and dirt or rock nap.
@Semi-Sendy I totally see the logic here, and it makes perfect sense! I’m excited to try it out. However, I do have one question-when I check SRAM or FOX’s websites, they state the opposite: that less pressure increases small bump sensitivity, and more pressure does the opposite. Can you help clarify this? Here is the description directly from SRAM's instruction booklet on their website: "-More sag (20% - 30%) increases bump sensitivity and suspension movement. More bump sensitivity results in a smoother ride and is typically preferred on longer travel bicycles. -Less sag (10% - 20%) decreases bump sensitivity and suspension movement. Less bump sensitivity results in a more firm, efficient ride and is typically preferred on shorter travel bicycles."
Spot on. I came to this realisation naturally when I decided to put more air in at both ends to firm up the bike for smoother terrain. What I noticed was with more air, I was getting a smoother response on smaller trail chatter at both ends. At lower pressures, as stated - I was riding more in the stroke of my suspension and it wasn't responding well to chatter on the trail.
The worst initial setup advice, when I got into riding, was that your fork should use all of its travel at least once or twice on the trail you ride. ..... This video is spot on 👍🏻
I remember the advice as „use all the travel on the highest drop you are doing on your doing on a normal ride“. But the saying also dosent consider, that some people are „overbiked“.
been riding for a while now but never really messed around too much with my suspension settings, once they felt decent i just kinda rolled with it. I also had a coil shock so once set it didn't really need much adjusting. i just recently upgraded to a new bike with much more customizable suspension (including the change to air shock) and after the first few rides was really noticing how much more chatter i was feeling in the rear, and diving in the fork. Watching your videos was hugely helpful for both understanding and dialing in the suspension to a point where now the fork is eating up rocks and roots comfortably, and the rear is staying plush and on the trail. cheers mate, definitely earned yourself a sub
Exactly... I've been riding all my life and it takes a willingness to constantly work with your suspension. You will get it wrong many times before you get it right, but too soft will cause as many problems as too hard. It took me two years of riding, racing, and changing components on my KX 450 before I finally came up with settings that I liked. I am now riding and racing a 2021 Canyon Torque CF 9 and I am going through the same scenario, but getting closer everyday. Get a digital air gauge, a notebook, and keep track of settings for the places your ride be it XC or downhill.
So true! I think the tough part here is that when people come into the sport, they aren't doing so to get into suspension tuning, they are doing it to have fun on two wheels out in the woods. Setting up suspension feels like more of a hurdle and annoyance when all you want to do is go ride your bike. My hope with this video (and a couple that will follow including one that I'm putting out today) is to try and simplify things enough to help avoid pitfalls and get people a little more comfortable with finding something that works a bit better and helps maximize their fun on the trail. Today's video release focuses on rebound and compression, and I've tried my best to make it a bit less intimidating.
good to know that there are lots of us who think the same way. i am just a beginner by all means, but i always wanted to ride higher on my suspension travel because i wanted to maintain the geometry of the bike , i don't want to feel like going over the bar when emergency braking and i wanted to reserve the rest of the travel for bigger hits, especially, that i'm using a hardtail.
This is something which is mentioned a lot in motocross suspension setup, but i've rarely seen mentioned for MTB's. Commonly, amateur motocross guys will just go softer and softer on their preload and damping dials to dial out harshness or reduce arm pump, and the fork ends up operating deeper into its stroke and the harshness just gets worse.
I think those set up woes, in addition to air leaking out slowly, pushed me towards a full coil set up. But I’ve been itching to go back to air to make the rig more lively in pumping and pedaling support. This makes it seem much less scary! Thanks for the vid.
I'm definitely guilty of chasing suppleness by lowering pressures. Your video was an eyeopener and I'll be experimenting with some higher pressures. Thanks so much for posting this.
This is super helpful! I have made this same mistake. Great, logical explanation that cuts through the confusion and will benefit a bunch of people. Thanks for making this 👍
Of all of the suspension chat on UA-cam, I would recommend watching Vorsprung Suspension's 'Tuesday Tune' series. Deep concepts, explained clearly by someone who actually has the knowledge to back it up! He is also an advocate of simply cutting off your travel O-ring, which similar to your last point, absolutely makes sense to me.
I’m in the o-ring is mostly useless camp as well. I’ll have to check out the Tuesday tune stuff sometime. Quite a few things I’ve learned over the years have come from guys like Steve.
Without a doubt the most informative short vid about air pressures. Been out of the riding game for twelve years and so much tech to try and take in now. Great stuff mate.
Very well done. Good information, professional video editing. Even after many years of riding, suspension set-up is my Achilles heal in mountain biking. It is like I have a brain block or something...
Good advice for a majority of riders. I’d like to add that most higher end suspension has a negative air chamber. What happens when you increase your positive air is that you also increase the negative air which adds suppleness to the initial stroke. Cheers!
This guy is spot on but it’s also important to note that the reason people get suspension settings wrong is because they try and find the holy grail of an all terrain set up when the bottom line is you need to set the fork to each trail and each type of terrain every time to optimise performance, some trails need higher pressure than others but the principle this wonderful man explains are absolutely on point. Thanks for the upload.
Wouldn't change the air pressure to adjust to the trail. Changing compression settings is easier and more intuitive - if you're changing air pressure from trail to trail your bike handling will also change a lot. Also you can find a decent setup that works pretty good on 99% of all trails.
@@anonymmc2764 Good point, I guess it’s up to the rider, if it’s a virgin trail I personally ride the trail first, take a mental note and adjust the suspension to suit for my second run, I time my runs over 5 laps and take into consideration my time vs my comfort, when I find that sweet spot I note my settings on my maps for said trail should I ride it again in the future, got quite the database now. 👍
Boom!.... ive been thinking the same on both of these points for a few years. But never heard anyone else say it. Great to see. Everyone should see this vid. At last!!! 👏
Excellent video. I have never thought of the ramp up of air pressure causing a fork to ride harsh with a lot of sag. I think it is a case of running near the recommended sag. That said, I think forks that have independent air for the positive and negative side of the spring likely have more ability to be tuned to run smoothly with more sag. I have had great luck setting up my CC Helm with more sag but I never the Helm may be better than some of the other forks I've run for this.
