Suspension tuning questions.
#1
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Suspension tuning questions.
I am looking to do a little fine tuning and get my suspension setup for my weight on my bike and I have a few questions.
I pulled this information from an article in Sport rider magazine and I assume its for the average weight rider of 170 lbs or so, I am 200, so I set everything to these settings and then added either one click or 1/4 turn
Recommended:
Front preload:6 turns out
Front Rebound Damping: 2.25 turns out
Front Compression Damping: 10 clicks out
Rear preload: position 5 from full soft
Rear rebound damping 1 turn out
Rear compression damping: 6 clicks out
My settings:
Front preload:5 turns out
Front Rebound Damping: 2 turns out
Front Compression Damping: 9 clicks out
Rear preload: position 6 from full soft
Rear rebound damping .75 turn out
Rear compression damping: 5 clicks out
Would you say that this is about appropriate?
Next question:
For checking sag, are you supposed to do it with rider in place or bike free standing?
rc51.org recommended
Forks/Rear Shock - Race sag 25-30 mm, 1 - 1 3/16 inch
Forks/Rear Shock - Street sag 30-35 mm, 1 3/16 - 1 3/8 inch
Mine is sitting right at 1.5" sag with me in place on the bike, up front, I havent checked the rear. If it is suppsed to be set with rider in place, how to I adjust it so that I have less sag and I am in the appropropriate range?
I pulled this information from an article in Sport rider magazine and I assume its for the average weight rider of 170 lbs or so, I am 200, so I set everything to these settings and then added either one click or 1/4 turn
Recommended:
Front preload:6 turns out
Front Rebound Damping: 2.25 turns out
Front Compression Damping: 10 clicks out
Rear preload: position 5 from full soft
Rear rebound damping 1 turn out
Rear compression damping: 6 clicks out
My settings:
Front preload:5 turns out
Front Rebound Damping: 2 turns out
Front Compression Damping: 9 clicks out
Rear preload: position 6 from full soft
Rear rebound damping .75 turn out
Rear compression damping: 5 clicks out
Would you say that this is about appropriate?
Next question:
For checking sag, are you supposed to do it with rider in place or bike free standing?
rc51.org recommended
Forks/Rear Shock - Race sag 25-30 mm, 1 - 1 3/16 inch
Forks/Rear Shock - Street sag 30-35 mm, 1 3/16 - 1 3/8 inch
Mine is sitting right at 1.5" sag with me in place on the bike, up front, I havent checked the rear. If it is suppsed to be set with rider in place, how to I adjust it so that I have less sag and I am in the appropropriate range?
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Re: Suspension tuning questions.
OK so, I got the info telling me that sag is set with rider on the bike, but even with the sag at only 2 turns out up front, the front doesnt come up at all...
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Re: Suspension tuning questions.
first, i'd be very careful about magazine numbers, actually, i'd completely ignore them... different bike(same model, but its not yours), more/less mileage on the suspension components, different place, and theres no magical setting, so a large part of it is preference, also depends on your riding style, is it track riding, commuting, canyon carving? so all those alone would make me very cautious of using someone else's settings even if every single factor was the same, but to try and convert them over from someone 30 lbs lighter than you really throws them out the window
you want to measure it on and off the bike, no rider is static sag, how much the bike compresses the suspension under its own weight, and then measure it with yourself on it, i think for the street 30mm of sag is about ideal... it takes 3-4 people to do it right and its pretty tricky, have to be very meticulous and make sure your measurements are exact and done the same every time, i know alot of serious racers that won't even touch their own suspension, so personally i'd trailer it down to VIR one race weekend or to a track day where someone like GMD will be set up and get a professional to do it, they charge like $50, i've tried myself with not much luck, pre-load all the way in and all the way out didn't make a millimeter of difference by my readings... there are plenty of good(and confusing, and conflicting) articles out there on how to measure and set sag, but the easiest i think is this one
http://www.cornerspeed.net/sus_sag.html
you want to measure it on and off the bike, no rider is static sag, how much the bike compresses the suspension under its own weight, and then measure it with yourself on it, i think for the street 30mm of sag is about ideal... it takes 3-4 people to do it right and its pretty tricky, have to be very meticulous and make sure your measurements are exact and done the same every time, i know alot of serious racers that won't even touch their own suspension, so personally i'd trailer it down to VIR one race weekend or to a track day where someone like GMD will be set up and get a professional to do it, they charge like $50, i've tried myself with not much luck, pre-load all the way in and all the way out didn't make a millimeter of difference by my readings... there are plenty of good(and confusing, and conflicting) articles out there on how to measure and set sag, but the easiest i think is this one
http://www.cornerspeed.net/sus_sag.html
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Re: Suspension tuning questions.
Yeah I would be interested in seeing what he can do for me. A friend of mine recommended I take it to VIR also and paying them to do all the suspension setup etc.
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Re: Suspension tuning questions.
Originally Posted by mnchvgs79
Yeah I would be interested in seeing what he can do for me. A friend of mine recommended I take it to VIR also and paying them to do all the suspension setup etc.
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Re: Suspension tuning questions.
Originally Posted by mnchvgs79
Awesome! Any idea when he may be able to do it?
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Re: Suspension tuning questions.
Would he be interrested in doing the same for mine. It's all set up for the previous owner, not me. I would have no problem paying him