Zeb ultimate 2023 170mm harsh ride

[irie]

Made a difference for me:

 

[Pazman]

Made a difference for me:

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My app is broken then , clicking mtb or emtb makes no difference

 

[Pazman]

 

[Pazman]

Tested it with a lighter weight 60kg and selecting emtb or mtb does now make a difference

 

[Mikerb]

I think there are 2 reasons why the rider weight relationship to air spring psi recommendations are misleading.
Assuming you set sag in the ready position a propotion of your weight acts down through the BB and a proportion down through the bars. That means folk with a greater proportion of their body mass in the upper torso will distribute their weight more forward of the BB. Secondly geo such as reach, head angle, and bar height will also have an effect on weight distribution.
When stood on level cranks in the ready position even a slight toe or heel down on the pedals makes a significant difference to weight distribution fore and aft on the bike.
All of that means the only meaningful way to set sag is to use YOUR ready position (which is how you will ride when off the saddle) and aim for 20 to 30 % Sag. I usually aim for 25% initially .

 

[Pazman]

I had a good 20 mile ride around Cannock chase MTB trails today , hsc and lsc open rebound -6 from closed .
no big jumps there but some good drop offers on the blacks pushing the forks hard .
still 20mm of travel left and i have had smoother rides on these tracks with my Old forks lyric ultimate .
im going to drop to 80 psi from 85psi and get on it again tomorrow , it feels better than it did but 80 ish psi is going to be golden .

 

[Pazman]

80 psi is golden , plush yet very supportive , one click lsc from fully open , hsc fully open .
30% ish sag and 10mm of travel left at the top .
16 psi less than trailhead app recommended .
Thanks for the tips and info buys

 

[Plummet]

How many tokens do you have. I need 2 at 80kg with riding gear. That will be your next test. Tedt bottom out and up the if you bottom out too soon.

80 psi is golden , plush yet very supportive , one click lsc from fully open , hsc fully open .
30% ish sag and 10mm of travel left at the top .
16 psi less than trailhead app recommended .
Thanks for the tips and info buys

 

[Sherman]

How many tokens do you have. I need 2 at 80kg with riding gear. That will be your next test. Tedt bottom out and up the if you bottom out too soon.

RC3 Zebs seem to have the opposite problem, hard to use all the travel and getting it to bottom out. At least 180-190mm RC3 Zebs are very progressive towards the end of travel.

 

[Pazman]

How many tokens do you have. I need 2 at 80kg with riding gear. That will be your next test. Tedt bottom out and up the if you bottom out too soon.

Just one then came factory fitted, but I have sram say 2023 zeb air spring doesn't need any as ot rumps up anyways.

 

[Plummet]

Just one then came factory fitted, but I have sram say 2023 zeb air spring doesn't need any as ot rumps up anyways.

Go test it to bottom out and find out. That's suspension testing 101 for. Dial small bump. then hit the biggest feature you are brave enough to hit and find out. Bottoming too soon. More tokens required.

 

[Pazman]

Go test it to bottom out and find out. That's suspension testing 101 for. Dial small bump. then hit the biggest feature you are brave enough to hit and find out. Bottoming too soon. More tokens required.

A week last Sunday o was in A n E for an MRI of neck and head a miss judged jump lol so I'll leave the bottom test for a bit ha

 

[Plummet]

Just one then came factory fitted, but I have sram say 2023 zeb air spring doesn't need any as ot rumps up anyways.

I'm going to agree for lighter and less aggressive riders. I'm bottoming my on my hardest hit. But I can't feel the bottom. Its buttery smooth. So that is perfect set up as far as i'm concerned. I needed 2 tokens at 80kg.

But I am sending some features with reasonable size. So need extra ramp up compared to your average dude.
I think heavy dudes also need a similar ramp up.

20 seconds in the vid below is my datum drop.

 

[mustclime]

Do have any volume spacers in pal ?

None, I only use volume spacers if the fork is bottoming out a lot. 180 mm fork with about 30 something % sag just feels bottomless. I do not feel the need to have the fork ramp up through its travel, that’s what volume spacers are for. If someone thinks their fork feels harsh, the first thing you do is remove volume spacers, reduce compression damping and look at lowering the pressure….. imo.

 

[Jme]

Zebs are VERY presser sensitive IMO. A couple psi can make a big difference. Feel harsh? Knock off a couple psi. Also, suspension need a brake in time to get things seated up. Also try letting your bike sit upside down for an hour or two, this helps the oil move around in the fork.

This, i dropped a few PSI out of mine and they feel less harsh.

 

[Ymersmoelf]

Be sure to remove all volume spacers - worked wonders for me was not using all the travel at all

 

[militantmandy]

How many tokens do you have. I need 2 at 80kg with riding gear. That will be your next test. Tedt bottom out and up the if you bottom out too soon.

I am similar weight and mine felt much better with no tokens. Depends a bit on your local trails I guess. Hardly any jumps etc where I am but very rough.

 

[Pazman]

I am similar weight and mine felt much better with no tokens. Depends a bit on your local trails I guess. Hardly any jumps etc where I am but very rough.

Sounds about same as my usual trails , not much for jumps myself . Ill try no tokens and see how it feels , at 80 psi it feels really good now.

 

[Plummet]

I am similar weight and mine felt much better with no tokens. Depends a bit on your local trails I guess. Hardly any jumps etc where I am but very rough.

Yeah everyone is different. That's why proper set up testing is important. As I've said before. Test bottom out on your biggest it. If you are plush and softly bottom on your biggest it... boom that is perfect set up.