Got me to check my air pressure, and I let some out since I weigh less than I used to. My fork never felt better. Glad to have some small bump compliance back. I agree with everyone else that this was very helpful.
Recently replaced a stolen Yeti SB115 with a Revel Ranger and your Ranger video helped me realize I made a fine upgrade. Thanks for the simple suspension breakdown! Derek
Huge bummer on the SB115, but I'm really glad to hear you were able to replace it with the Ranger. I know I've not talked about it on the channel too much since my initial video on it, but it's honestly my favorite bike I own right now....and possibly ever. It's just such a lively, playful and capable bike.
Really good advice! Would just add that rebound setting goes hand in hand with psi. So if you change pressure you should also change rebound accordingly
Telling all the secrets haha!! People make the same mistake with compression too. A smoother ride is not always achieved by opening compression. Fully open normally leads to a harsher ride than you want because you will be spending more time in that mid stroke.
Exactly! Going to be getting into rebound and compression in the next (or soon) video. Hoping to remove some of the intimidation and reluctance people often have towards finding proper settings for themselves.
Rich! Your voice is like a smooth cup of coffee…☕️ how do you feel about tokens? Currently filming a video about the positive affects a smaller air chamber can have one the small bump compliance as well as added support in the mid-stroke. Keep it up bro🤘🏻
Haha, thanks my man! Tokens are definitely great for dialing things in even further. I look at them as a final layer in my tuning process. I'll have to check out your video once it's live. 🤘😊
Good job my man!! I follow this rule on motorcycles. I like less sag (riding high in the stroke) and lighter valving so most of the travel is plush. I see it's pretty much the same for air suspension.
Your right, no one really mentions this in any other suspension video but it’s a great point! I have been doing this recently trying to soften the beginning of my forks travel. Thanks
This very concisely explains why my newer Pike, which rides much higher in its travel than the outgoing version, actually feels incredibly smooth. Great advice and a fresh point of view to keep in mind!
This video was right on time for me. After my ride this morning, I was under the mistaken idea of the "100% travel" myth and was about to increase my sag lol. Thanks!
I've made the last one a time ago. I used think I needed to be using all the travel: until I went over the bars a couple times in steeper terrain. I was blowing through the travel too fast in more gnar. I guess I learned it the hard way. Great job on these tips. 🤙
This! You cannot imagine, how heated the discussions with my friends are, regarding this topic! Thanks for the video, will forward it to them to (hopefully) silence them forever!
Good video. I think there is a fine line between too much and too little sag. Going to far in either direction will not be optimal. It all depends on the terrain and how aggressive you ride. Another important component of this is volume reducers. They will fine-tune your bottom out resistance. Adding or removing volume reducers will require adjustments to your air pressure to reset sag because of the reduction or increase in the air chamber where the reducers sit. I think everyone should learn how to set up their own suspension. It’s to your advantage and is very rewarding.
4:15 This originated from downhill racing, where you only have 1 Track and you ride it several times. Back in the early days bikes had much less travel (even no travel) so everyone tried to use the hole 2 or 3 inches the fork or frame could provide.
Well done! I always try and approach topics like this from the mindset of someone who hasn't really encountered these ideas before; it's easy to make assumptions about how people think about more complex ideas. You totally hit the nail on the head in terms of clarity and context! Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
Great video Rich. Explanations were spot on and simple. Wish I would have heard this years ago. Would have saved myself a lot of suspension tuning time. Had to learn the hard way
Thank you sir. I have a cheap Diamondback Lone 27.5" I got for $850 for the winter from performance bicycle before the closed. My Original fork SR suntour XCR got seized because inwas riding it for 4 years and never serviced it, so now I am upgrading do Minatou Markhor 27.5" 9×100mm straight steerer and I am verybglad and thankful that I've watched this video because I learned from it that I pretty much destroyed the original fork by doing exactly what you said, making it looser even though it wasn't air fork it bottomed out on me many times. Thanks you, now This new fork will last me much longer. Owe you 🍺 🍻 🍺
Excellent video. I have recently taken the same view as what you provide in this video and have gone to firmer spring as well as firmer overall in terms of Low Speed compression. I realised that I was losing a lot of my energy inputs to my ride because I was running my suspension too plush for the terrain that I ride. This was a result of exactly the mentality that you describe in your video i.e I am not using 80% of my travel so let some more air out etc. While plush feels comfortable, I discovered , when riding a hire bike and afterwards changing my set up approach, that my plush set up was causing me to lose speed on the trails because my pumping inputs were being absorbed by my suspension. In addition, the bike was less "poppy" off small bumps and big jumps in the plush setting. I started experimenting on both my bikes suspension set up and have gone to less sag and from fully open to closing by a few clicks the LSC setting and find a completely different ride. In addition, on the uphills I am not sagging in to and jagging on to obstacles, and am using less energy on the climbs. EDIT: I am always experimenting with settings anyway, but the current set up results in a suspension that feels more like a Ferrari as opposed to previously feeling like a rocking boat in a storm, especially when moving the body weight around. I don't dive as much under braking. Down steeper trails and over obstacles I am riding higher in the travel with the result that I don't feel like I am overbalancing towards the front of the bike.
Smile /// Just got into mountain biking and after half a dozen rides was going to start adjusting suspension from the standard settings. Yes i was going to start lower pressure in my forks and shock to cushion ride on trials with smaller roots and rocks. Thank you for this info. I would of just been screwing myself going to wrong direction .
Absolutely, glad to help, Mark! At the end of the day, it's all about what feels best to you, don't don't be afraid to explore around a bit. If you want to takes things a bit further one you get your pressure dialed, check out the follow up video to this one for Rebound and Compression settings. You'll definitely want to make sure you get your rebound setup too if nothing else!
Awesome vid that every biker needs to see :-) It is also the reason why I ride spring f+r at 25% sag (Ohlins on Sworks Enduro), exactly for the reasons explained. Thanks.
I ride a 170 170 bike and run 18% sag in my fork amd 28% in my shock and the bike is an absolute caddie but still pumps and boost so hard. This video is spot on!!!
