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suspension nightmare(please help)

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
ok yeti 303 with a DHX that has a 350 spring that is too soft. (but its Ti) so i want to keep it, can i get it more progressive by somebody for less than the cost of the wasted spring?

fox 40 that has the spring rattle no matter what one i use. (i have 11 and they all click) i wrapped in tape and still rattle and click.
it also feels like there is no dampin, with the heavy spring i can pull in the brakes and push down and itl bottom out easily, heavier oil? compression does not help but it IS NOT BLOWN

sorry if i sound like a retard but its sooo soft and impossible to ride and the clickin is driving me insane
 

SamB

Chimp
Dec 4, 2007
37
0
New Zealand
With the 40's, you need to put some plastic shrink wrap around the spring and heat it up, which will stop the clicking noise if its put in the right place (mine is around the middle of the spring and only makes the occasional noise). Its nothing to worry about though.

What year are they? The 06 (and 07 to some extent) are quite linear, so tend to bottom out pretty easily. You can increase the bottom out resistance internally, but the only way to make them more progressive is to get the new 08 damper, or some of these springs: http://www.go-ride.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=21D70000-1192817223

With the DHX, if you are running the spring at maximum preload (8mm/6 turns) and still getting too much sag then you'll need to step it up to a firmer one.
 

seismic

Turbo Monkey
Dec 22, 2003
3,254
0
South East Asia
If the spring rate is too low (can normally be decided depending on how much sag you get with only a turn or two of preload) you need another spring. You can not (and should not) try to compensate with alternative setups of the shock. Get the right spring even though it may require some expenses.
 

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
for the fork, is it a 2008? with the new FIT cart?
if not. get some new internals. the new system depends more on the compression then on the spring, as previous years did. BIG improvement
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
its a 2007 fork, and i got 11 springs off ebay for 52.35!!!!!!!!! "you can find it on ebay"

and that was what i thought was the deal with the DHX but i was hopin otherwise
 

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
add air to the rear.
No, get the right spring. All adding air will do is increase your compression damping.

Edit: I can't believe you bought a 303 then complained about the cost of a freaking spring. Of all the overpriced lumps of metal you could have bought, the 303 is one of the most expensive out there, then you whinge about a few bucks for a new spring?
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
compression does not help but it IS NOT BLOWN
Pretty typical of 40's. The compression adjusters do piss all, at least so you know there's nothing wrong with your fork.

Haven't ridden the 08 yet so I'll reserve judgement on that, but 05-07 = pointless LSC adjuster. Get a boxxer if you want a working compression damper.

And as socket said, get the right spring for the rear! Meaure your sag with the existing spring and if it's over say 38% then you'll want to go to the next rate up. If it's more like 33-35% then you should be okay though... it's not abnormal or wrong for a DH bike to bottom out every few runs or when you mess something up.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
easy fix for clicking springs is to stretch small pieces of inner tube over them. a small xc tube or a larger road tube should do the trick. use 2 or 3 of them cut to about a 2" length and space them out along the length of the spring. careful though; too thick or too log and they can bind.
 

khoolhandz

Chimp
Jul 27, 2006
89
0
I LOVE SURREY
ok yeti 303 with a DHX that has a 350 spring that is too soft. (but its Ti) so i want to keep it, can i get it more progressive by somebody for less than the cost of the wasted spring?

fox 40 that has the spring rattle no matter what one i use. (i have 11 and they all click) i wrapped in tape and still rattle and click.
it also feels like there is no dampin, with the heavy spring i can pull in the brakes and push down and itl bottom out easily, heavier oil? compression does not help but it IS NOT BLOWN

sorry if i sound like a retard but its sooo soft and impossible to ride and the clickin is driving me insane

How much do you weigh? I weigh 175-lb kitted and use a 400# on the 303. It's perfect with zero preload, 0 boost setting, 100psi, and 4clicks propedal on the dhx.

There's a guy on pinkbike selling 400# x 3.0" spring for $150 bucks. I'm sure there's lots of folks here who would buy your 350# for their Sunday.

P.S. You can probably crank up the pressure on your DHX and increase your propedal setting to compensate for the soft spring. You will lose your small bump sensitivity though.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
P.S. You can probably crank up the pressure on your DHX and increase your propedal setting to compensate for the soft spring. You will lose your small bump sensitivity though.
PSS, no you can't. Spring rate is a constant, regardless of how much air you pump into the reservoir of how much pro-pedal you chose to run. It's hardly good advice to suggest compensating for the wrong spring by in turn running what would otherwise be improper damping. 2 bad choices in combination hardly fixes the problem.

the only solution is a simple one, as has been pointed out already: get the proper spring. oil is not a spring, nor is compression damping. they are used for control of the springrate but they are not the same thing. pre-load, as well, does not change your spring rate. it controls sag and the amount of force needed to compress the spring initially but does not change its overall rate. you will bottom it out with the same force regardless of preload. try to compensate with preload and all you will manage to do is compromise the shocks ability to absorb the small and medium sized impacts. i.e. 90% of what you'll encounter on the trail.

get the right spring first, all the other controls on that shock are meant to compliment the proper spring rate. trying to compromise on a $40 part in the name of weight or vanity is plain stupid; and a waste of an otherwise great bike (and the $$ you spent on it).
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
well it seems right acording to sag but when i ride it it bottoms really easily, i have a 4 stair at my house and no matter how smooth i try to land it bottoms harshly, this is hardly anything compared to the other drops i have to do so i will be getting a new spring, i am goign to try the tube idea on the 40 springs and try to get taht fit cartaridge, thanks for the help, it actually helps-no pinkbike bull****
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
I'r pretty sure if you replace the air in the DHX with Jello, your damping will inprove 10x, children will smile, and bill cosby will dance.


