[canadmos]

tldr; can't bottom out my Zeb. What can I do or look for?

I have a Zeb, which was originally 170mm. In the spring I put in a 160mm air shaft and ever since then, I've been unable to use all the travel.

I have no air tokens in it and have taken the lowers off twice since, to clean it out and take a look.

If I remove all/most of the air I can push it all the way down to the max travel line. And I've measured just to be sure - from the top of the seals to the line, its 160mm.

So I'm leaving almost 10mm on the table.

Thoughts? Did I possibly, somehow, install the air shaft wrong? Eh? I also made another post earlier in the summer about it being harsh - it wasn't like this when I first got it and at 170mm.


This is the furthest I've been able to push the o-ring up while riding.

 

[Jm_]

Some are going to say that you are pretty close to full and that's good. It is pretty damn close. A coil fork with less ramp up would be fine like that IMO. With an air, you can typically run pretty close to full travel, given how much more progressive they get at say 5mm and then 2mm, it's pretty significant ramp up at the end, so it's not out of the question that during your max impact situation, it may run a little closer. It gets a little trickier though and you don't want to bottom and damage anything.

That said, I'd be totally fine if it was that on my regular jump trails and at the park it went closer to full. Have you ridden it at the park to compare yet?

What is the rest of your stroke like? Weight and PSI?

 

[canadmos]

I'd be fine with it if I could feel it bottom out at least once or something. It just seems like it ramps up real quick or something? Maybe something to do with the harshness experienced before?

I'm not a suspension junky though...so perhaps my thinking on some of this is backwards.

I usually have the fork set somewhere between 85-90psi. I need 90ish or just below for the park and steep trails or else it brake dives way too much. Yes I am fat. At this psi the rebound also feels super fast?

I've ridden the bike all over the place - smooth concrete trails, rocky bouldery trails, chunky rock slabs, bike park etc.

Perhaps I am also noticing am imbalance in my shock and fork. The frame has a Fox DPX2 and I can blow through the travel on that thing just by looking at it.

 

[Jm_]

I'd be fine with it if I could feel it bottom out at least once or something. It just seems like it ramps up real quick or something? Maybe something to do with the harshness experienced before?

I'm not a suspension junky though...so perhaps my thinking on some of this is backwards.

I usually have the fork set somewhere between 85-90psi. I need 90ish or just below for the park and steep trails or else it brake dives way too much. Yes I am fat. At this psi the rebound also feels super fast?

I've ridden the bike all over the place - smooth concrete trails, rocky bouldery trails, chunky rock slabs, bike park etc.

Perhaps I am also noticing am imbalance in my shock and fork. The frame has a Fox DPX2 and I can blow through the travel on that thing just by looking at it.

I never EVER want to feel a fork bottom out. Feeling a bottom out means an abrupt stop. Abrupt stops are going to damage stuff. Even if I use full travel, if I don't feel it, no problem.

 

[canadmos]

I never EVER want to feel a fork bottom out. Feeling a bottom out means an abrupt stop. Abrupt stops are going to damage stuff. Even if I use full travel, if I don't feel it, no problem.

Well yeah I don't want to feel it slam like that, perhaps that was bad wording. But it'd be nice if I could use all the travel at least once..

 

[Westy]

Just send bigger huxx

 

[Nick]

I'd say it's set up well. that last 15-20mm should be the oh fuck travel. My Lyrik is setup at 170 and I regularly use 155-160mm, but infrequently bottom out every once in a while.

 

[canadmos]

I'd say it's set up well. that last 15-20mm should be the oh fuck travel. My Lyrik is setup at 170 and I regularly use 155-160mm, but infrequently bottom out every once in a while.

I guess that's why I posted, I've had a few oh shit my bad moments, like hitting a rock curb or whatnot and it never goes past that.

Like I can regularly push the o-ring to that same spot, but never ever past it... unless I take the air out.


Was also curious to hear from other Zebs, if at that air pressure, where are you running your rebound? Off the top of my head, I believe I am almost fully closed on the dial, but it feels fast still.

