Thick person with suspension questions

So, got a new bike – 29er – and I’m really enjoying it. I think I’m riding faster – it feels like it. However, whilst feeling faster, it is also feeling a bit rougher.

Got a flight of stairs with varying width of steps and it feels quicker but not smoother.

I’m pretty sure I need to tweak the fork and shock, but not quite sure which way.

Fork has high speed compresion, low speed compression and rebound; shock has low speed compression and rebound.

I’m thick as.i don’t know what I want to speed up and what I want to slow down.

I did slow the rebound down (turned towards the tortoise), but I’m unsure it has done anything, so I’m thinking the compression may need a tweak – perhaps to slow it going into the travel as quickly – would that be speeding up the compression (towards the hare?) – and would it be high speed or low speed (only low speed on rear).

Aware I could twiddle the settings until I find a better feel, but I’m trying to understand what it does.

Rooty sections feel similar – faster but not as smooth as previously.

I’m definitely faster but I’m not as smooth and it feels a bit more wobbly. I’m thinking a suspension tweak might help settle that down a bit as well.

So which settings should I tweak to begin with? And should they go towards the tortoise or hare or towards the + or -?

Thanks.

I’ve usually experienced harshness from rebound being too slow.  Experiment in the other direction, maybe.

Ta…

Rebound needs to be as fast as possible, compress the suspension with a big ‘pump’ and let the bike come back up under/to you, the rebound is too fast when the wheel leaves the ground at the end of the rebound stroke.

HSC is working on fast hits – depends on the terrain you ride, big fast sudden hits you need to wind it in a bit, fast small stutter bumps then back if off a bit but it’s the more dynamic compression elements of riding the bike

HSC is also used in conjunction with ramp up control (volume spacers/oil height). You can run less HSC if you have more ramp control but again ramp control depends on terrain/riding style. Big hard full travel bottom out hits then you need more ramp control.

LSC is more for braking/pumping support to stop excessive dive under slow/big/heavy weight movement’s. For plushness keep it backed off but if the front end is diving under very heavy braking and/or the front end is tucking under in heavy braked corners then add some LSC.

HSR/LSR is used in similar ranges to compression above. Under nose heavy braking type riding you might want more LSR on the shock to stop it extending to full extent.

HSR is how quick the suspension extends into a hole that suddenly appears under the wheel when riding along. The level of HSR depends on spring rate – higher spring rates require a little more HSR. Again you want it as quick as possible without pushing the bike upwards when the wheel comes into contact with the ground again.

Block out a day, got to your favourite trail and repeatedly ride it noting the adjustments and twiddle accordingly. Set the sag before any twiddling and make a note of any pressures.

When you say back off, you mean turn it to ‘-‘, yeah?

So I need to check rebound and get that sorted and then tweak the HSC…

This is proving useful, thanks.

Back off = turn outward. Imagine these controls as needles that can be wound into an orifice. Oil flows through the orifice so the more the needle is ‘wound in’ the less oil flows through the orifice. The fork/shock is effectively an oil pump that is pushing and pulling oil through these orifices under compression and rebound and at different speeds depending on what the bikes is doing at the time.

Wind the dials all the way in, then wind all the way out. Count the clicks

Start with all dials in the middle number of clicks unless you have information otherwise.

Before twidding with your knobs – and I apologise if this is proper basics – have you set your pressure, sag and rebound as per the manufacturers suggestions?

They are not always perfect but do make a good starting point.

Yes, I did spend a half hour checking it all, I ride with 25% sag and Trailhead gave the settings.

Someone once told me to fully open up compression , then if it bottoms out too easily/too often add HSC, if there is too much pedal bob and/or too much dive add LSC.

LSR i find tricky to set up just right.

A lot of it will depend on how much you weigh. If you’re light(ish), then you might find the damper gives too much HSC even running wide open (all the way to -)

Too much HSC will usually manifest itself as harshness over rough ground at speed (assuming your air pressure and rebound are sorted).

Easiest way to tell if you’re within the weight bracket for the HSC is to try riding with the LsC closed (all the way to +). If the fork feels harsh on fast hits (roots at speed for example), no amount of faffing will make it feel better. Well, you might make it better but it’ll never be right. If the fork doesn’t feel harsh with LsC closed then the HSC is good for your weight.

Independant LsC and HsC are still kind of linked. HsC is a shim stack (oil flows through a hole that’s covered by thin bendy washers. They flex as oil is pushed passed them which controls the speed that the oil can move). Adding clicks of HsC is either preloading the shims (making them harder to bend) or making the port that the oil flows through smaller. Result either way is less oil flow which makes the fork harder to compress. (Or rather it makes it compress less in the same amount of time)

The LsC acts as a bypass around the shim stack. If you fully close the LsC, all of the oil is pushed through the HsC shim stack. As you remove clicks of LsC, your increasing the amount of oil that can flow around the shims.

LsC should never make the fork feel harsh. It’s more to do with controlling your body weight and stuff. Support in berms etc, literally low speed compression of the fork.

but… If HsC makes the fork feel harsh, then adding LsC will have the effect of adding harshness by forcing the HsC in to play.

Best set up is to ignore sag altogether. Start at the recommended air pressure for you weight and go ride. Keep all the damper settings wide open and fiddle with the air pressure until you’re using most of your travel on most of your normal riding.

Set the rebound so that the fork feels controlled and  not too springy then start to add LsC if you feel like you need more support in fast corners or under braking or whatever.

LsC should keep the fork from diving to quickly.

Once they’re all set, add HsC if you feel like your using too much travel on fast impacts. Again, the damper should stop you from blowing through all the travel unnecessarily. If you find you’re hitting max travel too often, then you need less volume in the air chamber (more tokens or more ramp up).

The (air?) spring is there to absorb the impacts. The damper is there to assist the spring.

If it’s not too late make a note of all your current settings if you can. Clicks from left, right etc. That way you be able to go back to how it was originally and compare or reset . Really useful if you want to session a section while adjusting

First step is always to service the forks, including the air shaft. If it’s a brand new bike then there’s a good chance that the seals are dry, lowers have insufficient oil and the air shaft assembly is clogged with grease.