Suspension too fast?

[carlbiker]

So my psi to the rear was 40, the bike shop almost laughed but I’ve no clue what detriment this stuff has. I assume the higher psi the faster the recoil of the shock and as the chap in the video says you can get bucked if too fast.....am I right? What are decent setting me generally? I did think the suspension was already set to 30% both front and rear (guy who wrapped the bike set this) but apparently not

I’m still trying to learn jumping, it’s very weird and I haven’t found a dirt jump yet to practice on, only rock!

 

[Mikerb]

I assume you are talking about the shock? In which case 40 psi sounds very low. No one can set the sag for you...it is specific to your weight in your riding gear. I suggest you start by setting the sag. Plenty of videos online to show you how. The same videos will show you how to set your low speed compression and rebound. If you want to set the bike up specifically for jumping it can help to have the shock a little firmer so experiment with Sag a little less than 30%. That said you also need to balance the suspension response front and back.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

the "too fast" is talking about the rebound speed of the shock.
im not clear on whether you have set your sag up yet? do you have a shock pump?

 

[carlbiker]

the "too fast" is talking about the rebound speed of the shock.
im not clear on whether you have set your sag up yet? do you have a shock pump?

I don’t have a shock pump yet, was quoted £50 in the shop! They set the rebound/sag for me yesterday but then I saw this video and it made me curious....so lower psi = less chance to buck off by sounds

 

[Gary]

Wow!

no wonder you've spend so much on PPE

Read the first post of this thread. (or at least watch the first video)

Suspension set-up guides and info

@Rob Hancill There are a lot of threads on the forum asking questions about suspension set-up. I think it would be good to sticky a guide to suspension set-up for all users to easily find. @steve_sordy just posted an excellent and fairly thorough PDF guide to suspension set up in the commencal...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[carlbiker]

Wow!

no wonder you've spend so much on PPE

Read the first post of this thread. (or at least watch the first video)

Suspension set-up guides and info

@Rob Hancill There are a lot of threads on the forum asking questions about suspension set-up. I think it would be good to sticky a guide to suspension set-up for all users to easily find. @steve_sordy just posted an excellent and fairly thorough PDF guide to suspension set up in the commencal...

www.emtbforums.com

Cheers boss! At times my front wheel has just moved 45 degrees.....fun! That said I also had both sus locked too like a super noob! ?

 

[Gary]

That said I also had both sus locked too like a super noob! ?

I get the impression you have that look super dialled

 

[Rahr85]

I’m still trying to learn jumping, it’s very weird and I haven’t found a dirt jump yet to practice on, only rock!

Good luck with the suspension set up, but it says you are from leeds so i would have thought a great place to try and learn jumping would be at the leeds urban bike park. Granted some of the tables are very daunting at first, there's a few little cool jumps you could practice on the red route through the woods. Just walk around them a little first rather than going in blind.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I don’t have a shock pump yet, was quoted £50 in the shop! They set the rebound/sag for me yesterday but then I saw this video and it made me curious....so lower psi = less chance to buck off by sounds

no mate, you should get a shock pump for way less than that unless you want a gucci tool.
the PSI in the shock is what will set your sag, the rebound settings are something different that dont require pumping up.

there are loads and loads of vids on setting up suspension and I urge you to get it done before you start on the trails and especially jumps

 

[carlbiker]

Good luck with the suspension set up, but it says you are from leeds so i would have thought a great place to try and learn jumping would be at the leeds urban bike park. Granted some of the tables are very daunting at first, there's a few little cool jumps you could practice on the red route through the woods. Just walk around them a little first rather than going in blind.

oh I’ve a nack for ‘cracking on’.....first ever experience of mtb (and not ridden a bike for 25yrs!) I went straight down the red trail on a cube Kathmandu (emtb canal bike!) sporting pannier bags and a mirror....one word starting with T springs to mind ?...I even went down the red decent but was woefully unprepared!

Since I have swapped mine to an Orbea wild h30 and practiced for a couple weeks doing the practice lines then tackled it again and was far better, I actually went down the black decent too, all with the wrong setup by sounds!

I’ll check out the trail again see if there’s a soft groundy jump somewhere that would help as I’m all wrong on these jumps atm! It’s annoying...

 

[carlbiker]

no mate, you should get a shock pump for way less than that unless you want a gucci tool.
the PSI in the shock is what will set your sag, the rebound settings are something different that dont require pumping up.

there are loads and loads of vids on setting up suspension and I urge you to get it done before you start on the trails and especially jumps

thanks I definitely will

 

[Mteam]

Get a shock pump, read the articles Gary pointed you at, they probably won't make sense at first, but as you experiment with different settings stuff should start to become clearer, don't bother to ask other people what settings they use unless they weigh a similar amount to you, have the same bike, fork and shock and importantly know what they're doing with suspension setup.

Or you could buy or rent a shockwiz and that will get you into the ballpark of some reasonable settings pretty quickly.

 

[mak]

Wow!

no wonder you've spend so much on PPE

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

I assume the higher psi the faster the recoil of the shock and as the chap in the video says you can get bucked if too fast.....am I right?

Correct.
Picture an old school ‘coil spring’ pogo stick. If the steel spring is too weak or whimpy it will just bottom out and won’t be able to support your weight let alone buck you. If the coil spring is too big and unyielding, you won’t be able to compress it enough for it work. The correct coil spring rate is one that can compress just shy of bottoming out to fully absorb your weight and landing force. In the old days, you would have to physically swap and try different coil springs until you find the right one, but with modern air shocks all you need to do is change the air pressure.

DAMPING:
When a coil spring (or a modern air spring) compresses as it’s meant to be, it will expand back out and buck you with almost the same amount of force it took to compress it. If you’re riding a Pogo Stick, this is a good thing. But if you’re riding a bike, this is undesirable if not dangerous in more ways than one. Therefore a “hydraulic damper” has been added to slow down the rebound action of the spring, so you don’t end up being a human-cannonball. On better quality shock units, the damping effect is adjustable via turning a small knob. A small or zero amount of damping will allow the unit to rebound “fast.” Adding more damping will arrest the rebound action more so that the unit will extend “slower.” If you set the damping too slow, the shock unit won’t be fully extended by the time the next bump comes around. That varies depending on where you ride and how you ride.

That’s the basic gist of it. High end racing shock units have a bazillion other features that are adjustable but unless your bike is equipped with those, there’s no need to go there.