[Closed] Pedal strikes with new full sus

Checked all your settings are right? Might have too much sag or not enough compression damping.

what bike james?

get em quite a lot on the heckler. you just learn to peddle correctly.. 😉

What bike do you have mate??? I had that issue with my 5 when i first got it but now they are few and far between. you do learn to avoid these but it takes a little while. (I take it this is on the way down not up 😀 😉 and your running the right amount of sag etc???)

get some 170 cranks, thinner pedals, firm up the shock.

or, just practice timing your pedalling better.

trance ?
mine's low, but I reckon that's got a lot to do with how nicely it rides
(short cranks, thin pedals here too - I didn't overdo the shock, seems a shame to do that really)

I had the same when I had a Five, as mentioned check settings sag and the like but really it's a technique, you'll still get them but it will become unusual rather than during every ride 🙂

my helius AM is the most unforgiving pedal strike FS i've ever ridden, but it does have uber secure and fast stable handling as a consequence.

fashion is longer and lower, hence the increased likelihood of strike.

Thanks all - Specialized Pitch - think the shock settings are OK for me - not getting full travel yet anyhow

I've got 2005 Stumpy FSR, I went through a pair of pedals in 2 months, I still don't get it right all the time.

Spesh have notoriously low BB heights. On my '06 Enduro I'd strike the pedals all the time - usually when climbing when it's harder to adjust your revolution. In the higher shock setting it was ok.

On my Enduro SL I've always had the shock in the high setting, with the forks extended to max. The BB is quite high at 15", but the bike is about 20ft long, so that compensates.

I sold my Spesh because of the constant pedal strikes. Spesh and eastern Dartmoor just don't go together. Shame, because in every other regard, I loved the bike 😥

high walled tyres

Not full sussers but on both my latest frames (each time the frame has a had a lower bb) I've had quite a few pedal smacks (one resulted in hitting a tree head first)...just takes a few rides to get used to it I find

Where do you ride Trailmonkey? We ride haytor, Jayes Grave and the cleave mostly...

Low BBs are generally a good thing IMO, especially if you like technical skillzy riding on rocks and steep drops. Nothing worse than feeling perched. As others say, you'll learn to minimise the strikes, it's a small price to pay for a much more confidence inspiring bike.

As others say, you'll learn to minimise the strikes

I would tend to agree as well. And def better than perching - I had a MArin MV and boy I felt like a canary 😉

Same bike, same problem, but i dont mind its its probably the best bike ive ridden to date, xc plodding to Fort Bill mashing!!

Yep - Pitch here too and some strikes now actively try to time the pedalling! Small price to pay for the rest of the ride IMO.

I used to whack the pedals on my FSR all the time - when it was time to replace the crankset, I got 170mm crank arms and I can't remember the last time I whacked the pedals.....was sceptical whether 5mm would make any difference, but it seems to have!

I too have a Pitch at the moment and do strike every now then but it's no worse than any other FS I've had

Specialized have a bad rep for low bb's. I had a rockhopper and it was horrendous for pedal strikes. Moved to a Kona coiler and not a problem at all, now on commencal 4 and not an issue either.

I like low BB's.

jamesgarbett - does the rear shock have adjustable ProPedal? if so, turn it up.

I'd agree that it's somethign you can get used to, timing pedal strokes through deeps rutted bit etc. I had it terribly with my Hemlock last year and have also noticed it on my Pitch now.

I appreciate what people say about stiffening the shock up but surely that defeats the object of having a full sus? In many cases the sections you're getting strikes on will be the rougher section and hence the section where you want the most out of your bike.

Shorter cranks are an option (wow 5mm) but I suspect you'd notice this more on your pedalling generally(good or bad) than in situations where you get the strikes.

I managed to put a dent in giant's lovely new demo reign-x's bash at cannock, not exactly renowned as the rockeiest of places, then again i was trying to pump it through a compression with a rock at the low point........

You learn to live with it, the travel means you carry speed better and nor brake as much, meaning less pedaling in the fisrt place IMO(having only ever riden long travel bikes as demo's).

Thanks all - Specialized Pitch - think the shock settings are OK for me - not getting full travel yet anyhow

I've only just spotted this thread, but if I'd had the first reply I would have said "Is it a Specialized?"
🙂

It's true that Spesh bikes are generally low, I'm on my 2nd (Also a Pitch) and it's something you learn to live with. It's not a "bad rep" as quoted above, and the trade off is stability and surefootedness. The Yeti 575 I had between my 2 Spesh bikes always felt very high, and a tad remote, compared to the Pitch.

I'd suggest making sure you have the correct sag setting on the shock (Use the sag-o-meter supplied with the bike!) and make sure that you have the correct fork spring in.
Nothing will make a huge difference, but if you've got the bounce set up right the bike will perform at it's best and you'll love it, of that I'm sure......
🙂

My 03 Enduro was similarly bad for this - I've cured it with a longer shock and it now feels spot on.

As to whether the compromise in pedalling is worth it for the handling, that's different for everyone depending on how/what you ride.

Propedal on is tha answer- all the time really ;] My Alpine-5 -224 oddity has insanley low BB and I love it for it I mostly hit pedals uphill rather then downhill, and see it as a good reason to rest ;-p

I too have a Pitch and have noticed an increased number of pedal strikes. The strikes are pretty much always either on the flat which isnt actually flat or uphill cant say I remember hitting one going down but I tend not to pedal much when its really bumpy and DH because it also tends to be steep. Having said that I havnt taken the Pitch out for some proper rocky riding yet or a DH session so I might notice it more then.

My last bike was a 06 Enduro and I rarely got pedal strikes on that could have been the longer forks but I did tend to run it in low bb mode to keep it super slack.

As a few have mentioned try the PP and put on a shorter crank when you can as it should help. Ive put an RP3 on mine (the xfusion was poo) and will be getting 170mm cranks when I upgrade.

Yep, pedal strike on my hardtail GT Chavalanche Pro is pretty much non-existant.
But on my new Fuel EX8 I seem to do it 2 or 3 timer per ride.
Guess it has a lower BB than the Chav, and i'm still getting used to the whole FS thing.

Give it a while, you'll unconsciously learn to time putting the cranks down.

I did on my old Anthem, and have recently done so again on my new Big Hit.