Peter Poddy – I need your help (fork tuning tips)

2009/10 AIR revs to start with

i put more air in to firm them up and stop diving. This worked but means that i cannot get enough weight over the front wheel when climbing 🙁

At 80kg in my kit how much air should i put in?

If i put the required air in to set teh sag at 25% should i then speed up the rebound to make the fork extend quicker so they don't pack down or dive?

HELP!!

I think you can use the lockout function to set the slow speed compression and this helps stop packing down – I noticed the packing down on mine a few weeks ago and read this somewhere. Not qute sure how to set the 'gate to get the best out of the high speed compression though. I await PP's reply with interest…..

if they are packing down speed up the rebound or increase the compression damping. If rebound is too fast it will bounce back and 'ping' you off line, if comp damping is too high you'll get compresion spiking…you need to find the balance which will depend on what you ride (size of hits the fork must deal with) and how you ride/like to feel the fork.

Are they dual air or single air spring? If dual air it sounds like yu want a low spring rate initially to get the sag, then ramping rate to reduce dive on bigger hits? put more air in the +ve than the negative to achieve a rising rate spring. Get the spring right first, then sort the damping.

Oh and do rev's not have the little table on the lowers for rider wait and air pressures any more? I weigh about the same in all my gear with camel bak (maybe a couple of kilos less) I think I run 110 psi +ve and 120 -ve )I wanted to pack the fork down/reduce travel and get a linear/falling rate spring for plushness, hence the slightly more -ve.

as i have a coil on the rear i suppose a linear feel would be best to make the front and rear match??
basically i want a fork that behave and rebounds quick enough for the next hit and doesn't feel harsh

bump

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dual-air-set-up-advice

not enough help that only deals with air pressure i am looking at rebound and compression trickydisco

what you have on the rear doesn't matter – it's just a matter of what you CHOOSE for the front, but if you want linear feel go for equalish pressures or slightly more in the -ve (I believe the negative chamber is smaller than the positive so you'll never quite get linear, but slightly higher -ve pressures will be close). Get the spring set for the sag and rate you want, then slowly increase comp and rebound damping until the fork no longer pogos. If you go too far the fork will start to pack down. However it's a trade, set the fork fast (light damping) for faster smother trails where you want to absorb small bumps easily and soak them right up but allow the fork to extend again before the next hit to avoid pack down. For riding big hits such as a drop or a series of steps/boulders you want t oslow the fork a little to avoid pogoing and being knocked off line…and may have to accept a little bit of pack down….get it wrong and pack too early and halfway down the flight of steps you have a rigid fork…you don't want a fork that slow.

I've got both Dual Air Rev's (130mm) & Rebas (115mm) ('08/'09) though, I set the sag, have 5psi less in the neg chamber in both.

Rebound wise I've got them both at just over halfway between slow and fast, works out at 7 turns out of the 13 I get when turning the adjuster (may be different for some).

Compression wise the forks stand up pretty well (I'm 80kgs) both flood gates are set lighter than recommended in the books, when I'm climbing for prolonged & smoother sessions I tend to lock the forks out completely, this helps a lot as far as I can tell.

I sometimes run the Revs @ 1/2 lockout/compression setting when @ trail centres such as Llandegla or where ever it's generally smoother, also helps when dropping down steps etc as the forks dive a bit less, not that it's much of an issue anyway.

THe Rev's are on a 130mm FS and the Rebas are on a HT

Set the spring (ie the air chamber) for your weight, and sag requirements. then set the rebound, then set the compression damping if you need to prop it up a bit