[stuntmanmike]

Hi,
I have read both manuals(ft & rear) over & over & over but its like reading Greek to me....
I have a Rock shox Totem solo air fork & a Fox DHX 5 air rear shock.
When setting the "sag"on both I just seem to get lost. Do I let the air out till meets the line where i marked the sag or do I play w/ the adjustments to try & get them down to the line?
I bought a shock pump & added the proper amount of air for my weight but both shocks are still rock hard.In fact I almost got thrown off this weekend because the rebound was like a spring board on a flat landing.
Please if anyone is familiar w/this type of shock & fork,
Any help would really be appreciated....

 

[rvanderveur]

Stuntmanmike,


What type of bike do you have? Sounds like a 6 or 7 inch travel trail bike.
Here ya go.
This is what you will need:

1-zip tie
1-shock/fork air pump
1-your bike
1-a set of extra hands to help out
1-a ruler that measures in mm or simply convert.

Tie the zip tie around one of the stanchion tubes (the gold anodized portion, not the lower leg) We will use this to guage your fork sag.

Put your riding gear on. Get on the bike on a flat level surface. This is where having an extra set of hands can help. Have your buddy hold you upright and cycle the suspension a few times by bouncing up and down. This will help break loose any stiction in the suspension components and help the chassis settle. Now, with your static weight on the bike now, have your buddy push the zip tie on the fork down to the dust wiper seal. Once he/she has done that move to the rear shock and do the same with the rubber 0-ring, push it to the dust wiper.

Now, gently get off of the bike. Try not to compress your suspension.
With you off the bike, take your ruler and measure the distance between the zip tie and the dust wiper on the fork, and the distance from your rubber o-ring to the dust wiper on the shock. That is your sag measurement.

A good starting point for 7" freeride bikes is 20mm-25mm of sag for both the fork and shock.

If you have more that 20mm-25mm of sag add air and vice versa.

For rebound and compression a general starting point is to start with the adjusters set in the middle of the range. For example, if you have 20 clicks of rebound on the shock. Set it at 10.

This is important. When your out on the trail, make changes one at a time. For example, if the rear of the bike is feeling bouncy, adjust the rebound 1 to 2 clicks slower(clockwise). Don't adjust the rebound and the pro-pedal. Make changes one at time. That way if your change is not giving you the result you want you can reverse your change and make a chance elsewhere.

It can take some time for sure. But, take your time and you will be rewarded with a killer handling bike that instills confidence.

I have a neat suspension log I use to record my settings. send me your e-mail and I'll e-mail it to you.

Best, Rob

Hi,
I have read both manuals(ft & rear) over & over & over but its like reading Greek to me....
I have a Rock shox Totem solo air fork & a Fox DHX 5 air rear shock.
When setting the "sag"on both I just seem to get lost. Do I let the air out till meets the line where i marked the sag or do I play w/ the adjustments to try & get them down to the line?
I bought a shock pump & added the proper amount of air for my weight but both shocks are still rock hard.In fact I almost got thrown off this weekend because the rebound was like a spring board on a flat landing.
Please if anyone is familiar w/this type of shock & fork,
Any help would really be appreciated....

 

[DownCycles_Stef]

Also, before measuring sag, turn all dampening knobs fully out (i.e. no compression, rebound, ProPedal, etc ... although you should have the minimum pressure in your ProPedal chamber). The total amount of sag should be 30-35% for DH 25-32% for FR & Trail riding. This means that for DH if you have a 3" stroke rear shock, you should use 1" of stroke just by sitting on it. Many people run their fork with less sag, but this usually results in a fork which can't utilize all it's travel, or in other words you turn a 7" fork into a 5".

Once you've got sag set, don't really mess with compression dampening or ProPedal, if anything turn them in one click (this goes for both high & low speed on the Totem). With rebound, as rvanderveur said, just slow down the fork enough so it doesn't feel like a pogo stick and for the rear shock, a good rule of thumb is 3-5 clicks out from fully clockwise. The shock should feel smooth in it's expansion (i.e. it shouldn't bounce back like a pogo-stick and shouldn't look like it's got molasses in it for oil either). Once you do that, go ride. If you feel like the front or rear dives into the travel a bit too quick, bring in your compression 1-2 clicks at a time. If the rear feels like it's bobbing a bit too much, add 5-10 PSI into the ProPedal. You should probably dedicate one ride just to setting and fine-tuning your suspension.

You basically have the right idea with setting sag and whatnot though. Definitely cycle the suspension so it's all lubed up before starting. After that though, just sit with your gear on the bike and add/remove air until everything is sagged to the right percent (making this a two-person job helps with measuring) and you'll be all set.