 

[Mcharza]

I'm going to agree for lighter and less aggressive riders. I'm bottoming my on my hardest hit. But I can't feel the bottom. Its buttery smooth. So that is perfect set up as far as i'm concerned. I needed 2 tokens at 80kg.

But I am sending some features with reasonable size. So need extra ramp up compared to your average dude.
I think heavy dudes also need a similar ramp up.

20 seconds in the vid below is my datum drop.

View attachment 122407

Now I understand why you need more tokens.
80 kg+heavy emtb and drops and jumps, but quite smooth trails.
If I understand correctly, you don't need so much small pump sensitivity, rather prevention of bottoming the fork.

 

[Plummet]

Now I understand why you need more tokens.
80 kg+heavy emtb and drops and jumps, but quite smooth trails.
If I understand correctly, you don't need so much small pump sensitivity, rather prevention of bottoming the fork.

You are correct except I also need buttery smooth aswell. This is one type of trail I ride. The other is steep rooty rocky natural tech. For the natural tech I need buttery smooth but not too much fork dive.

 

[Dax]

Yeah everyone is different. That's why proper set up testing is important. As I've said before. Test bottom out on your biggest it. If you are plush and softly bottom on your biggest it... boom that is perfect set up.

Agree. Gotta test the bottom out before you need it. This was a bit unpleasant:

You are correct except I also need buttery smooth aswell. This is one type of trail I ride. The other is steep rooty rocky natural tech. For the natural tech I need buttery smooth but not too much fork dive.

This is the beauty of Ohlins with the ramp control by air pressure. You can tune the ramp up on the trail, buttery smooth off the top with a steep or gentle ramp, or stiffer on top and linear, your choice. A mrp ramp control would maybe give the same tube ability on zebs?

 

[wenna]

This is the beauty of Ohlins with the ramp control by air pressure. You can tune the ramp up on the trail, buttery smooth off the top with a steep or gentle ramp, or stiffer on top and linear, your choice. A mrp ramp control would maybe give the same tube ability on zebs?

I have the MRP Ramp Control cartridge on my trailbike´s Lyrik fork. It´s a nice little upgrade but I don´t think they make it for the Zeb. Just like Öhlins, I believe DVO forks have it as standard as well.

 

[CraigF.]

The recommended pressure for the ZEB Ultimate 2023 are generally way too high it seems. I'm riding a 180mm on KSL, weigh 92kg all up, and ride on 55PSi with one spacer and HSC on one click "In", LSC 4 clicks "in" & rebound 7 clicks "out". The ride is super smooth and holds up well on bigger hits despite the low pressure. I had the 180mm 2021 ZEB before this one and also rode with 1 token at 62PSi - the ZEB is generally sensitive to small changes in pressure - once you find the sweet spot it is very sweet! It's worth playing around with small PSi changes ( 1 to 2PSi) when you feel you are close to spot on as this is likely to make a positive difference ....

 

[megabobra]

The recommended pressure for the ZEB Ultimate 2023 are generally way too high it seems. I'm riding a 180mm on KSL, weigh 92kg all up, and ride on 55PSi with one spacer and HSC on one click "In", LSC 4 clicks "in" & rebound 7 clicks "out". The ride is super smooth and holds up well on bigger hits despite the low pressure. I had the 180mm 2021 ZEB before this one and also rode with 1 token at 62PSi - the ZEB is generally sensitive to small changes in pressure - once you find the sweet spot it is very sweet! It's worth playing around with small PSi changes ( 1 to 2PSi) when you feel you are close to spot on as this is likely to make a positive difference ....

Curious what sag you're getting @55psi on the 2023?

 

[CraigF.]

45mm = 25% for the 180mm

 

[megabobra]

45mm = 25% for the 180mm

Thanks Craig. Coming from Fox forks, I know they always say 15% sag for a firm fork, 20% for a plush fork, but I've never seen any similar recommendations from Rockshox? Seems like 25% is the suggestions starting point? Am I missing something?

My first Rockshox is a 2023 190mm zeb ultimate. I've been running ~27% sag and assumed I must have been a bad person!!

 

[Sparkydave]

I read this a lot when I was considering buying - so went with 38's instead

 

[gapago]

I just upgraded my forks at the weekend to 2023 Zeb Ultimate 170mm
I used the trailhead app to get my recommened psi (120kg -99psi)
Worh refund on -6 as recommended also by the app and hs and ls compression open , the ride was harsh, really hard and unfor giving .
After reading on some us forums I'm not alone in this experience with the new zeb.
Guys are here have found dropping the lowers they are finding no oil, or grease or excessive amounts of grease on the air spring .
So I just dropped mine , lots of oil and a shit load of grease, like a bucket load on the air spring and all over the shaft .
I've clean it all out and lightly regressed it. The dust seal had no grease at all and were bone dry so o grease them.
I'm just waiting on TF tuned to send me oil for the lowers as no one has stock of the mixima plush 7wt recommended by sram.

I hope I feels more plush tomorrow when it add the oil .

Hls any one here got the 2023 zeb and find them harsh?

Every 3 rides like clock work I need to let all the air out and then bump the Allen screws at the bottom of the fork And then refill it 20 lbs at a time pushing up and down on the fork to equalize the negative air chamber. It will go from harsh to super plush every time.

 

[Pazman]

Every 3 rides like clock work I need to let all the air out and then bump the Allen screws at the bottom of the fork And then refill it 20 lbs at a time pushing up and down on the fork to equalize the negative air chamber. It will go from harsh to super plush every time.

That don't sound good , what a pain that must be . dont the lower neg air release valves do the same thing if you press them in