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possible to make my 2009 36 TALAS R more progressive?

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,029
Ottawa, Canada
Hey guys,

I'm wondering if it's possible to make my 2009 36 TALAS R more progressive. I feel I need to run the air spring with too much pressure to avoid bottoming out while keeping it supple on small stuff.

In other words, when I have the fork set up with the right amount of sag, I find I'm bottoming out on medium hits like be it a small 2ft ledge, or a 4 ft jump. And then when I drop the travel, it bottoms out pretty easily, even going over big tree roots...

fwiw, I'm 210 no gear, and have 80 psi in the air spring.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
822
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
Trade for my 2007 TALAS R with more progressive spring rate. I can't get full travel without running a lot of sag. For '09 they re-did the air volume/spring rate.

Edit: Just noticed your weight. That fork doesn't have enough compression damping for you. I'd say it's barely adequate for my 165lbs. Put thicker oil in the cartridge. You'll notice less brake dive and more support when diving into berms as well as bottom-out resistance.
 

chriscarleton

Monkey
Aug 4, 2007
366
0
Portland Maine
Try putting about 10-20 cc of fox float oil (or 75w gear oil which you can get at NAPA for much less than fox's proprietary stuff.) in the positive air chamber (yes I know there is not an official negative air chamber here, but just make sure the oil goes on top of the air piston that is below the schraeder valve). I'm can't remember perfectly if this is entirely possible, but I can assure you with it being, it is a huge pain in the ass to do if it's possible. The idea here is you put a little bit of oil volume in the positive air chamber to take up some of the overall volume of the chamber, most of the time resulting in a more progressive tune.
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,884
448
I've had a similiar problem with my '07. It's a 36 talas rc2, and I just run it very stiff and smash over things when I ride. (I weigh about 200 w/ gear)
In all seriousness, I tend to look past it because it's an AM bike, and having this stiff setting makes it effecient for most things, even if it's a bit of a rough ride. The other plus is that it jumps better (as long as the rear is set up accordingly).
May not be the best approach, but the next best thing I can think of is going to a coil fork.
I'm psyched on trying the '11 180mm talas as my one do-it-all fork, but I'm a little skeptical given my experience, because I'd like a supple feeling fork that won't bottom like crazy if I'm going to ride only one bike.
Well crap, I probably didn't help much. Meh.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,029
Ottawa, Canada
Edit: Just noticed your weight. That fork doesn't have enough compression damping for you. I'd say it's barely adequate for my 165lbs. Put thicker oil in the cartridge. You'll notice less brake dive and more support when diving into berms as well as bottom-out resistance.
any recommendations on weight? I have 7.5 in there now. would 15wt be too much? (keeping in mind i weigh 210 w/o gear...)
 

Iridemtb

Turbo Monkey
Feb 2, 2007
1,497
-1
Just as a few moar flexing fluid resistance discs. and you should be good.
 

yetihenry

Monkey
Aug 9, 2009
241
1
Whistler, BC
I had the same problem, I only had them @100mm on my 4x bike, so I got mojo (uk import and service centre) to remove the talas cartridge and put a float in then tune them to my weight, and I wanted them stiff in the gate, supple and then ramp up a lot (kind of like the 831), they messed about and they became amazing forks. Im also over 6' and 195lbs (heavier than I think they design them for), and a custom tune was definitely the answer.
 

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
This is why U-turn > talas

When you dial down a U-turn fork it gets stiffer. The talas actually gets softer in the lower positions making it useless.

Get a Lyrik coil U-turn. Yes it is heavy compared to a talas but the damping and compliance will rock your sox right the f off.

Sorry for the useless comment. I'm one of those people who can't stand air suspension.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,029
Ottawa, Canada
This is why U-turn > talas

When you dial down a U-turn fork it gets stiffer. The talas actually gets softer in the lower positions making it useless.

Get a Lyrik coil U-turn. Yes it is heavy compared to a talas but the damping and compliance will rock your sox right the f off.

Sorry for the useless comment. I'm one of those people who can't stand air suspension.
but don't you have to wind down the u-turn like a gazillion times to bring down the travel with U-turn? I was wondering what the equivalent fork from Rock Shox is...
 

JeffKill

Monkey
Jun 21, 2006
688
0
Charlotte, NC
but don't you have to wind down the u-turn like a gazillion times to bring down the travel with U-turn? I was wondering what the equivalent fork from Rock Shox is...
Yeah, you do have to turn the dial (not quite a gazillion times) to drop the travel on RS U-turn forks. Not something you can really do on the fly. I also have a Lyrik coil U-turn and love it though.
 

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
Yeah, you do have to turn the dial (not quite a gazillion times) to drop the travel on RS U-turn forks. Not something you can really do on the fly. I also have a Lyrik coil U-turn and love it though.
I can dial it down on flat terrain while riding but it takes a few secs. You get some resistance if you try to extend the fork under weight so I just get off to be safe. Its pretty sweet to have virtually infinite adjust ability to your fork length.

RS has the 2-step air system which is supposed to be similar to talas. No experience with that setup though.
 
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