I have been battling a slightly firm.Feeling rear shock on my current full suspension mountain bike when setting sag in the standing position. After switching to settings sag in the seated position which resulted in a slightly higher initial pressure at thirty percent sag, the rear end actually felt more supple.Dude who riding a little higher in the stroke. Basically it seems this video holds true for rear shocks as well.
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there. At the end of the day, I support people doing what works best for them, but interestingly a lot of people never try adjusting and experimenting in the lower percentage range to see what might result for them. It’s awesome when people finally dig into this concept and find that “aha” moment.
I've found this to be true, as I've gone for less and less sag (also running a newer rockshox Charger 2.1 damper air stack that holds the bike up even further into the shallow sag zone). I do run a bit more air pressure than I think I like right now, but when the trail gets gnarly, it really smooths out the zings. Everything is a tradeoff. you gotta tune for the 'oh shit' conditions if you find yourself flinging yourself into that envelope. So many variables - it's a game I never tire of playing
I have the same fork as you. I have a MRP Ramp Control installed and set fully open. Fork was at 80psi for 30% sag. I now have it set to 102 psi for 20% sag. Damper is completely open accept for rebound which is set to 4 out from full slow. My Shock is Super Deluxe RCT3 with one volume spacer. I went from 300psi at 30% sag to 325psi at 27% sag. Damper open accept for rebound which is 5 out from full slow. I weight 280lbs fully geared up. Gonna try this new set up tomorrow. Around the street it felt more efficient and poppy right away.
@@SemiSendy It is faster and more efficient everywhere. Much stiffer, and I was getting kicked from the rear shock on medium to large jumps. But I reduced my volume spacers and added a few clicks of rebound and it is way better👊🏻😎
Very good advice! Another tip I've found is that rebound should generally be more open (i.e set to return or spring back) faster for a better ride. When I first started out I was scared to set rebound too fast.
What about on jumps? I’m over 200 lb and I slow ALL my setting down otherwise the suspension is trying to buck me also helps on breaking bumps at high speed and way less arm pump, I ride bike park 90% of the time.
@@andrewrivera4029It’s no different on jumps. If you feel bucked it’s about you weight transfer on the bike as you are launching, you’ve got to get your weight over the rear wheel as you are leaving the lip, just like you are dining a bunny hop. Then, you won’t have problems with feeling bucked. But it takes time to practice and have it dialed in one every kind of jump. Keep active and get the bunny hop dialed in and you will feel the control. Good luck!
Ugh I wish this video came out sooner! I made these mistakes and am just now realizing why my fork feels dialed after adding air! Settled on a nice 69 psi for my 36
Tnx for a helpful video. But I do feel there is more to "suspension" than only the front fork or shock setup. Tier pressure is for me an overlooked point. As well as the carbon vs alloy rims. And not to forget the handlebar and grip choice
Fantastic. Another really important point leading on from this is when the front and rear are too soft, they increase the propensity for the bike to cantilever far more than the bike should around its central axis. This actually makes the bike's travel front and rear in an overly bucky way.
Little sag means there is little extension movement, which means that on micro jumps (high speed rocky trail) the wheels spend less time in contact with the ground and more time in air. And there is not much control in air. More pressure can improve confidence when doing jumps. Just keep in mind that extension range is no less important than compression range.
This PERFECTLY explains my problem with my fork!! Thanks so much for the video, you did a really good job explaining it, and I would easily think you have at least 100,000 subs. Great video production, I subscribed.
I have watched so many suspension videos at this point and nobody has ever pointed that out. I'm glad I came across your vid. Now I know I need to increase the air pressure on my shock. Thanks a lot, I'm subscribed now.
I've never of thought of sag that way! Great! I think I've been doing this inadvertently anyway as I once read that most average riders (like me) don't benefit much from LSC, so it's better to run the fork almost fully open with higher air pressure and just use a volume spacer or two to ramp the end of the shock curve to ensure the fork doesn't bottom out on big hits. (I don't know if this is true, but my fork always felt and performed pretty well like this over the years!)
Low speed compression is something you add if your fork is diving under braking or on turns or down steep sections where your body weight is shifting forward, lsc counters this so your fork stays higher in its travel and keeps your riding position more stable
Personally I've been in a bit of trial and error lately given I had no idea what fork and shock should and could feel like. I had to change tokens to try that, and dial in my sag front to back. The factory tuned token amount in the shock was actually what worked best, but how could I know without having anything to compare it to. In the fork however, it did help to remove the 1 token that was in there as standard, but once that was done I landed at pretty much the recommended settings by Fox when I followed their bracketing procedure. The only change is 1 click faster LSC on the fork, and the rest is recommended settings. As with the tokens I cannot know if the recommended settings was any good at all when I had nothing to compare it with, so I'm very glad that I now know what feels better and what feels worse. I thought I wanted less compression in the fork to make it feel more plush, but when I just followed the bracketing procedure I just did not like it at all. It just felt like soggy mush, and now I like a more damped and smooth transition. Another thing I thought beforehanded was just like mentioned in this video that I'd might end up with less PSI in the fork. Well I have 88PSI instead of the recommended 94PSI, but I am at 20% sag which is recommended for trail/enduro, as well as 30% sag in the shock. Next ride I'll play a bit with tire pressures because I suspect that may be the final touch.
So, in a nutshell, my takeaway was to set sag to the smallest amount recommended by the manufacturer and don't adjust pressure no matter what trail you are riding. I very much like things that are set it and forget it. I'm eager to hear the recommendations for rebound and compression.
The biggest point I want to get across is that often times people start by running more sag and when the fork doesn’t feel great, they continue to drop pressure when in fact adding pressure more often the not will make the fork feel much better. Once you found the setting that’s desirable for you, wherever the percentage feels really smooth and very supportive, then you generally don’t need to adjust pressure from trail to trail. You certainly don’t need to drop pressure on more mild trails just so that you’re using more travel.
Really good advice! I'm new to mtb'ing and have been playing around alot but I'm glad I came across this video.. I just subscribed too! Explained it so well.
Great video Rich and good information. I will rethink my fork and rear shock setup. Like many other folks I have my rear shock sag set at the extreme limit thinking that would give me a more supple ride. I have only been riding a full suspension bike since last fall when I added one to my antique hardtail. I am still experimenting.
one thing to mention - start with the manufactures recommendations based on weight. That will get you 90% of the way there. Then you can fine tune as desired, but no need to start off blind.
