Got some new rockshox revs on the bike. The fork is supposed to have low sp compression damping but the dial that controls it is fastened to a pop loc, and is either fully open or locked. The online guide suggests the compression damping can be changed dialled so what am I doing wrong?

Cheers
rich

On mine, there's a blue knob on the poploc lever – that controls compression damping when 'unlocked'.

Compression when locked is governed by a tiny allen key under the brass knob on the top of the damper leg.

I thought the idea was to lockout the compression and use the floodgate to control low speed bump threshold?

Well for lockout, yes. But I think the OP was talking about compression when riding, no?

My revs confuse me! I think I'm going to take off the on-of handlebar lever thingy and change it for a fork top adjuster

What's confusing about it?

Blue knob on handlebar is compression damping. Flick the lever for lockout.

Simples.

Having leg-top adjustment doesn't make much difference. It's basically just the same but further from your hand. I only ever flick mine fully open or fully closed, and even then, not that often.

i too am having trouble with my new revs.
the lockout is not locking them out.

i know it does not lockout totaly but with the compression dial all the way to + or – it is just the same.

the cable is nice and tight and i have used 5 sets or revs in the past, and never had this problem.

how hard is it to fit a fork leg type lockout knob?

I think PP had a guide for it. You just need the knob and then to disconnect the return spring for the lockout iirc.

Right. How locked out the lockout gets is dictated by the brass knob on top of the leg marked 'gate'. On mine, at least.

How locked out the lockout gets is dictated by the brass knob on top of the leg marked 'gate'

nope. maybe not so simples 😆

the flood gate adjuster determines the size of the force required to override the compression damping.

… but only when locked (right?).

…if you have the crappy bar lever as they only do on or off. If you have the fork top dial, floodgate overrides whatever compression setting you decide to use.

Or so I'm led to believe by my friend who works in the service dept at Madison. I don'y think anyone really knows how they are suppoosed to be set up!

Right, the floodgate only has an affect if the compression is locked-out.

I've just got a set of revs myself and been playing around with the setup, running them with compression locked out and a very light floodgate (4 clicks from -). Seems to work pretty well.

Right, the floodgate only has an affect if the compression is locked-out.

no, that's not true

Or so I'm led to believe by my friend who works in the service dept at Madison. I don'y think anyone really knows how they are suppoosed to be set up!

Kapusta does:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=1498056&postcount=13

I run his '2' settings. Works really well

The lockout simply puts 100% compression damping – with a blowoff if you hit a really big bump. The level at which the blowoff activates is adjustable.

this is not the same as adjusting compression damping.

Teh floodgate only comes into play if the lockout is on.

That's not how mine work, TJ. When the lockout is on, and the gate is adjusted, they do move when locked out but very slowly ie lots of damping. Not the same as a blowoff afaik.

I have them set to move a reasonable amount when the lever's pressed, so that I can use it on say steep drops and they won't dive and chuck me over the bars. Although I know there is another adjuster in there somewhere that I've not played with yet.

Blue knob only does anything when cable is tight on mine. I think.

I have 2 sets and thats how mine work – one with an adjustable blowoff and one without.

Mind yo I never use them anyway. I have no need.

Yes, cos all the blue knob does is wind in the cable a little bit…

TJ – does the lever flick back when you hit a bump?

Not on mine molgrips.

What, the blue knob doesn't wind in cable?

I can't set up the dual air properly 😛

nope molgrips – the cable / lever pulls the poploc on locking out the fork by maxing out the compression damping. Teh blue knob adjusts the blowoff that lets the fork move if it hits a big bump.

the lever is either on or off – the blue knob adjusts the blowoff valve

Teh blue knob has no effect on the cable at all. It is a totally separate mechanism adjusting a blow off valve. The blow off valve only comes into play when the lockout has maxed out the compression damping

i am gonna go back to full rigid, sick of fettling bike.

infact bikes are rubbish, i am gonna start playing darts………… 8)

Edit – I think there may be quite a variation in specifications

http://www.sram.com/_media/techdocs/95-4015-022-000%20print.pdf

In the 'Lock' position, the Motion Control limits the fork to a small amount of controlled fork movement. This small amount
of movement enables the front tire to continue to track the terrain without deflecting off obstacles. To set your fork to the
'Lock' position:
• Crown mounted – rotate the blue compression adjuster knob fully clockwise.
• Remote equipped – press forward on the PopLoc or PushLoc lever located on the handlebar.
Floodgate Adjustment (Fig. 4)
Some forks with Motion Control damping allow for fine-tuning of the 'Lock' setting. You can choose the point at which the
'Lock' setting can 'blow-off' and respond to inputs such as bumps or rocks. This adjustment is made by the Floodgate
and is either adjusted internally with a 2.5 mm hex wrench or externally with the gold 'Gate' adjuster knob.
When in the 'Lock' position, the maximum (+) Floodgate setting results in a fork with the most limited movement,
while the minimum Floodgate setting results in a fork with slightly limited movement. Heavier riders may find better
performance with maximum Floodgate settings, while lighter riders may find better performance with minimum Floodgate
settings. With the Floodgate tuned properly, the Motion Control will resist rider induced "bob" but provide compliance to
medium sized bumps in rough or aggressive terrain. You should experiment with the Floodgate settings while on the trail
to optimize the fork for your riding style.
the floodgate is intended to adjust the blow-off threshold while in the 'lock' setting only. ensure the motion control
system is set to 'lock' before adjusting the floodgate. for crown mounted adjusters, hold the blue compression
adjuster knob in the 'lock' position while adjusting the internal floodgate.
for maximum fork movement and compliance return the fork to the 'open' position.

