888 RC2X WC - tuning help needed.

ArthurDH · Feb 1, 2008

the black dials are what you think the red ones are... while the red ones are for the spring preload

bullcrew · Feb 1, 2008

Preload is based on weight, I have mine go 2-3 inches down when I sit on the bike. It gives me a better range of tracking the terrain and doesnt allow me to wash out as bad. I set mine and forget it, My settings wont work for you unless your 230lbs, drop to flat, race and FR. Mine is a general setting and I only adjust as minimal as possible.
They are sweet forks, congrats and your going to love it. Best fork Ive owned to date.

Preload: Both knobs do not need to be the same, the fork will dive pretty evenly anywase hence forks with 1 spring in 1 leg.
Preload is just to keep the front end up, yu want a little drop out when you ride so youll want it to comrpess just a little when you sit on it. I like mine approx 30%.
Bottom out and rebound is controlled by the other settings, so set pre load first then start to dial the rest. Do not assume a parking lot comrpession is going to do it for you. In a perfect world that would work, find a small set of bumps, square edge parking curb, stairs and a jump and that will pretty much get you what you need.
Sorry wish i could be more help!

ArthurDH · Feb 2, 2008

i suggest to set preload to the minimum... unless you find your fork compressing to 50% of its lenght when you just sit on your bike

Avy Rider · Feb 2, 2008

Try putting a zip tie on one fork leg slid down all the way and then sit on the bike in your natural riding position. (Actually standing and leaning forwards over the front will be closer to the way the bike will be weighted when pointed downhill.)

Now get off the bike and use the new position of the zip tie to measure the amount of travel you used. Ideally this number should be around 25-30% of your total available travel.
Now if you like your front end to remain higher you can add some spring preload or the opposite if you want it to ride lower. Oil heights and compression and rebound will come into play once riding motion is thrown into the equation.

Start out riding now with your rebound and compression adjusters in the middle of their adjustment ranges.

If you feel that the front end is using too much travel on slow speed rolling terrain or during hard braking dial in more low speed compression until the front feels more controlled. If you aren't able to eliminate the front end diving under hard braking then you may need to increase the oil heights to help with this problem. This will also increase the bottoming resistance overall and may reduce how much travel you can get out of the forks so add small amounts then test ride again.

Now for the high speed compression settings... This is where I see a lot of confusion from people. What you want is for the forks to be able to compress rapidly over successive bumps at high rates of speed. This bike speed also equates to higher shock and fork compression speeds when hitting squared edged bumps. The rough feeling many people feel isn't caused by them bottoming but rather from the forks or rear shock packing up.

The high speed adjustment should be set to allow the forks to use enough travel to absorb these sudden jolts but without blowing through all the travel every time. Cranking the high speed compression will only make the bike feel rougher in most cases and does little to help prevent bottoming out off drops.
I've got to run now and eat dinner but I'll try and add more later. Hope this helps.

Avy Rider · Feb 2, 2008

Alright I'm back! So now you should have a better idea about the compression circuits and it's on to rebound...
Low speed and high speed...
Low speed rebound should work in conjunction with your low speed compression settings to dial out rider input such as pedaling bob and bouncing. Some riders prefer a "lively" feel while others prefer a deader feeling ride. I personally like a little pop off of jumps but that is going to give more air time which might not be the best thing during a race. Once you really know how you want your bike to respond it's not hard to dial in the proper amount of low speed rebound.

High speed rebound is to allow the forks to react to fast successive bumps and works in conjunction with the high speed compression settings. Ideally you'd want to utilize all your travel only during the most jarring obstacles on a given course.Having your rebound set fast allows them to extend fully between bumps. This is the reason for having these adjustments in the first place.
If your high speed rebound is set minimally then your forks should be able to stay glued to the ground while not kicking up or packing up. If they are "pogo sticking" that's a low speed rebound problem.If the front end feels harsh and gives the rider arm pump chances are that they dialed in too much high speed compression and they are running to slow a rebound.

A lot of people comment on Avalanche shocks feeling over damped when in actuality the damping range is internally valved to match the information provided by the rider when he/she orders it.

"Speed sensitive" valving also seems to confuse people. This does get more involved but basically the faster the speed that the forks or shock compress, the more the damping forces come into play. This allows you to have the suspension feel supple over small bumps but ramp up on high speed hits to avoid excessive travel being used or harsh bottoming.

RaID · Feb 3, 2008

do the setup with all the way to the left ie no preload

If you cant achieve the required sag with no preload
ie you dont have enough sag this means you need to get lighter springs

If you have too much sag set the preload until the sag is correct. If
with full preload you still have too much sag you need a heaveir spring
weight.

how much do you weigh?

eater · Feb 3, 2008

i am in the same weight,
compresion from closed 5 klick out, the two red knops from closed 7 out but with 3.7 ti springs the red knop downside from open 3 klicks in, rebound i like on the slow side...
that setting is for fast downhill with big jumps.
and your front wheel tracks your safty on all harsh terrain!!
with this setting no other fork can beat you!!!

with this setting i hafe 6cm sag in standing ride position.

Avy Rider · Feb 3, 2008

Make sure not to slow your rebound down to the point where the forks can't recover between successive bumps. Most of the time you should want your forks rebound set very fast to track the ground but not to the point where they spring back uncontrolled.

davet · Feb 5, 2008

I have the dedicated service manual for the 2006 888 RC2X downloaded off that Russian site before it went down. If anyone wants it pm me your email address.

tomacdaddy · Feb 5, 2008

Not quite an adjusting tip... but I would recommend removing the red compression knob at the bottom of the stanchion. Use it to dial in the fork, but set it in your tool box when not adjusting the fork. It WILL fall off otherwise!!

888 RC2X WC - tuning help needed.

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