[cjcrashesalot]

So I had my bike's suspension totally dialed and was loving how it rode, then decided to get a new wheelset. Dropped 2lbs, which I assumed would make the suspension work even better. However, I can't get it to feel that great now.

I'm not even sure what the rule of thumb is when tuning for lighter wheels, more or less air pressure/damping. On one hand, it seems like lighter wheels would respond more quickly to hits and so the bike would need more damping/air to compensate. On the other hand, lighter wheels have less inertia once moving (linearly and rotationally, but I think the linear aspect applies here) and so should require less damping to control.

Either way, I've been messing around a bit and can't get that old feeling back. Specifically, the bike feels good on small stuff at lower speeds but mid speed chatter and hits feel pretty harsh. Bike is a Reign X with an X-Fusion Vengeance Air up front and Vector Air out back.

Any thoughts?

 

[Kanye West]

So I had my bike's suspension totally dialed and was loving how it rode, then decided to get a new wheelset. Dropped 2lbs, which I assumed would make the suspension work even better. However, I can't get it to feel that great now.

I'm not even sure what the rule of thumb is when tuning for lighter wheels, more or less air pressure/damping. On one hand, it seems like lighter wheels would respond more quickly to hits and so the bike would need more damping/air to compensate. On the other hand, lighter wheels have less inertia once moving (linearly and rotationally, but I think the linear aspect applies here) and so should require less damping to control.

Either way, I've been messing around a bit and can't get that old feeling back. Specifically, the bike feels good on small stuff at lower speeds but mid speed chatter and hits feel pretty harsh. Bike is a Reign X with an X-Fusion Vengeance Air up front and Vector Air out back.

Any thoughts?

You just changed the natural frequency of the suspension at both ends by changing the wheel weight.

Natural frequency varies directly with springrate, and indirectly with unsprung mass.

You've reduced mass ever so slightly, so reduce the springrate ever so slightly. As a guess, probably decrease the rebound a click at each end as well.

 

[Beef Supreme]

Reducing unsprung weight by 1lb at each end shouldn't really necessitate different tuning. Maybe a hair more rebound damping but that would be about it. Have you changed tire pressure or anything like that.

 

[cjcrashesalot]

Thanks for the responses. I'll drop the air pressure a bit and see how things feel.

No other changes to the bike happened at the same time, at least that I'm aware of. Unless there was some coincidental thing happening with the suspension (like the fork needing a rebuild), it seems like the wheels are the cause.

 

[Rider15]

How different are the rims to your previous one? Are they are similar profile? Are they wider or narrower than your old rims?

 

[cjcrashesalot]

How different are the rims to your previous one? Are they are similar profile? Are they wider or narrower than your old rims?

They are a bit narrower, but still similar. Went from Rhynolite XL's to Flow EX's, didn't notice much of a tire profile change though.