Hi

I have a T-130 C Works 2017 which I seek suspension setup tips for.
I mostly ride trails, but I ride very aggressively and do big drops and jumps if I can find some.
My weight is around 85 kg (185-190 lbs) and my length is 175 cm (5.75″).

Currently I ride the 130mm Pike RCT3 with 85 psi, no clicks of compression and 4 tokens and pretty fast rebound. Sag is around 25%.
In the rear I have the Debon Air RT3 with 150 psi, fastest rebound, and sag around 25%.

Both front and rear feels OK, but I took a round with the Shockwiz yesterday and it showed for both front and rear that “Baseline Air Pressure” and “Bottom Out Resistance” was red, all to the left (Remove Air).

If I let more air out I think I will bottom out to easy on jumps/drops, but I don’t think I should add more tokens as I’ve already have 4 tokens in the front. The Shockwiz suggests to remove 1 token in the front at least.

What are your weight and what settings are you using on your T-130?

Cheers!

If you’re getting full travel and bottoming out on your biggest hits then your pressure is probably spot on. I’d just experiment with rebound and compression next.

FYI I’m 58kg and run 55psi front with 2.5 tokens. Rear I think is 130psi but not got my notes with me.

Thanks for your answer mjsmke! What do you mean with 2.5 tokens? Do you have any volume adjusters in the rear shock?
Yes, I believe it’s a good setup. I just find the result from the Shockwiz very strange.

Why not try the shock wiz settings. Kind of defeats the point if you don’t!

2.5 bottomless tokens in my pikes. I experimented by cutting one in half when 3 was too progressive and 2 kept bottoming out.

if you are happy with the settings you have on the bike (rebound sounds way too fast though) then forget about the shockwiz settings.

Anyone uses volumes reducers in their Debonairs?

I tried them on my suppressor but while it did ramp up the shock, it didn’t make it feel very good and the ramp up was quite rapid. Coil shock is soo much better.

+1 for trying out the settings recommended. I know it’s not the same bike, but I’m on a Banshee Spitfire, run pikes with 2 tokens and a gnats whisker under 80psi. I’m 93-95kg with full kit and trail pack/bladder btw. Shock wiz doesn’t account for personal preference.

+1 reset to the Shockwiz settings.

Ride it and see what it feels like, then adjust as necessary.

FWIW I rode a pals bike a while ago and it felt awful, far too much pressure in the forks. He said it was how he liked it. Then another pal had a ride and said the same. So we persuaded him to let some (loads) out.

He then rode it and went far quicker as the suspension was actually working. He kept the changes.

I borrowed a Shockwiz a few weeks bag and I’m loving the tweeks it suggested to my suspension. Had one of my best rides of the year on Saturday as the bike was sooo much fun begin thrashed about on some of the newer agresive trail off Pitch Hill.

I wrote about my experience on Pinkbike – here:

https://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=193141

Sounds like you need a lot more air rather than taking it out!

Are you sure you cycled the Shockwiz correctly when setting it up as something smells fishing from your app results…

Are you actually bottoming out your Pikes or do you just ‘think’ you will? I’m lighter (75kg at the moment), but I prefer mine with no tokens, a bit more pressure (than I ran with tokens) and less sag (20%ish). I’m also tending for a bit more LSC and fast rebound. The goal being to keep it high in the travel and the air spring more linear (the fork reacting similar in the top or bottom half of the travel) to let the damper do the work. The LSC should stop bottom out on big drops and heavy landings, but no tokens helps keep the fork supple on the smaller but higher shaft speed stuff (rocks and general trail buzz)

With 4 tokens at 130mm they must ride like a rigid fork in the bottom half of the travel and I suspect you would need to be sending cliff drops to flat to bottom them out!

