[Closed] Noob to full suss- pedal stikes.

It does happen more. You need to get better at not pedalling, such as a maintaining momentum and pumping, and also timing your pedal strokes. You can also gain a few mm with shorter cranks and thinner pedals but technique is the main thing really. Also worth checking the suspension is set up correctly. Not too soft or too much sag

I had the same problem when I switched to a new FS bike. After a few rides I seemed to adapt and the problem went away pretty much.

you can change the way you ride, or you can just get beefier pedals and eat more pies so your improved inertia prevents the strike throwing you offline. Works for me as I scrape, bang, crunch, grind and spark my way along. 😆

Are you running too much sag and not enough compression damping?

Was your Krampus fully rigid? I find going from my fully rigid bike with it's high (and static) BB height to my full sus takes a bit of getting used to. The BB on the full sus isn't even that low, it's just that it's lower and moves!

I'm getting more than usual with my T130SX too mate. I have stuck a bit more air in twice now as i was bottoming out in Descent mode, so i guess a little too low a pressure. But i also think it's simply quite a low BB compared to some others i've owned.

I have a t-130rs, I found I was bottoming out too easily at 30% sag settings (i'm around 16stone, 6ft 5"!)

I've added volume spacers and the problem seems to be greatly improved. Very easy to do as well.

The BB on my 6fattie is very low, I have adapted my riding style, so if there are obstacles I'll put a little burst in before so I don't need to pedal over or ratchet the pedals.
Other option is to use a 170mm crank (assuming you have a 175mm fitted).
Just fitted some 29er wheels to my bike, just to see what it's like and the first thing I noticed (after how skinny a 2.5 minion looks) is the BB is now a little higher and I'm not catching the pedals as often.

My bike is not as long, low and slack as the latest generation of LL&S full sussers, so my pedal strikes are infrequent and I can mostly anticipate them and avoid them by putting in a quick quarter turn on the crank as I approach a feature for example, or just delaying a pedal stroke for a split second to time it correctly, so not a major issue. However I recently test rode a Hightower which is lower than my bike, and it was far more prone to pedalstrikes, and pretty heavy ones at that rather than the glancing blows I tend to get on my bike. The thing is I didn't think that the difference to the handling of the bike due to the lower BB height was that noticeable, certainly not enough to warrant the inconvenience and severity of the pedal strikes. Maybe you can reduce the frequency and severity by a bit of shock tuning and reducing sag height, but with these latest generation of super-low bikes, it does seem like they've got a bit too far.

Technique gets you so far. Not being bothered and getting on with it sorts the rest.

Since I ran my Pitch with offset bushings I've had to accept the compromise and five bikes later it is still happening and my pedals look like they have been attacked by cavemen.

I prefer smacking pedals on rocks to rear mechs.

Teetosugars - Member

...do I just need to re-learn how to ride a Mountain bike.

not 're-learn', but there a few extra techniques that'll help:

1) learn to read the ground ahead, for areas over which it'll be tricky to pedal without thinking.

2) not pedalling when you judge it'll cause a problem.

3) 'ratchet' pedalling - an incomplete pedal stroke, with a quick short back-pedal to reset your feet. A 'ratchet' pedal stroke or 2 can be enough to nudge you through a tricky bit.

and yes, shorter cranks. There's a good chance you'll prefer how they feel anyway.

Cheers all...
Glad it's not just me then.
Guess I should just go and hone my technique..

On a rigid bike you learn to spot when pedalling will result in a strike. On an FS strikes are much more common but you still learn to spot them just the same.

FS needs and benefits from lots of body movement. If it's long ish travel, then you can pump, push and manhandle the bike a lot, and this is how you get over things on climbs.

I find you just get used to where a bike puts your feet pretty quickly- I had to get replacement cranks for my remedy in a hurry this year and could only find 175s instead of my normal 170s, and even though that's a tiny difference it was carnage, I crashed or nearly crashed at least once a day for the rest of the week because of pedal strikes 😆

But getting it right can't be hard, if I can do it...