Great content man! I live on Beech Mtn f/t and my 12 y/o son practically lives at the resort biking and skiing. We also short term rent out a private guest suite at the house that's 5 mins from the resort. If you ever want a free weekend in exchange for shredding a few hours w/ my son, just let me know. He'd love it and I'm sure he can learn a thing or two from you. All the best!
F=P*A, meaning - force of an air spring (holding your weight) is equal to pressure (PSI) multiplied by an air piston area. Since the piston area doesn't change, you can correlate pressure directly to the force. If a fork is really progressive: 33% sag will increase the starting pressure to, let's say, 200% (from 40psi to 80psi), which is a lot and your fork will feel harsh. But if your fork is not really progressive (bigger forks, with larger air chambers and no volume tokens): 33% sag will only increase the starting pressure to, let's say, 140% (from 40psi to 56psi), which isn't a lot and you will still have a plush ride. Your logic is correct, but can only be applied if a fork is really progressive.
What they all said . . . I would like to know more about your riding trousers. I would love to get a pair myself. They're different to everything I've come across myself on the various online market places. They look really good.
They're actually my favorites from a company here in Chattanooga called Handup that supports the channel. It's the AT+ pants. I need to grab another pair too, I hear this color is about to be out of rotation for a while.
Hahaha! Just went for a ride yesterday with a new high-end fork...without making any adjustments! Was so harsh my hands almost flew off the grips. This video came at just the right time and is the most valuable suspension video Ive seen. I agree, without getting Sag right, nothing else will be optimal. Thanks so much!
This videos is a must watch for 95% of riders. Seen almost everyone, even myself make those mistakes
Thanks, Noah! 🤘😊
X2, but that monotone put me right to sleep
@@087pro you need to improve your attention span. not every youtuber need to sound like a "for kids" channel.
@@087pro Try using the speed up playback. There are few UA-cam channels that I love to watch but they just put me to sleep on normal speed on 1.25 or 1.5 they are perfect.
to be fair most youtubers including big channels give bad guidance, weirdly
OK, so I commented only 7 hours ago. I have been running 30% sag on my forks for 3 years with the belief that less air = more plush. However, I literally hit my local trail a few hours ago purely to test this video theory. I added 10psi to bring sag to 20% expecting it to be more firm. It WASN'T in-fact it was awesome. For the first time I understand sag properly. What an awesome video. Thank you Semi-Sendy
Take away - “Run more pressure than you probably think”. Totally agree. I’ve found this out through trial and error. It doesn’t feel more harsh at 100psi compared to the 85psi I was running previously and I’m sitting higher in the travel.
In a MTB video space that is overrun with suspension set-up guides, this is legitimately good advice that is typically not stated elsewhere, and I can personally vouch for the truth in both of your points. Super quality content, love the channel, keep it up.
Thanks, Nathan!
Other channels don't mention this because they assume that people will actually follow the manufacturer's instructions and not try to be smart by doing their own thing. Putting your settings on the lower side of the range is still "in -ange", and there's nothing wrong with it as long as you make your adjustments while keeping the settings in-range.
@@sepg5084 that's true Sep G.
Just keep the SAG on this manufacturers 30% allways!
Some suspension guides in bicycle magazines are becoming "SPACE FILLERS " rather than getting to the point promptly .
@Kyrpaable But it depends on total fork travel and also oil level / S.S.V. response / oil displacement rates .
OMG!! I've been making BOTH those mistakes for years! Finally, a video that clearly explains why more air/less sag is actually a solution to more supple ride. I love how this is not a manufacturer specific issue but something that should really be considered "Air Shock 101." I've never considered adding air pressure out of fear it would make my riding experience worse, but it has changed everything for me. Not only have I finally found the suppleness I've been searching for, but my bike is handling significantly better. I actually started to blame my bike as potentially having a "poor design" for the sketchy loose feel. Funny...such a simple (but hard-to-find) solution.
Excellent teaching voice, because you talk at a steady pace and use clear simple language.. I'm a retired/tired English teacher and your explanations are the best I've encountered. Thanks for your help in making my riding safer and more enjoyable!
I only do live tutorials but tend to speak quickly as I have worked in radio broadcasting .
I come from brakeless bmx, so my natural inclination has always been to run a high pressure for a more "rigid" feel. Plenty of people have told me I should drop 10-15psi in my fork, but I always felt nothing I was doing needed that much travel. This completely validates what I already kinda knew, and without the youtube fluff!
exactly the same here, I run way higher psi than others especially with the rear shock, I'm so used to absorb impacts with my body I don't need that much travel, I'm running 120/120 on trails
Exactly the same here. I find myself constantly wanting the rear end to feel instant and poppy like it used to. Been a real shift in how my brain operates a bike
Makes sense, a firm bike is way more poppy and responsive to your body movement. Also more fun to ride
YES, thanks for sharing this! This same exact topic gets hashed over and over again on every forum, etc for 'rough, harsh' feeling suspension! LESS isn't MORE!
if you have "bottomless tokens" or volume spacers in your fork/shock, remove them before changing air pressure/sag. the ramp up in spring force will happen later in the travel. Works especially well for lightweight riders like myself on longer travel bikes.
Very much depends on your situation. To not bottom out my fork when riding, i had to decrease my sag below the advised values. At that point it can actually help, as too little sag is also not good for performance.
Unless ur more than 110kgs
agree completely. on forks 160mm and greater, using full travel is rarely desirable. the fork travel is there to both maintain a certain 'dynamic ride height' and geometry for riding hard and the last say, 20mm of travel are purely reserve for the biggest (and probably, unplanned) hits that are potentially saving you (maybe) from full loss of control and dirt or rock nap.
@Semi-Sendy I totally see the logic here, and it makes perfect sense! I’m excited to try it out. However, I do have one question-when I check SRAM or FOX’s websites, they state the opposite: that less pressure increases small bump sensitivity, and more pressure does the opposite. Can you help clarify this?
Here is the description directly from SRAM's instruction booklet on their website:
"-More sag (20% - 30%) increases bump sensitivity and suspension
movement. More bump sensitivity results in a smoother ride and is
typically preferred on longer travel bicycles.