My suggestion is that a Pike set at 130mm needs no tokens. When you run a fork at a relatively short travel, you’ve already reduced the air chamber volume. Now, broadly speaking, the smaller the air chamber, the quicker (and further) the spring rate will rise, whereas a bigger air chamber will give a more linear response. Think about it – there’s a reason why so many air shocks have started being offered with big air can options. If you want the spring rate to ramp quickly, then fine, keep the tokens, maybe even add some more. If you want it a bit more linear, then think about taking one (or more) out.

I’m similar weight and height, running an RCT3 Pike on a Santa Cruz 5010 v1. No tokens, 65psi, rebound is set somewhere around the middle, it’s a couple of clicks one way or the other but I forget whether faster or slower. This works just fine for me, and I rarely get the travel o-ring to the top of the stanchion – but I do generally tend to be a wheels on the ground kinda guy.

p.s. this setup is the product of riding and tweaking (rinse and repeat) based on what i like the feel of, how the bike rides and for the kind of riding I generally do. I haven’t validated it with a shockwiz, but it works for me 🙂

Given the OP says he rides his T130 pretty aggressively, perhaps more emphasis should be placed on managing the last 15% of the travel rather than the first 15%.

I weigh about the same as the OP and like to ride my RS, as he intimates, like an Enduro bike. I’ve tried a number of combinations of settings, but for jumpy rides that take in a reasonably amount of DH-style trails, inc. 5-6ft drops, I’ve settled on a 140mm airshaft, x2 tokens and 75psi. That translates into 27% sag.

With my Monarch Deb, 185 psi and 6 clicks of rebound from fully wound out (=27% sag). Shockwiz suggested a single band, which I’ll do in a few week come the service.

Since adopting the above, heavy impacts have felt much more controlled, yet crucially, when trail riding the essential pop and agility of the bike hasn’t been lost. Feel like such a capable bike in this guise and I’ll be racing it on Sunday at Rogate!

Interesting to see the different setups people have on T130s. I also weigh about 85kg and am running (roughly):

130mm Pike, just over 80psi with 2 tokens, 4 clicks of LSC and 6 clicks of rebound from full fast.

Monarch+ Debonair in the back (piggyback shock not the OEM one) with 165psi, 2 bands and 7 clicks of rebound from full fast. Probably going to stick another band in this or maybe experiment with a few psi more.

And for reference on riding style I beat the ever loving piss out of it.

My suggestion is that a Pike set at 130mm needs no tokens. When you run a fork at a relatively short travel, you’ve already reduced the air chamber volume.

My suggestion is you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, so might be better not to give the OP duff information!

4 tokens sounds about optimal @ 130mm travel. The rule of thumb is add one for every 10mm of travel reduced. RockShox recommend 0-1 @ 160mm travel, so 3-4 @ 130mm travel should be good for most people.

My issue would be with the OP’s rebound settings, all the way open will make it ride like a pogo! Found that about half way on a Monarch feels best usually, Pikes a little less than half way but again to taste.

With 4 tokens at 130mm they must ride like a rigid fork in the bottom half of the travel and I suspect you would need to be sending cliff drops to flat to bottom them out!

Only if you’re running too much air…

Found 1 token in my 160 Lyriks wasn’t enough, but 2 tokens was a bit much. Like the idea mentioned above about cutting a token in half! I just splashed out on an MRP Ramp control cart instead though, which gave me 16 clicks of adjustment and it’s speed sensitive too so gives more suport the harder the hit.

Tokens allow for a lower air pressure for the same bottom out resistance. This is a double edged sword though to be fair, as whilst the fork will be plusher off the top (and the standard Pike isn’t the best here anyway) given the self equalising +ve and -ve chambers, but it will blow through the mid stroke more. This is where using some low speed compression clicks to help it sit up a bit more can help at the same time.

Above all else though, suspension feel is definitely personal preference. But until you’ve tried going too far one way, and too far the other, on all your adjustments, you can’t really comment on what should and shouldn’t work for an individual, only what works for you and what the manufacturers recommend…