 

[6thElement]

Eat more pies.

 

[canadmos]

Eat more pies.

Does pizza qualify as a pie?

 

[Nick]

Does pizza qualify as a pie?

it does where I'm from.

 

[kidwoo]

I've had a few forks I wish I could have gotten to ramp up like that

You might get a few more mm if you have too much oil in the lowers. As said, you don't really want true full travel.

 

[StiHacka]

Your Zeb's dead.

 

[Jm_]

There is a point where you are never getting say the last 30mm where the fork just rides like ass from being too over-sprung or with a whacked-out ramp-up that the damping can't support (so feels harsh no matter what). But you aren't at that point, that looks like around 10mm and that's a good place to be sitting overall.

 

[canadmos]

I'll try it now and report back.

How about the rebound, is that just something I have to deal with at this psi?

 

[canadmos]

One thing that I was thinking today..could the heat in my car be affecting the consistency of how the suspension feels?

If I ride during the week, my bike is most likely locked inside of my car baking in the sun. Would that get hot enough to change how it feels for a bit, after pulling it out at the trailhead?

 

[Jm_]

I'll try it now and report back.

How about the rebound, is that just something I have to deal with at this psi?

At your weight and pressure, you probably need it valved heavier. Rebound stack is linear, so the stock shims are all the same size, it's also easy to get at, compared to compression. Bleeding takes a reverb adapter, but most Sram bleed kits have this. I had one lying around. Bleeding is simple.

 

[Westy]

One thing that I was thinking today..could the heat in my car be affecting the consistency of how the suspension feels?

If I ride during the week, my bike is most likely locked inside of my car baking in the sun. Would that get hot enough to change how it feels for a bit, after pulling it out at the trailhead?

Yes but probably not that much. Actually your hot car probably isn't much hotter than the steady state temperature the damping oil sees on a summer day during heavy use. So in some ways you may be seeing less variability in damping performance by starting off with a hot bike.

Also maybe fewer pies would help here.

 

[Jm_]

One thing that I was thinking today..could the heat in my car be affecting the consistency of how the suspension feels?

If I ride during the week, my bike is most likely locked inside of my car baking in the sun. Would that get hot enough to change how it feels for a bit, after pulling it out at the trailhead?

No, because aluminum will work like a heat sink and quickly reach the temperature that it would be if it wasn't locked in the trunk prior. I don't see that making any difference. It could raise your spring a bunch to start, but as you ride it will respond to the environment. Like, I was in TX a month ago and it was 110, my air pressure would be noticeably higher on the trail compared to in the hotel room I had the temp at 68 to help Texas. Big enough effect that I had to be around at least 15psi lower in the hotel. It was definitely heating up...but that's because it was 110 out. If it's cold out, your fork is going to be cold. It does not stay warm because my house was 75 degrees and it's 15 freedom degrees outside. Riding will make it a little warmer, but aluminum will conduct heat away pretty well. If it's hot out, your fork will be hot. If you start with it even hotter, it will cool to the environment pretty quick.

 

[Jm_]

I've actually monitored the temp sensors I have on my fat-bikes (that connects to my watch) during the initial part of my rides when I ride from home and it's cold...like -10 to +10 or whatever. Bikes are stored inside. It takes about 1 mile of riding for the bike and sensor to reach ambient and those are less conductive plastic/CF stuff.

 

[canadmos]

Also maybe fewer pies would help here.

Fewer pie....moar pies...

So maybe I just need to set it and forget it. Will probably send the fork away over winter to get completely rebuilt and maybe get the rebound valved a bit heavier, so I have a bit more range on the adjuster?

And find a different shock, because this DPX2 is poo.

 

[canadmos]

On the Zeb/Rockshox note, anyone ever have one that decided to expel its liquid innards out of the compression dials?

 

[MikeD]

Hm. Did you use your finger in a "come hither" motion when you serviced it?

 

[canadmos]

I might have fat fingered it.