-Less sag (10% - 20%) decreases bump sensitivity and suspension
movement. Less bump sensitivity results in a more firm, efficient ride and
is typically preferred on shorter travel bicycles."
One of the best most comprehensive shock setting video I've seen (I've seen many)
The simplest expanation of fundamentals how to setup forks I have ever watched on YT. Good job! 👍
Spot on.
I came to this realisation naturally when I decided to put more air in at both ends to firm up the bike for smoother terrain. What I noticed was with more air, I was getting a smoother response on smaller trail chatter at both ends.
At lower pressures, as stated - I was riding more in the stroke of my suspension and it wasn't responding well to chatter on the trail.
But you can go too far with too high an air pressure level . The optimum range is fairly narrow .
Another advantage to running less sag is that the bottom bracket height is increased leading to fewer pedal strikes.
I Run 12% Both Coils 😎
@@darrinkulyk9560 Try 11% it's a gemchanger!
The worst initial setup advice, when I got into riding, was that your fork should use all of its travel at least once or twice on the trail you ride. ..... This video is spot on 👍🏻
I think the logic is almost there. The fork should use all of its travel once or twice a ride, by hitting a trail/feature that makes it do that
I remember the advice as „use all the travel on the highest drop you are doing on your doing on a normal ride“. But the saying also dosent consider, that some people are „overbiked“.
Ditto.. this vid opened my eyes to the basic truth.. hard to find nowadays!!! Kudos to this channel
been riding for a while now but never really messed around too much with my suspension settings, once they felt decent i just kinda rolled with it. I also had a coil shock so once set it didn't really need much adjusting.
i just recently upgraded to a new bike with much more customizable suspension (including the change to air shock) and after the first few rides was really noticing how much more chatter i was feeling in the rear, and diving in the fork. Watching your videos was hugely helpful for both understanding and dialing in the suspension to a point where now the fork is eating up rocks and roots comfortably, and the rear is staying plush and on the trail.
cheers mate, definitely earned yourself a sub
Exactly... I've been riding all my life and it takes a willingness to constantly work with your suspension. You will get it wrong many times before you get it right, but too soft will cause as many problems as too hard. It took me two years of riding, racing, and changing components on my KX 450 before I finally came up with settings that I liked. I am now riding and racing a 2021 Canyon Torque CF 9 and I am going through the same scenario, but getting closer everyday. Get a digital air gauge, a notebook, and keep track of settings for the places your ride be it XC or downhill.
So true! I think the tough part here is that when people come into the sport, they aren't doing so to get into suspension tuning, they are doing it to have fun on two wheels out in the woods. Setting up suspension feels like more of a hurdle and annoyance when all you want to do is go ride your bike.
My hope with this video (and a couple that will follow including one that I'm putting out today) is to try and simplify things enough to help avoid pitfalls and get people a little more comfortable with finding something that works a bit better and helps maximize their fun on the trail.
Today's video release focuses on rebound and compression, and I've tried my best to make it a bit less intimidating.
good to know that there are lots of us who think the same way. i am just a beginner by all means, but i always wanted to ride higher on my suspension travel because i wanted to maintain the geometry of the bike , i don't want to feel like going over the bar when emergency braking and i wanted to reserve the rest of the travel for bigger hits, especially, that i'm using a hardtail.
This is something which is mentioned a lot in motocross suspension setup, but i've rarely seen mentioned for MTB's. Commonly, amateur motocross guys will just go softer and softer on their preload and damping dials to dial out harshness or reduce arm pump, and the fork ends up operating deeper into its stroke and the harshness just gets worse.
I think those set up woes, in addition to air leaking out slowly, pushed me towards a full coil set up. But I’ve been itching to go back to air to make the rig more lively in pumping and pedaling support. This makes it seem much less scary! Thanks for the vid.
A very well articulated description of a common setup pitfall. I've made this mistake a few times in years past. Thanks for posting.
Thank you, Dino! Glad you enjoyed this one.
I'm definitely guilty of chasing suppleness by lowering pressures. Your video was an eyeopener and I'll be experimenting with some higher pressures. Thanks so much for posting this.
Glad it helped!
This is super helpful! I have made this same mistake. Great, logical explanation that cuts through the confusion and will benefit a bunch of people. Thanks for making this 👍
Thank you! I hope it’s helpful to a lot of people.
This is spot on ! 30 percent sag is misleading, especially when your doing bigger impact landings…
You'd be surprised how many 'experts' shop staff & so called 'mechanics' recommend 30% sag! 🤦♂️
I go for 15 percent as a starting point .
Of all of the suspension chat on UA-cam, I would recommend watching Vorsprung Suspension's 'Tuesday Tune' series. Deep concepts, explained clearly by someone who actually has the knowledge to back it up! He is also an advocate of simply cutting off your travel O-ring, which similar to your last point, absolutely makes sense to me.
I’m in the o-ring is mostly useless camp as well. I’ll have to check out the Tuesday tune stuff sometime. Quite a few things I’ve learned over the years have come from guys like Steve.
Probably the most important thing to know when setting up suspension. Great vid!
Without a doubt the most informative short vid about air pressures. Been out of the riding game for twelve years and so much tech to try and take in now. Great stuff mate.
Thanks, Moosh!
Very well done. Good information, professional video editing. Even after many years of riding, suspension set-up is my Achilles heal in mountain biking. It is like I have a brain block or something...
Good advice for a majority of riders. I’d like to add that most higher end suspension has a negative air chamber. What happens when you increase your positive air is that you also increase the negative air which adds suppleness to the initial stroke. Cheers!
EVOL air sleeve...
Englund have had upgrade kits for this function in the past .
SO glad somebody can break it down properly, Thank you!
This guy is spot on but it’s also important to note that the reason people get suspension settings wrong is because they try and find the holy grail of an all terrain set up when the bottom line is you need to set the fork to each trail and each type of terrain every time to optimise performance, some trails need higher pressure than others but the principle this wonderful man explains are absolutely on point. Thanks for the upload.
Wouldn't change the air pressure to adjust to the trail. Changing compression settings is easier and more intuitive - if you're changing air pressure from trail to trail your bike handling will also change a lot.
