Rail 9 Zeb set up help needed please

[Motohawk75]

Hi

trying to help a pal out with his new Rail 9 , standard Zebs fitted up front . Out the box there far to stiff , giving hardly any feedback and front end grip. Not sure on pressure but it’s how it came
He’s around 80kg 12.5 -13 stone.
I’ve read pressure wants to be closer to 60 psi ? Apparently 2 tokes are fitted from new but some saying remove 1 / basically run 1 token (he has two tokens spare that came with it )

any help on a plush set up would be great ! (His zebs have one compression dial and rebound only )

 

[#lazy]

IMO as i have 180mm zebs and weight the same I would open the compression dial all the way , put in 1 tokens , don’t worry about the psi numbers YET just get to his preferred sag (mines 30%) . Go for a quick street ride with some 1-2ft drops ( a high curb will do ) , if it bottoms add another token and set the same sag as before , continue until the forks don’t bottom . Then remember the psi for reference , it will be quite low . The more tokens you insert the plusher to fork will feel cos you’ll need less air to get the same sag which will give the top 3rd feel nice soft feel but will ramp up as you go through the stroke . You can fine tune with the compression dial on the fly ?

 

[Motohawk75]

IMO as i have 180mm zebs and weight the same I would open the compression dial all the way , put in 1 tokens , don’t worry about the psi numbers YET just get to his preferred sag (mines 30%) . Go for a quick street ride with some 1-2ft drops ( a high curb will do ) , if it bottoms add another token and set the same sag as before , continue until the forks don’t bottom . Then remember the psi for reference , it will be quite low . The more tokens you insert the plusher to fork will feel cos you’ll need less air to get the same sag which will give the top 3rd feel nice soft feel but will ramp up as you go through the stroke . You can fine tune with the compression dial on the fly ?

Awesome thanks dude

so changing the tokens , which side are they on ? Am I correct in thinking it comes stock with 2 already in there so I need to remove one leaving one or add one ?

 

[Motohawk75]

IMO as i have 180mm zebs and weight the same I would open the compression dial all the way , put in 1 tokens , don’t worry about the psi numbers YET just get to his preferred sag (mines 30%) . Go for a quick street ride with some 1-2ft drops ( a high curb will do ) , if it bottoms add another token and set the same sag as before , continue until the forks don’t bottom . Then remember the psi for reference , it will be quite low . The more tokens you insert the plusher to fork will feel cos you’ll need less air to get the same sag which will give the top 3rd feel nice soft feel but will ramp up as you go through the stroke . You can fine tune with the compression dial on the fly ?

sorry me again lol when you say 1 token is that 1 in total or add 1 ? I was led believe that it came with 2 fitted stock ?

 

[#lazy]

I think but not 100% that some forks will have more than other but if you start with zero , set sag and then go one token all the way to 3/4 then you should get to the seeet spot where it’s plush and won’t bottom out !
if you’re riding big drops and heavy landings then using full travel a few times is fine !

Tokens are on the left side looking forward ! You’ll need a cassette tool ?

 

[highpeakrider]

Although new rockshock were never great at putting oil in, I’ve found the Zebs respond well to regular lower legs oil changes, I’d do a service if they don’t improve.

https://www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/service-manuals/rockshox/front-suspension/zeb-sm-gen.6284-english.pdf#page76

 

[Ripping g]

Try this ??

 

[Black8917]

Mine sucked felt horribly stiff with factory settings. 180mm on 9.8. I swapped the damper to the RC2.1. Put low friction seals in. Running 55 psi no tokens it still felt increasingly harsh compared to my fox grip2 on my nomad. Changed the air spring to a smash pot. Pretty good now but I run no hi speed compression and no low speed compression. Going to bleed the damper and change the oil to maxima plush 3wt see if that helps.

 

[aviserated]

#lazy, Your post above was most interesting...thanks.

 

[L666GTB]

I’ve got the same bike, also have two tokens that came in a bag.

I’ve got other bikes running 2018 Factory 36s and 2019 RS Revelations (plus older 26” stuff) and the Zebs don’t feel harsh at all.
After reading a few threads on here, I was expecting them to feel harsh and horrible!

Did your friend use the online setup guide from trek website?

putting a 80kg rider weight in, these are the start points recommended:

Trek Suspension Calculator | Trek Bikes (GB)

www.trekbikes.com

 

[NETTA17]

IMO as i have 180mm zebs and weight the same I would open the compression dial all the way , put in 1 tokens , don’t worry about the psi numbers YET just get to his preferred sag (mines 30%) . Go for a quick street ride with some 1-2ft drops ( a high curb will do ) , if it bottoms add another token and set the same sag as before , continue until the forks don’t bottom . Then remember the psi for reference , it will be quite low . The more tokens you insert the plusher to fork will feel cos you’ll need less air to get the same sag which will give the top 3rd feel nice soft feel but will ramp up as you go through the stroke . You can fine tune with the compression dial on the fly ?

Hello, How do you measure the SAG? Seating? standing?
Cheers,