Or you could just hike up your skirt and go buy a new Ti spring for your arguably overpriced bike.


vroom!
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
wow you guys are rough...

if he is anything like me, he saved his money until he could spend everything he had on an amazing bike and lose some weight on it. Now that he's spent several thousand dollars, he might possibly not want to spend more. if you don't have any suggestions maybe lay off the harshness?
 

ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
wow you guys are rough...

if he is anything like me, he saved his money until he could spend everything he had on an amazing bike and lose some weight on it. Now that he's spent several thousand dollars, he might possibly not want to spend more. if you don't have any suggestions maybe lay off the harshness?
Welcome to RideMonkey. You must be new.
 

CrabJoe StretchPants

Reincarnated Crab Walking Head Spinning Bruce Dick
Nov 30, 2003
14,163
2,484
Groton, MA
wow you guys are rough...

if he is anything like me, he saved his money until he could spend everything he had on an amazing bike and lose some weight on it. Now that he's spent several thousand dollars, he might possibly not want to spend more. if you don't have any suggestions maybe lay off the harshness?
Maybe he should ride the $6000 bike the way it was supposed to be ridden?
 

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
for the fork, is it a 2008? with the new FIT cart?
if not. get some new internals. the new system depends more on the compression then on the spring, as previous years did. BIG improvement
looks like i need to qoute myself again.

get the new 2008 damping internals. it will fix your fork problem.
 

rogue22

Chimp
Dec 2, 2007
42
0
it had kind of been mentioned already but why buy one of the most tuneable yet finicky dh bikes on the market when you don't know how to properly tune your suspension?
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
well i used it for a few DH runs (i recently had surgery and am on my second week back)and it felt ok, but they were not at an actual mountain, more of a state park. there are no drops there. where i ride(diablo) there is drops and not the greatest landings. THEY ARE IN RACES if my sus cant handle a 4 stair to flat how can it take some of the bigger drops (up to 15), and yes i dont feel like shelling out any more money into this bike.

PS i stated ealier that its a 2007 fork and ima get the 08 internals

if u cant help then dont
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Have I ever actually helped? C'mon man! Anyways, what size Ti spring are you wanting? I have a few laying around.
400 by 3.0, i just threw my manipoo on there and it feels alot better, and when i rode it b4 i busted my knee it had the manipoo 400, its a shame it only saw 3 runs :poster_oops:
 

EM-EFER

Monkey
May 29, 2007
311
0
400 by 3.0, i just threw my manipoo on there and it feels alot better, and when i rode it b4 i busted my knee it had the manipoo 400, its a shame it only saw 3 runs :poster_oops:
Did you try adjusting the bottom out? How much air pressure do you have in the shock?

As everyone already said, don't try to adjust the shock around the spring. An undersprung bike rides like dog shiet.

Heres the recap-

#1. Get a steel spring. You won't notice the 100 Gram difference. Ti is great for bling factor but, unfortunatly this isn't need for speed 2, so no style points.:)

#2. Have someone adjust your shock with you. The 5.0 is great and you should read the manual for the shock. I am getting the feeling you havn't read the manual.

#3. Never adjust your shock around your spring. If you need more then two full turns of preload and still sag to much, your undersprung.

#4. As others said, get the 08 40 internals from FOX.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
well i used it for a few DH runs (i recently had surgery and am on my second week back)and it felt ok, but they were not at an actual mountain, more of a state park. there are no drops there. where i ride(diablo) there is drops and not the greatest landings. THEY ARE IN RACES if my sus cant handle a 4 stair to flat how can it take some of the bigger drops (up to 15), and yes i dont feel like shelling out any more money into this bike.

PS i stated ealier that its a 2007 fork and ima get the 08 internals

if u cant help then dont
having ridden all those race tracks i'd say you are exaggerating just a touch. or you need to lean how not to land like a ton of bricks.

that being said, do you want your suspension to work great on a couple hucks-to-flat, or 1 or 2 large drops per run. or do you want your suspension to actually work.

see here: http://ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2776372#post2776372

if you have proper sag with the current spring what you need to do is learn how to tune it. those drops at diablo could be done on a hardtail, so just getting a stiffer spring isn't necessarily the answer.
 

khoolhandz

Chimp
Jul 27, 2006
89
0
I LOVE SURREY
PSS, no you can't. Spring rate is a constant, regardless of how much air you pump into the reservoir of how much pro-pedal you chose to run.
WRONG. Spring rate of the spring stays constant, spring rate overall changes. The air in the DHX acts as a secondary spring too ya know (to some extent).

It's hardly good advice to suggest compensating for the wrong spring by in turn running what would otherwise be improper damping.
I AGREE. I take my advice back.

2 bad choices in combination hardly fixes the problem.
I AGREE again. I'll throw my advice to a firepit so it can never be given to anyone again.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
WRONG. Spring rate of the spring stays constant, spring rate overall changes. The air in the DHX acts as a secondary spring too ya know (to some extent).
to some degree (technically speaking), yes, you are entirely correct that it acts as a secondary spring, but so does friction in the linkage. but the reservoir and piston displacement is too small and the pressure too low for it to be used as a true "secondary" spring; it simply is not designed to be used as a 'spring' in the same way the coil is. its purpose is to aid in the adjustment of the damping circuit.

do this: remove the spring from your shock, pump it up to the max recommended pressure, sit on your bike and see what happens.


here's a great video someone posted earlier, you can see just how little the floating piston actually moves even under full compression.
http://www.suspensionhotline.com/dyn...ear_shock2.wmv