| To begin, use these guides for a static or in the garage test: | ||||||
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1st set spring sags
(preload)
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Use a tape measure and/or cable tie, be sure not to bounce and push the tie down too far | |||||
| Fully Extended | Bike Sag | Rider Sag | ||||
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25% of travel 25 - 35mm race bikes can be less than 25mm |
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| Fully Extended | Bike Sag | Rider Sag | ||||
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race bikes variance again |
25-40mm or approx 33% of travel for a soft setting |
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| 2nd set the rebound
a bounce test will give you a close approximation. |
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| Front: hold and keep the brake on push down hard at least half travel and watch how the bike rebounds, no bounce
when it stops is o.k.
Rear: it's similar for the rear only look for a uniform rate of rebound without being too fast, you don't need the brakes on. |
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| 3rd set the compression last
it is difficult to feel compression settings without riding the bike, I would prefer them to be soft at the start |
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| WHEN you have satisfied yourself that the above static tests are o.k. the next step is to set the damping range. * Warning * Never use all the way in nor all the way out as a setting - this is dangerous. When adjusting the compression and rebound adjusters, fork and shock, you turn them all the way in to full firm (that is zero), then count turns or clicks out for your setting. |
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| HOW The next step is to set the range for the compression and rebound adjusters, you need to think differently here, initially you are looking for two wrong settings and this is the way to set your range. You need to find the maximum soft setting and the maximum firm setting. |
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| If you use our first setting and for example this is soft (the first 'wrong' setting) the next step is to find the firm setting (the second 'wrong' setting) these two settings are to find your range. You now have two extreme settings that you don't want to use again but this method has taught you: | ||||||
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| Imagine this, if you hold up at eye level in your right hand the soft setting and then in your left hand do the same for the firm setting, somewhere in between is the right setting. The important thing to achieve is an estimate in between these two extremes, 80% correct for your baseline settings is an excellent result. From here you can begin to fine-tune your set-up | ||||||
| WHY Isolating the functions of spring, rebound and compression will give you clear messages on where your settings should be. Test ride after each individual change to assess the effect before moving onto the next step.
Check the preloads, check the sags (see diagrams above) And if they’re correct, the next two steps involve setting DAMPING. Damping is the use of oils and their properties to absorb the energy that would otherwise cause the springs to react uncontrollably when they bounce back. NEXT......
# 2. Rebound Damping
# 3. Compression Damping
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| Tuning System Overview: | ||||||
system A "system" is a set of independent but interactive elements that form a unified whole damping is any effect that reduces the amplitude of oscillations in the system (adjusters fine-tune the system) damping elements include spring rate, suspended weight, hydraulics, geometry, internals, design springs support the weight of bike and Rider, store and release energy spring purpose is to compress almost fully and return to free length without change to its initial properties sag test will give an indication whether or not spring rates are suited to the suspended weight bounce test indicates whether compression and rebound damping is operating effectively with bike weight preload spring is compressed with a load before any suspended load is added; it makes the bike sit higher or lower rebound controls return rate of spring; the spring and rebound combination is what gives stability compression After spring and rebound settings make the bike stable, compression settings control travel over bumps adjusters when major damping elements are unbalanced, fine tuning will not compensate for system problems |
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Postscript: This article was originally written for our customers' use and reference. Adjusters are there for adjustments to be made to suit different applications e.g street versus competition. A setting for solo street riding which works perfectly, gripping in the wet etc, will not suffice when used in a race scenario where late, hard, heavy braking is called for and quick acceleration out of corners. Much firmer settings are required for race track use; it has to be when you are using the suspension much more vigorously. A touring bike has to compromise its settings for a variety of road surface irregularities but always on a sealed road. To get a broad range of damping control we individualise the set-up to the person, bike, and type of riding planned. The broader range means that the overall set-up will be at a slightly less high level and the adjusters must always be used if you want to achieve the very best compromise for a particular type of riding. This article is now read and used by many others - but there is a need to understand that if your bike is not set up correctly for you in the first place, i.e. all major damping elements are not addressed (of which you are one) attempts to fine-tune with adjusters will prove to be frustrating. So if in using this method your bike fails the tests or the clickers don't help, then your bike is telling you that the major damping elements need to be looked at. |
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