Typhoon in the area and I still have to work means I have time on my hands. The recent thread on suspension started really well and ended in a technical show down but still got me off my arse to do some fiddlin. Guess I am posting cause I still dont know if I am on the right track. While there are still guys buying what Sam is riding I think there are more riders really getting down to bizniz and riding harder and this will include setting up their bikes as best as they can. In Korea I am solo and the bike shops are pure XC so I get what I need form the forums. I think a suspension setup thread would be really helpfull without turning it into a which shock is best or how much fluid passes through the oriface when the needle is pointing east.
I guess my confidence has developed to the point that I trust myself to understand what adjustments do what or trust how the bike is feeling or reacting on the trail which lead me to do some fine tuning. Just before I left South Africa where I was riding my Jedi for a month straight I got to the point where I was ready to sell the bike and try something else. I was doing a morning coffee RM session when I read that HSC is not just to controll BO and has more to do with shaft speed itself. Mmmm, those high speed hits to the back wheel that flattened my tire and made my rim scream might be avoidable. 2 clicks of HSC and I was rolling over the same baby heads that were hanging me before. And that is when I left for my next trip to South Korea and onto the Delerium with Totem and Vivid. First ride and the Totem felt like a Marshmellow after the Boxxer. So I went on a missionin this trip to see how much I could improve my ride. Where I was happy to have a setup that felt good I now knew it could be better.
Step 1: For some reason I always stuck with 28-30Psi for my front tire and 30-32Psi for the rear. Earlier this month I read a thread on tire PSi and sweat spots and figured I would give it a go. I dropped my front to 26Psi and rear to 28Psi and it was insane the difference this made. I could literaly feel the rubber moulding over the rocks and the bike felt less skittish. I recently found a gem of a trail so I decided on a section which was tight enough to force me to keep my line, had enough chunk that I would notice suspension changes and wasnt too step that I would have to be on the brakes but would also need a few pedal strokes. I dropped a second preload spacer in the Totem bringing the sag to 25% but this was still no better. So with normal settings I did 3 runs to feel the trail out.
Step 2: I set the HSC at 1 full turn where I normaly run 11/2. I dropped the LSC to 6 clicks where I normaly run 8-10. I bombed down the trail. Second run and I upped the LSC to 12 clicks for real comparason. And all I can say was the tral flattened out and the bike calmed down. Not trusting myself I dropped to 10 clicks and the run was good but no major difference from 12. Back to 6 clicks and I really felt the bike was plush but not quite as composed, couldnt quite ID the details yet. So I did a run with 12 clicks and I noticed the cornering was precise, the bike was real calm through the chunk, I was able to double sections much easier and I just felt faster. I dropped back to 6 clicks and I notied the front was harder to controll because it felt like it was diving in the chunky sections, it was harder to get off the ground to double sections and it seemed harder to keep a tight line especialy on flat turns.
Step 3: I felt like I needed to be around 12 Clicks of LSC but needed to work on the HSC. I added a full turn and the bike still felt great. I am still not sure where I am going with this adjustment since the trails here are not as fast, wide open or rough as in South Africa. I felt the bike handled the bigger drops and jumps really well and I was in more controll after landing. I just need to find some trails with bigger chunk to see if I am money with the HSC. Feels like I am just using it for BO control at the moment becasue I just cant feel the difference like I can with the LSC adjustment. I have been off the bike since Monday and with bad weather forecast I may only get a ride or 2 before heading home.
So I am at 12 clicks LSC, 13/4 turns HSC and rebound set to taste. This is usualy 1 click faster from when the damper feels like it is kicking in.
I need 1 or 2 more rides and testing and then I will see what I can do with the Vivid. The Vivid seems a little fool proof since it was Pushed from new and only has LSC. Rebound seems easy to set since it makes the most notible difference to ride feel and I am within 1 click either way. I feel like this trip on the Delerium was incredible and I was ridingon another level.