Also you can find a decent setup that works pretty good on 99% of all trails.
@@anonymmc2764 Good point, I guess it’s up to the rider, if it’s a virgin trail I personally ride the trail first, take a mental note and adjust the suspension to suit for my second run, I time my runs over 5 laps and take into consideration my time vs my comfort, when I find that sweet spot I note my settings on my maps for said trail should I ride it again in the future, got quite the database now. 👍
Boom!.... ive been thinking the same on both of these points for a few years. But never heard anyone else say it. Great to see. Everyone should see this vid. At last!!! 👏
Excellent video. I have never thought of the ramp up of air pressure causing a fork to ride harsh with a lot of sag. I think it is a case of running near the recommended sag. That said, I think forks that have independent air for the positive and negative side of the spring likely have more ability to be tuned to run smoothly with more sag. I have had great luck setting up my CC Helm with more sag but I never the Helm may be better than some of the other forks I've run for this.
Got me to check my air pressure, and I let some out since I weigh less than I used to. My fork never felt better. Glad to have some small bump compliance back. I agree with everyone else that this was very helpful.
Recently replaced a stolen Yeti SB115 with a Revel Ranger and your Ranger video helped me realize I made a fine upgrade. Thanks for the simple suspension breakdown! Derek
Huge bummer on the SB115, but I'm really glad to hear you were able to replace it with the Ranger. I know I've not talked about it on the channel too much since my initial video on it, but it's honestly my favorite bike I own right now....and possibly ever. It's just such a lively, playful and capable bike.
Man the amount of camera work and riding shots to go along with your explanations is amazing! Awesome riding!
Thank you! 🤘
Really good advice! Would just add that rebound setting goes hand in hand with psi. So if you change pressure you should also change rebound accordingly
Woohoo!!!!! A Titan Racing Cypher in the video. Awesome bike! Extremely unknown and largely under rated.
Telling all the secrets haha!! People make the same mistake with compression too. A smoother ride is not always achieved by opening compression. Fully open normally leads to a harsher ride than you want because you will be spending more time in that mid stroke.
This!
Exactly! Going to be getting into rebound and compression in the next (or soon) video. Hoping to remove some of the intimidation and reluctance people often have towards finding proper settings for themselves.
Rich! Your voice is like a smooth cup of coffee…☕️ how do you feel about tokens? Currently filming a video about the positive affects a smaller air chamber can have one the small bump compliance as well as added support in the mid-stroke. Keep it up bro🤘🏻
Haha, thanks my man! Tokens are definitely great for dialing things in even further. I look at them as a final layer in my tuning process. I'll have to check out your video once it's live. 🤘😊
Good job my man!! I follow this rule on motorcycles. I like less sag (riding high in the stroke) and lighter valving so most of the travel is plush. I see it's pretty much the same for air suspension.
Your right, no one really mentions this in any other suspension video but it’s a great point! I have been doing this recently trying to soften the beginning of my forks travel. Thanks
This very concisely explains why my newer Pike, which rides much higher in its travel than the outgoing version, actually feels incredibly smooth. Great advice and a fresh point of view to keep in mind!
This video was right on time for me. After my ride this morning, I was under the mistaken idea of the "100% travel" myth and was about to increase my sag lol. Thanks!
I've made the last one a time ago. I used think I needed to be using all the travel: until I went over the bars a couple times in steeper terrain. I was blowing through the travel too fast in more gnar. I guess I learned it the hard way. Great job on these tips. 🤙
I learned the hard way too. 🤦🏻😂
This! You cannot imagine, how heated the discussions with my friends are, regarding this topic! Thanks for the video, will forward it to them to (hopefully) silence them forever!
Good video. I think there is a fine line between too much and too little sag. Going to far in either direction will not be optimal. It all depends on the terrain and how aggressive you ride. Another important component of this is volume reducers. They will fine-tune your bottom out resistance. Adding or removing volume reducers will require adjustments to your air pressure to reset sag because of the reduction or increase in the air chamber where the reducers sit. I think everyone should learn how to set up their own suspension. It’s to your advantage and is very rewarding.
4:15 This originated from downhill racing, where you only have 1 Track and you ride it several times. Back in the early days bikes had much less travel (even no travel) so everyone tried to use the hole 2 or 3 inches the fork or frame could provide.
Good Video, thanks. Havent watched it before, because the title sounds a lot like clickbait but came here through your rebound video.
Well done! I always try and approach topics like this from the mindset of someone who hasn't really encountered these ideas before; it's easy to make assumptions about how people think about more complex ideas. You totally hit the nail on the head in terms of clarity and context!
Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
Thanks, Dan! I've got some good friends in B'ham I hope to visit this season. I'll have to swing by the shop when I make it out there. 🤘😊
@@SemiSendy Please do!
- Dan at Fanatik
Great video Rich. Explanations were spot on and simple. Wish I would have heard this years ago. Would have saved myself a lot of suspension tuning time. Had to learn the hard way
Glad you enjoyed it! I too had to learn the hard way. This approach was definitely a light bulb moment for me.
Thank you sir. I have a cheap Diamondback Lone 27.5" I got for $850 for the winter from performance bicycle before the closed. My Original fork SR suntour XCR got seized because inwas riding it for 4 years and never serviced it, so now I am upgrading do Minatou Markhor 27.5" 9×100mm straight steerer and I am verybglad and thankful that I've watched this video because I learned from it that I pretty much destroyed the original fork by doing exactly what you said, making it looser even though it wasn't air fork it bottomed out on me many times. Thanks you, now This new fork will last me much longer. Owe you 🍺 🍻 🍺
Until now I was the one who was thinking that more sag more fun:) I will change my bike configuration!
Thanks man&have fun!