To me, blow-off means that the lockout is released completely when you hit a big bump. That's not what my forks do. The lever just increases the damping a lot.

Also on mine, the blue knob is on the bar-mounted lever, and it does just adjust the cable – there's nothing else linking it to the fork, sot hat's all it has to do.

I suspect your forks are different to mine.

EDIT: having re-read that, TJ, rockshox idea of blow-off is also different to mine 🙂

TandemJeremy – Member
this is not the same as adjusting compression damping.

Teh floodgate only comes into play if the lockout is on.

just not true

retro – it is true on my forks. Without the lockout on the floodgate is irrelevant. Read the link to the manual.

Lockout / poloc off then you have minimal compression damping annd the blow off / floodgate has no effect. It can only come into play once the lockout / poplock

RTFM

the floodgate is intended to adjust the blow-off threshold while in the 'lock' setting only

Molgrips – yours is obviously a different set up. There seems to be more variations than I thought. Mine the adjustment is on the fork leg

Molgrips we are on about a different blue knob.

TJ's is as mine. There must be differing models. Or some folk here are numpties.

TandemJeremy – Member
retro – it is true on my forks. Without the lockout on the floodgate is irrelevant. Read the link to the manual.

Lockout / poloc off then you have minimal compression damping annd the blow off / floodgate has no effect. It can only come into play once the lockout / poplock

RTFM

the floodgate is intended to adjust the blow-off threshold while in the 'lock' setting only

The manual is wrong. Plainly obvious in usage, and if you open them up and have a close look at the damper it's clear why this is the case.

Lockout / poloc off then you have minimal compression damping annd the blow off / floodgate has no effect. It can only come into play once the lockout / poplock

You have the normal Poploc, there is also one which allows the compression to be set to any position between fully open and almost closed.
I think this is called the "poploc adjust" I believe this is what molgrips is talking about:

So how do you alter the compression without Spanking £60 on the remote-with-blue-dial, with the lockout off? Sounds like you can't. Maybe reducing negative air pressure? Is there anyone out there with 'the knowledge'?

You can't. ( unless there is an internal adjuster which I think some have)

I don't know why you would want to alter compression damping anyway. The more you have the less responsive the fork is. Air pressure only affects spring rate.

First set sag to 25% or so using the air pressures. Then set rebound damping to suit – usually the least that you can have without the fork being bouncy. Then ride.

rnewell1973 – Member
So how do you alter the compression without Spanking £60 on the remote-with-blue-dial, with the lockout off?

you can use a thumb shifter in friction mode, or get one from Merlin – they occasionally do them on ebay for £25

TandemJeremy – Member
You can't. ( unless there is an internal adjuster which I think some have)

I don't know why you would want to alter compression damping anyway. The more you have the less responsive the fork is.

Because you can control fork movement without affecting the spring rate. You then set the floodgate sufficiently soft to open up when needed and prevent the fork spiking.
I like this because it stops the fork compressing too much during hard cornering, or on slow techy descents and changing the head angle too much.

I have my LSC (blue dial) set to about 60% and the floodgate set to about 7 clicks from fully open. Personally I really like MoCo setup this way, PUSH'd MoCo with this is even better. So much more composed at speed

you can use a thumb shifter in friction mode

❓

I am starting to wish i had kept my coil pikes rather than getting some new revs off Merlin now…all seems very complicated.

Retro83 – that's what I have, yes 🙂

TJ – compression damping is so that you don't blow through all the travel on big hits. The bigger hits you are expecting, the more compression damping you need. It also helps to stop the fork diving too much on steep drops and steps. The people who run the most compression damping are dirt jumpers or freeriders throwing themselves off cliffs. Increasing the spring rate would also help this but the fork would then be rock hard in normal riding.

So how do you alter the compression without Spanking £60 on the remote-with-blue-dial, with the lockout off? Sounds like you can't. Maybe reducing negative air pressure? Is there anyone out there with 'the knowledge'?

If you have no remote, just a fork top lever dial, compression can be adjusted by not turning that lever all the way round. It has nearly 1/2 a turn from fully open to fully on. Roughly speaking, the first half of the movement available controls compression in small incremenets, then after that you're into lockout territory. The thing is, as soon as you lock the fork out, you've moved the dial from your chosen compression setting and you've got to find that setting again when tou unlock the fork

This is how the Poploc Adjust in the pic above works: The lever pulls the cable all the way and activates the lock out to whatever level is set by the Floodgate Adjust (Small screw/knob in the centre of the fork top) but the blue dial on the lockout remote lever just pulls the cable a small amount and holds it there, to adjust compresstion. When you unlock the fork, the lever returns the cable to the level set by said blue dial, effecively 'remembering' your chosen compression setting.

Phew!

That said, personally I never thought the compression adjustment range was much good, or really did much, and I only think a bar mounted lock out lever is much use on a singlespeed or for racers. Which is why I converted mine to a fork top dial.

Does any of that help, or indeed, make any sense?
🙂

EDIT
Reducing negative air can be a good idea. It makes the action more progressive and stops the fork blowing through it's travel too easily. Especially usefull for steep stuff or jumping. It's better to do that than to increase compression damping, which just results in an unresponsive fork 🙂

I am starting to wish i had kept my coil pikes rather than getting some new revs off Merlin now…all seems very complicated.

It doesn't matter what spring you've got (Air or coil) the damping still works exactly the same. 🙂

I am confused. I have the remote switch but don't use it, I just keep the damping "on" with a cable tie. The blue knob at the crown adjusts floodgate but not really compression.

Al, do you mean that the bar lever is pushed in all the time, or that you haven't fitted the lever at all?

EDIT
Where exactly is your cable tie?

I'm trying to work out what you're doing, so I can maybe help out 🙂