The Elka will be fresh from service and 10 days from now I will be starting from scrath on the Jedi. So if anyone has some tips on choosing a test trail, what effect LSC/HSC does and what to expect or any tips on how to go about setting up suspension then I would be stoked to hear it. When I first got onto long travel bikes I thought it was all about long and squishy but currently I feel a firmer setup is working alot better.With the right tire pressures, a firmer setup doesnt seem to make the bike bounce around and in fact seems to make the bike calmer and more controlled. Corners seem precise and jumping never suffers from a firmer platform.
I guess my confidence has developed to the point that I trust myself to understand what adjustments do what or trust how the bike is feeling or reacting on the trail which lead me to do some fine tuning. Just before I left South Africa where I was riding my Jedi for a month straight I got to the point where I was ready to sell the bike and try something else. I was doing a morning coffee RM session when I read that HSC is not just to controll BO and has more to do with shaft speed itself. Mmmm, those high speed hits to the back wheel that flattened my tire and made my rim scream might be avoidable. 2 clicks of HSC and I was rolling over the same baby heads that were hanging me before. And that is when I left for my next trip to South Korea and onto the Delerium with Totem and Vivid. First ride and the Totem felt like a Marshmellow after the Boxxer. So I went on a missionin this trip to see how much I could improve my ride. Where I was happy to have a setup that felt good I now knew it could be better.
Step 1: For some reason I always stuck with 28-30Psi for my front tire and 30-32Psi for the rear. Earlier this month I read a thread on tire PSi and sweat spots and figured I would give it a go. I dropped my front to 26Psi and rear to 28Psi and it was insane the difference this made. I could literaly feel the rubber moulding over the rocks and the bike felt less skittish. I recently found a gem of a trail so I decided on a section which was tight enough to force me to keep my line, had enough chunk that I would notice suspension changes and wasnt too step that I would have to be on the brakes but would also need a few pedal strokes. I dropped a second preload spacer in the Totem bringing the sag to 25% but this was still no better. So with normal settings I did 3 runs to feel the trail out.
Step 2: I set the HSC at 1 full turn where I normaly run 11/2. I dropped the LSC to 6 clicks where I normaly run 8-10. I bombed down the trail. Second run and I upped the LSC to 12 clicks for real comparason. And all I can say was the tral flattened out and the bike calmed down. Not trusting myself I dropped to 10 clicks and the run was good but no major difference from 12. Back to 6 clicks and I really felt the bike was plush but not quite as composed, couldnt quite ID the details yet. So I did a run with 12 clicks and I noticed the cornering was precise, the bike was real calm through the chunk, I was able to double sections much easier and I just felt faster. I dropped back to 6 clicks and I notied the front was harder to controll because it felt like it was diving in the chunky sections, it was harder to get off the ground to double sections and it seemed harder to keep a tight line especialy on flat turns.
Step 3: I felt like I needed to be around 12 Clicks of LSC but needed to work on the HSC. I added a full turn and the bike still felt great. I am still not sure where I am going with this adjustment since the trails here are not as fast, wide open or rough as in South Africa. I felt the bike handled the bigger drops and jumps really well and I was in more controll after landing. I just need to find some trails with bigger chunk to see if I am money with the HSC. Feels like I am just using it for BO control at the moment becasue I just cant feel the difference like I can with the LSC adjustment. I have been off the bike since Monday and with bad weather forecast I may only get a ride or 2 before heading home.
So I am at 12 clicks LSC, 13/4 turns HSC and rebound set to taste. This is usualy 1 click faster from when the damper feels like it is kicking in.
I need 1 or 2 more rides and testing and then I will see what I can do with the Vivid. The Vivid seems a little fool proof since it was Pushed from new and only has LSC. Rebound seems easy to set since it makes the most notible difference to ride feel and I am within 1 click either way. I feel like this trip on the Delerium was incredible and I was ridingon another level.
The Elka will be fresh from service and 10 days from now I will be starting from scrath on the Jedi. So if anyone has some tips on choosing a test trail, what effect LSC/HSC does and what to expect or any tips on how to go about setting up suspension then I would be stoked to hear it. When I first got onto long travel bikes I thought it was all about long and squishy but currently I feel a firmer setup is working alot better.With the right tire pressures, a firmer setup doesnt seem to make the bike bounce around and in fact seems to make the bike calmer and more controlled. Corners seem precise and jumping never suffers from a firmer platform.