So there I was. Dry trail, mud X still on (too lazy to take off) and a long 500m steep descent of singletrack with a sizeable "hump" at the bottom. It's not been this good for some time. So I flick off "propedal" and gun it. As I hit the hump, I can feel the suspension compressing underneath me, then as I reach the apex, one almighty kickback from the suspension and my @rse is launched like a rocket so that it's above the height of my nose and my feet leave the flat pedals. I descend gracefully and in slow motion (or at least it felt that way) but my feet are nowhere near the pedals and I land on the twins. It took a few minutes for them to descend from somewhere up around my earholes and my wife thought I'd been sucking helium when I got back, but at least I didn't fall off. Where did I go wrong? How can I improve my technique?
Slow the rate which the shock returns following compression by adjusting the rebound (commonly the red adjuster on most shocks) so that it does not kickback quite so forcefully.
to much rebound ?
Slow the rebound down on your shock.
I haven't touched any of the settings since it was set up for me when I bought it 6 months ago. If I recheck that as per Fox guidance (Float 130 RL/RP2), is that ideal or will I need to do a little more fine tuning to get it "just so"?
Don't have a cluehow to fix the suspension but a very witty description...
Switch off propedal, sit on the saddle and ride the bike off a small drop (eg curb).
The suspension should compress and then rebound back to the sagged position with little or no overshoot.
If it compresses, rebounds higher than the normal sagged position and then sinks back down you don't have enough rebound damping. Turn the adjuster to add more damping until you just get to what I described first.
When riding normally you should not feel the suspension spring back when you unweight it (too little rebound damping) or feel like it stiffens up on repeated hits, eg lots of rocks (too much rebound damping).
As a mater of interest, would I have "performed" better on a hardtail?
Yes.
start small, you can't blame this on your shock, you just don't know how to jump.
Bearing that in mind, would it be a reasonable option to leave the propedal on to "stiffen it up" a bit at the back as a sort of "halfway house" between bouncy castle and hardtail? Or is this simply a case of badly set up bike?
Thanks cynic-al. You are right. I know it's difficult to put into words, but how should I have done this better/properly? Was I simply going too fast or could it have been done better at that speed by utilising a different technique?
The (very few) times I have left the ground having the front and back just compress and return with no drama on landing has been a lovely feeling. A feeling of money well spent as well as taking off and landing reasonably but a lovely feeling all the same. Just spend a bit of time experimenting on slightly less critical bumps/roots/rocks/curbs.
just one thought, were you fully out of the saddle? if not you should be, otherwise the saddle can kick you up
Could be that its nothing to do with shock set up but that you were to tense and you did not synchronize your movements in time with the trail. Sounds like you did not produce enough lift with the front end were tense/stiff in the legs and got the "Buckaroo" effect. Remember to look ahead stay relaxed start small and work up, if your still struggling hook up with a tutor like myself, Ian Warby, Richard Kelly or the well known single track forum surfer Jedi aka Tony. All the best. Clive. http://www.mtbskills.eu
Nothing to do with suspension i reckon.
Mountain biking is overwhelmingly about technique, get on a skills course.
Jedi????
most people try to land before they take off. air time is fun. enjoy it and relax 🙂
I think you can read your own OP and find the answer in the very first line. If your jump technique isn't clear in your mind then 500m steep downhill to big hump isn't exactly the way to start! Also, the first thing you mention is tyres!
- LOL - nice term 🙂The Twins
Experiment. Sounds like you need more rebound damping, so turn it up until it doesn't happen again.
More rebound damping = not being kicked up into the air on big hits
Less rebound damping = a more supple active and comfortable ride on normal rocks
It's a compromise.
Also, you need to anticipate trail obstalces and pump your arms and legs to soak up the hits. You mustn't be a passive passenger on your bike like you would be on a car, otherwise you'll get chucked all over the place as above. Kind of like how you ride a horse when it's trotting.
I'm sure to a non-mountainbiking casual observer it would have looked hugely impressive as it was the kind of manouvre rarely seen outside of the circus environment. I have to say that I felt very relaxed on the run up and there was a certain anticipatory excitement as I hit the hump at speed. It was the experience of reaching [i]down [/i]for the handlebars, mid air, that I found a little disconcerting. Would a hardtail have allowed me to do this properly easier or do you think that the dual suss simply potentiated my own inadequacy?
It doesn't sound equipment related in any way to me!
I gave up jumping when I couldn't for the life of me keep the bike straight, it would always pull up on the right scaring the bejeebus out of me .
Lift the bars next time. You'll get air, but you'll be the right way up. Nothing to do with the FS/HT debate.
Get your shock tftuned for "jumping".
You'll jump like a pro then, and no mistake!
youtube
I gave up jumping when I couldn't for the life of me keep the bike straight, it would always pull up on the right scaring the bejeebus out of me .
Same thing happens to me quite a lot, even when I'm feeling comfortable with it. Each time it happens I always question why I bother doing "wheels off the ground" stuff as I always end up coming close to falling off and breaking something 😆
Many thanks for your suggestions. I guess the take home message is that I need to crank the rebound up to the max and try it again tonight quickly before the sun goes down. I guess it would have spared the reproductive organs if I'd avoided flat pedals too, although I'm a bit of a liability with cleats, it has to be said.
Hmm, Saccades and _tom_'s tales sound very familiar - with me it's always the left. And I always swear, "never again." 🙂