[jsk14]

does anyone else feel that they go faster on rockgarden/sharper turns with high compression/stiffer spring rate?( 23-26%)

i think overall, i go faster in whistler park style, or steep section with proper sag, but i feel i go way faster in rocky trails faster with stiffer rates.

 

[WBC]

does anyone else feel that they go faster on rockgarden/sharper turns with high compression/stiffer spring rate?( 23-26%)

i think overall, i go faster in whistler park style, or steep section with proper sag, but i feel i go way faster in rocky trails faster with stiffer rates.

Riding higher in your travel means more available travel means more travel to eat rocks and sh|t loam.

I have usually run high spring rates for exactly this reason!

 

[Kanye West]

Yup. Springrate = ride height.

 

[Muttely]

IIRC, K9 Did a study into this, they tested all sorts of spring rates and riders on a single track, and came to the conclusion that though you do FEEL as if you are going faster with higher spring rates, you arent, and that correct sag and more bump soaking rates will lead to faster times.

 

[sethimus]

IIRC, K9 Did a study into this, they tested all sorts of spring rates and riders on a single track, and came to the conclusion that though you do FEEL as if you are going faster with higher spring rates, you arent, and that correct sag and more bump soaking rates will lead to faster times.

if all this time went into designing a nicer looking frame...

 

[buckoW]

I think the higher compression has more to do with it.

 

[Kanye West]

I think the higher compression has more to do with it.

Agreed.

 

[Steve M]

IIRC, K9 Did a study into this, they tested all sorts of spring rates and riders on a single track, and came to the conclusion that though you do FEEL as if you are going faster with higher spring rates, you arent, and that correct sag and more bump soaking rates will lead to faster times.

They also say they run comparatively high compression rates.

Without timed testing it's impossible to know what is actually fastest, but I have found that as time's gone by I've run firmer and firmer compression tunes because as I've slowly gotten faster I've found that it's become more and more necessary to control the movement of the bike. When you distinctly notice the suspension moving under you (fork diving, bouncing, or chattering, or the same on the rear end) that's usually a sign that your setup could be improved (not always by simply increasing your compression mind you). You may notice that if you ride slower, the movements you notice become less noticeable, or that if you try to ride faster and more aggressively, those movements become exaggerated and you start noticing the bike "blowing through its travel", "wallowing", excessively bottoming out, bouncing around, etc. However damping rates have to be at least somewhat proportional to your spring rate, there's no point in running an extra soft spring with a massively excessive compression rate, nor is there any point running a super stiff spring with no compression damping, both of those will give you a ride that's harsher than it needs to be but still moves around a lot, except one will be super dead and the other will be very poppy/twitchy. If you need more support from your suspension you should probably be considering increasing both spring AND damping rates, however simply from the point of view of practicality, it's more common that you can increase your damping rate finely than your spring rate simply because the adjusters make much smaller incremental differences than changing a spring usually does.

My personal opinion is that the setup of your bike matters most when you're going relatively slowly or in tight stuff - corners in particular. I really don't like undersprung/underdamped bikes in tight stuff, it just feels sluggish. Again though, without timing it, I can't prove that what I "feel" is actually any faster or slower.

Edit: also the above is pretty abstract and assumes you have a reasonable setup to begin with, otherwise your idea of suitable/proportional spring and damping rates may be significantly different to mine.