Excellent video. I have recently taken the same view as what you provide in this video and have gone to firmer spring as well as firmer overall in terms of Low Speed compression. I realised that I was losing a lot of my energy inputs to my ride because I was running my suspension too plush for the terrain that I ride. This was a result of exactly the mentality that you describe in your video i.e I am not using 80% of my travel so let some more air out etc. While plush feels comfortable, I discovered , when riding a hire bike and afterwards changing my set up approach, that my plush set up was causing me to lose speed on the trails because my pumping inputs were being absorbed by my suspension. In addition, the bike was less "poppy" off small bumps and big jumps in the plush setting. I started experimenting on both my bikes suspension set up and have gone to less sag and from fully open to closing by a few clicks the LSC setting and find a completely different ride. In addition, on the uphills I am not sagging in to and jagging on to obstacles, and am using less energy on the climbs. EDIT: I am always experimenting with settings anyway, but the current set up results in a suspension that feels more like a Ferrari as opposed to previously feeling like a rocking boat in a storm, especially when moving the body weight around. I don't dive as much under braking. Down steeper trails and over obstacles I am riding higher in the travel with the result that I don't feel like I am overbalancing towards the front of the bike.
This video could be the light bulb moment I've been waiting for!! Cheers bro! Gonna reset ma suspension the morra and try it out! 🤘
Hope it helps!
Smile /// Just got into mountain biking and after half a dozen rides was going to start adjusting suspension from the standard settings. Yes i was going to start lower pressure in my forks and shock to cushion ride on trials with smaller roots and rocks. Thank you for this info. I would of just been screwing myself going to wrong direction .
Absolutely, glad to help, Mark! At the end of the day, it's all about what feels best to you, don't don't be afraid to explore around a bit. If you want to takes things a bit further one you get your pressure dialed, check out the follow up video to this one for Rebound and Compression settings. You'll definitely want to make sure you get your rebound setup too if nothing else!
Great video, so many people i know think running tons of sag and a bunch of tokens is going to give them a better ride feel.
Awesome vid that every biker needs to see :-) It is also the reason why I ride spring f+r at 25% sag (Ohlins on Sworks Enduro), exactly for the reasons explained. Thanks.
Fantastic vid, makes complete sense - I just put 160psi in my front forks & 300 in the rear - to get the sag right to the bare minimum, for my weight.
This video was the most useful video I’ve seen on suspension setup
Thanks
I ride a 170 170 bike and run 18% sag in my fork amd 28% in my shock and the bike is an absolute caddie but still pumps and boost so hard. This video is spot on!!!
I have been battling a slightly firm.Feeling rear shock on my current full suspension mountain bike when setting sag in the standing position. After switching to settings sag in the seated position which resulted in a slightly higher initial pressure at thirty percent sag, the rear end actually felt more supple.Dude who riding a little higher in the stroke. Basically it seems this video holds true for rear shocks as well.
Been explaing this one to customers for years, always fun watching the penny drop as to why they are have trouble.
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there. At the end of the day, I support people doing what works best for them, but interestingly a lot of people never try adjusting and experimenting in the lower percentage range to see what might result for them. It’s awesome when people finally dig into this concept and find that “aha” moment.
All my clients are close to "ON THE MONEY" with their setup as I have developed guide charts to help them .
Vorsprung smashpot up front and Push eleven six in back! So lovely!
I've found this to be true, as I've gone for less and less sag (also running a newer rockshox Charger 2.1 damper air stack that holds the bike up even further into the shallow sag zone). I do run a bit more air pressure than I think I like right now, but when the trail gets gnarly, it really smooths out the zings. Everything is a tradeoff. you gotta tune for the 'oh shit' conditions if you find yourself flinging yourself into that envelope. So many variables - it's a game I never tire of playing
I have the same fork as you. I have a MRP Ramp Control installed and set fully open. Fork was at 80psi for 30% sag. I now have it set to 102 psi for 20% sag. Damper is completely open accept for rebound which is set to 4 out from full slow. My Shock is Super Deluxe RCT3 with one volume spacer. I went from 300psi at 30% sag to 325psi at 27% sag. Damper open accept for rebound which is 5 out from full slow. I weight 280lbs fully geared up. Gonna try this new set up tomorrow. Around the street it felt more efficient and poppy right away.
I hope the changes feel just as great on the trail!
@@SemiSendy It is faster and more efficient everywhere. Much stiffer, and I was getting kicked from the rear shock on medium to large jumps. But I reduced my volume spacers and added a few clicks of rebound and it is way better👊🏻😎
Very good advice! Another tip I've found is that rebound should generally be more open (i.e set to return or spring back) faster for a better ride. When I first started out I was scared to set rebound too fast.
What about on jumps? I’m over 200 lb and I slow ALL my setting down otherwise the suspension is trying to buck me also helps on breaking bumps at high speed and way less arm pump, I ride bike park 90% of the time.
@@andrewrivera4029It’s no different on jumps. If you feel bucked it’s about you weight transfer on the bike as you are launching, you’ve got to get your weight over the rear wheel as you are leaving the lip, just like you are dining a bunny hop. Then, you won’t have problems with feeling bucked. But it takes time to practice and have it dialed in one every kind of jump. Keep active and get the bunny hop dialed in and you will feel the control. Good luck!
Thanks for the great video. I’ve always been under the impression I should use all of my travel and will be given this ago today. Cheers from a newbie
Ugh I wish this video came out sooner! I made these mistakes and am just now realizing why my fork feels dialed after adding air! Settled on a nice 69 psi for my 36
That was an excellent explanation! I never really thought of it that way and will use this information from now on.
Glad it was helpful, Oper8or!
good video! i was running such a low air pressure and turned it up and it felt like a 10,000 dollar bike rather than a 2,700 dollar one. thank you
Great to hear!
Came here to shit on a video that looked like it was emulating bermpeak thumbnails for clicks and found this video actually has good advice. Thanks!
Thanks for a super useful video that explains things very clearly and concisely. Subscribed!
I'm trying out a Bomber Z1 coil this summer, can't wait to see how it compares
Excellent video, I ride a modern hardtail and I’m pretty lazy with my fork setup… this should help me with setup.
Tnx for a helpful video. But I do feel there is more to "suspension" than only the front fork or shock setup. Tier pressure is for me an overlooked point. As well as the carbon vs alloy rims. And not to forget the handlebar and grip choice
Fantastic. Another really important point leading on from this is when the front and rear are too soft, they increase the propensity for the bike to cantilever far more than the bike should around its central axis. This actually makes the bike's travel front and rear in an overly bucky way.
Damn dawg you just flipped my world upside down 👍🏼
Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed this, and thank you very much as well!
