[csermonet]

I have had my 40 for a little over a year now. It came on my bike and I never adjusted the settings except change the spring for a stiffer one, and rebound. Was always happy with the performance, but I changed my oil and decided to do a little bit of research on what settings everyone is running, and compare it to what i have been riding on.

When counting my adjustment clicks, I adjust the dials all the way to the closed(+) position and turn the dial to the (-).

In my findings, I found several forum members personal settings, and I also found a PinkBike feature where they did a report on the settings of several Fox riders bikes. The general consensus i thought that i had found, was that running the HS/LS adjusters near the middle of their range would be a fairly popular set up and should be a good starting point. Meanwhile keeping the LS adjusted 2/3 more clicks to the + side than the HS. It was my understanding that this would ensure the forks full damper circuit is used properly, and to keep the fork from blowing through its travel.

Reading a different thread, I saw Udi used to have his 40 setup with the HS dial with 0 clicks, so being fully closed in the (+) position, and running his LS about 12 clicks, or about 50% of the adjustment range. This goes against almost everything I have read, but Udi seems to know what he is talking about so I wanted to create this thread to get some sort of clarification.

I weigh 180-185 fully geared, and am running the green steel spring.

When I counted my adjustment clicks that I had been running, I found that I was way off. My rebound and preload and spring rate were spot on, but my HS/LS was way off compared to what everyone is running.

Here is what I have settled on as to what I thought would be a good setting to start on this weekend when I go ride next.

Spring: Green
Preload: ~1 (just enough to engage spring)
Rebound: starting at full closed (+) -9 clicks
HS: starting at full closed (+) -14 clicks
LS: starting at full closed (+) -11 clicks

 

[jonKranked]

just a point of reference, most people start with everything fully open, then add clicks.

 

[jonKranked]

also, don't get too caught up with what other people's settings are. find what works for you.

 

[jonKranked]

just so we're clear - are there any actual performance issues you're having? or just concerned that you have different settings than others?

 

[weedkilla]

OK, before anyone chimes in and starts talking kneepoints and flux capacitators - If you havent adjusted anything in 12 months and it feels fine, any new setting will feel wrong (because it is different).
There is no magic setting that will make your fork more awesome.
The low and high speed adjusters do affect each other, so a lot of high speed damping increases your low speed damping without touching the dial.
The best thing you can do is google "bracketing" somewhere out there is an interview with Mark Fitzsimmons(?) from fox explaining how they get people to set up their suspension. This is a good way to at least get a feel for what does what and how. The short description is using one dial at a time, try it all the way open, then all the way closed and then work in from there till you find what you like.
Usually with a fork it seems to be a juggle between too harsh on my hands and collapsing in berms.
Then read Udi's stuff on here.

 

[jonKranked]

Also, it doesn't take into account differences in things like riding style, terrain, etc.

 

[kickstand]

HSC full open
LSC 4-10 clicks here
180lbs
Green spring

Not sure where my rebound is.

Fork feels good, I move the lsc a little at the beginning of each weekend based on feel and then leave it alone once I like where it is. Changes based on terrain.

 

[boogenman]

just a point of reference, most people start with everything fully open, then add clicks.

Do this.

Counting clicks is for fan boyz and guys that are really fast. You are best off trying to forget all you have read abo ut how many clicks udi has, open everything up, work your way in until you find what is good for you and then count clicks.

Eat moar bacon + fvck bitches

 

[Kanye West]

just a point of reference, most people start with everything fully open, then add clicks.

That doesn't mean most people are doing it right. Starting from full-in ensures consistency, both in your own tuning, and for comparison.

 

[boogenman]

That doesn't mean most people are doing it right. Starting from full-in ensures consistency, both in your own tuning, and for comparison.

In an ideal scenario with lots of time and good conditions you should really do both.

 

[Steve M]

That doesn't mean most people are doing it right. Starting from full-in ensures consistency, both in your own tuning, and for comparison.

With LS adjustments, definitely. With HS adjustments there is usually no "hard stop" at either end, meaning that minimum is usually not exactly zero preload, and that maximum is not physically locking the spring or anything, so it is less important which end you count clicks from, but I'd recommend starting from full-in just for the sake of consistency between all your adjusters.

Consider that the HS adjuster basically sets the force (technically pressure differential - but pressure diff is close to being directly related to shaft force) where your HS curve kicks in on a force-velocity plot (Velocity on the X axis, Force on the Y axis). The LS adjuster determines the gradient of the line below this threshold, and therefore, also has the dominant effect on the velocity at which the HS circuit opens. If you imagine the respective effects of the LS and HS adjusters on the high speed threshold (where the steeper LS curve blows off to the flatter HS curve), it is basically as follows:
1. Increasing LSC brings the high speed threshold to a lower velocity, and a slightly higher force (how much higher is dependent on the specifics of the damper).
2. Increasing HSC brings the high speed threshold to a slightly HIGHER velocity because it keeps oil flowing through only the LS port for a little longer, and obviously also brings the HS threshold to a significantly higher force.
3. Increasing both LSC and HSC simultaneously has a marked effect on the compression damping across the entire stroke, pushing the HS threshold up in force, but depending on the damper and the proportion of the adjustments (also affected by how far in the LS adjuster is), can push the HS threshold to either a higher or lower velocity.
4. Increasing HSC while decreasing LSC proportionally can basically just shove the HS threshold outwards on the velocity axis, "scaling" the damping relative to velocity if you like. Obviously, the reverse is also true, where decreasing HSC while increasing LSC proportionally can essentially bring the HS threshold back down to lower velocities.

Why does this matter? Because the velocities around the HS threshold are very important, since the bike spends a SUBSTANTIAL amount of time in this region. Increasing HSC while decreasing LSC can be useful for slightly improving small bump absorption whilst maintaining energy absorption (reducing kicking, in particular) for big lips at high speed, or decreasing HSC and increasing LSC can be useful for bringing that support in earlier on steeper, slower terrain.

As someone mentioned, there is no magic bullet, and the independent adjusters exist for that reason. Generally, most changes you make will have both positive AND negative consequences to varying degrees, so the aim is to make the changes with the most gain for the least loss.

 

[William42]

I have a certain number of clicks and knobs twisted and set for my damping needs. I recommend doing something similar. Stop changing things when you like the way it feels.

 

[jonKranked]

<snip>

As someone mentioned, there is no magic bullet, and the independent adjusters exist for that reason. Generally, most changes you make will have both positive AND negative consequences to varying degrees, so the aim is to make the changes with the most gain for the least loss.

this. revert back to the settings you had/like. write them down. from there, do one click at a time on only a single adjustment, ride it and see how it does.

 

[weedkilla]

OK, my last point would have read -
Then read Steve and Udi's stuff.

If I had thought Steve would chime in!

 

[Udi]

I also found a PinkBike feature where they did a report on the settings of several Fox riders bikes. The general consensus i thought that i had found, was that running the HS/LS adjusters near the middle of their range would be a fairly popular set up and should be a good starting point.

That article was unfortunately somewhat misleading, and I think that's the one thing no one has pointed out yet. To assume that you can simply transfer or reference pro rider external adjustment settings is to make the assumption that their internal valving is the same as the consumer product. I can almost guarantee this is not the case.

Fox consumer valving provides ample range for most riders, however at your weight, if you are riding at a decent level (let's say upper end of expert to pro), then you'll be at the upper end of the available tuning range. In this scenario, to run both compression adjusters in the middle of their range on a consumer valved damper would generally tend towards not having enough support where you actually need it - however this is dependent on both you and the tracks you are riding.

I think Steve M's post covers everything in sufficient detail. The trick here is to not copy others settings, and not necessarily even to use them as a reference point. My suggestion would be to understand why they did what they did and use that to influence your own setup. Your entire post is about external adjuster settings, and mentions nothing about what you like and dislike about your setup. That's the place to start.