Little sag means there is little extension movement, which means that on micro jumps (high speed rocky trail) the wheels spend less time in contact with the ground and more time in air. And there is not much control in air.
More pressure can improve confidence when doing jumps. Just keep in mind that extension range is no less important than compression range.
This PERFECTLY explains my problem with my fork!! Thanks so much for the video, you did a really good job explaining it, and I would easily think you have at least 100,000 subs. Great video production, I subscribed.
I have watched so many suspension videos at this point and nobody has ever pointed that out. I'm glad I came across your vid. Now I know I need to increase the air pressure on my shock. Thanks a lot, I'm subscribed now.
Welcome aboard!
Thanks, I was in the guilty camp of letting more air out! This cleared it up =D
I've never of thought of sag that way! Great! I think I've been doing this inadvertently anyway as I once read that most average riders (like me) don't benefit much from LSC, so it's better to run the fork almost fully open with higher air pressure and just use a volume spacer or two to ramp the end of the shock curve to ensure the fork doesn't bottom out on big hits. (I don't know if this is true, but my fork always felt and performed pretty well like this over the years!)
Low speed compression is something you add if your fork is diving under braking or on turns or down steep sections where your body weight is shifting forward, lsc counters this so your fork stays higher in its travel and keeps your riding position more stable
FOX tokens are a nuisance to configure . The OHLINS system and MARZOCCHI is what I prefer .
@@LeecMTB Low speed compression reduces this but doesn't eradicate it altogether .
Personally I've been in a bit of trial and error lately given I had no idea what fork and shock should and could feel like. I had to change tokens to try that, and dial in my sag front to back. The factory tuned token amount in the shock was actually what worked best, but how could I know without having anything to compare it to. In the fork however, it did help to remove the 1 token that was in there as standard, but once that was done I landed at pretty much the recommended settings by Fox when I followed their bracketing procedure. The only change is 1 click faster LSC on the fork, and the rest is recommended settings.
As with the tokens I cannot know if the recommended settings was any good at all when I had nothing to compare it with, so I'm very glad that I now know what feels better and what feels worse. I thought I wanted less compression in the fork to make it feel more plush, but when I just followed the bracketing procedure I just did not like it at all. It just felt like soggy mush, and now I like a more damped and smooth transition.
Another thing I thought beforehanded was just like mentioned in this video that I'd might end up with less PSI in the fork. Well I have 88PSI instead of the recommended 94PSI, but I am at 20% sag which is recommended for trail/enduro, as well as 30% sag in the shock.
Next ride I'll play a bit with tire pressures because I suspect that may be the final touch.
After 30 years I have my first air shock. Thanks for the advice!
So, in a nutshell, my takeaway was to set sag to the smallest amount recommended by the manufacturer and don't adjust pressure no matter what trail you are riding. I very much like things that are set it and forget it. I'm eager to hear the recommendations for rebound and compression.
The biggest point I want to get across is that often times people start by running more sag and when the fork doesn’t feel great, they continue to drop pressure when in fact adding pressure more often the not will make the fork feel much better.
Once you found the setting that’s desirable for you, wherever the percentage feels really smooth and very supportive, then you generally don’t need to adjust pressure from trail to trail. You certainly don’t need to drop pressure on more mild trails just so that you’re using more travel.
Really good advice! I'm new to mtb'ing and have been playing around alot but I'm glad I came across this video.. I just subscribed too! Explained it so well.
Glad it was helpful!
So grateful for this video. Just changed my perception on pressure for my forks 👍
Glad it was helpful!
Great video Rich and good information. I will rethink my fork and rear shock setup. Like many other folks I have my rear shock sag set at the extreme limit thinking that would give me a more supple ride. I have only been riding a full suspension bike since last fall when I added one to my antique hardtail. I am still experimenting.
Glad to help!
one thing to mention - start with the manufactures recommendations based on weight. That will get you 90% of the way there. Then you can fine tune as desired, but no need to start off blind.
Learned a lot from this, I was doing exactly what said, going softer to increase suppleness.
Good stuff. I think a summary at the end would be helpful.
Great content man! I live on Beech Mtn f/t and my 12 y/o son practically lives at the resort biking and skiing. We also short term rent out a private guest suite at the house that's 5 mins from the resort. If you ever want a free weekend in exchange for shredding a few hours w/ my son, just let me know. He'd love it and I'm sure he can learn a thing or two from you. All the best!
Hey, Michael! Heck, these kids these days should probably be teaching us 😉. What's the best way to contact you?
F=P*A, meaning - force of an air spring (holding your weight) is equal to pressure (PSI) multiplied by an air piston area. Since the piston area doesn't change, you can correlate pressure directly to the force.
If a fork is really progressive: 33% sag will increase the starting pressure to, let's say, 200% (from 40psi to 80psi), which is a lot and your fork will feel harsh.
But if your fork is not really progressive (bigger forks, with larger air chambers and no volume tokens): 33% sag will only increase the starting pressure to, let's say, 140% (from 40psi to 56psi), which isn't a lot and you will still have a plush ride.
Your logic is correct, but can only be applied if a fork is really progressive.
And the advice is extremely relevant to rear shocks, where the piston size is very much smaller.
@@rog86 yes, but again, XV chamber is pretty much linear, it's plush anywhere in the stroke. SV chamber, progressive - harsh if too much sag.
What they all said . . .
I would like to know more about your riding trousers. I would love to get a pair myself. They're different to everything I've come across myself on the various online market places. They look really good.
They're actually my favorites from a company here in Chattanooga called Handup that supports the channel. It's the AT+ pants.
I need to grab another pair too, I hear this color is about to be out of rotation for a while.
@@SemiSendy thanks for the reply. I'll try get my hands on a pair all the way from South Africa.
This is 100% correct, I put more air in my fox shocks and set the sag at around 15% and my bike is a Cadillac now. Roots don’t even feel them now😮
Great video. I was just having the issues you discussed in this video so this came at the perfect time for me. Thank you! .....subbed
Hahaha! Just went for a ride yesterday with a new high-end fork...without making any adjustments! Was so harsh my hands almost flew off the grips. This video came at just the right time and is the most valuable suspension video Ive seen. I agree, without getting Sag right, nothing else will be optimal. Thanks so much!