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150mm travel not enough ??
Can anyone offer some advice please.
Was riding last weekend and tackling some good size jumps with mates and my 150mm of rockshox revelation fork and monarch shock couldn't handle it and bottomed out. If I put more air in both the fork and shock, do you think that will give me more resisitance and eliminate the bottoming out ?? Or will it be too stiff and not allow an pre-load of the bike ??
Any thought will be welcomed. Thx.
Lezo
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More air you add to it, the more you'll turn it into a pogo stick.
'fraid that you'll need to step up the shock up a bump... or change your method of landing
I depends on the jumps aswell.
I have a Giant Reign with 150mm forks and 150mm rear travel and it only bottoms out on drops to flat.
On properly built drops and jumps it doesnt even come close to bottoming.
Do the jumps you hit have proper landers??
You could always adjust the compression setting before jumping
I know when I had an old giant ac with Rs pro delux (later changed to a fox van) I'd dial the compression up 2 clicks to pedal up. back it off for descending and then wind it up 5 or 6 clicks before hucking or jumping.
Where were you riding?
It all depends. Where are you doing these jumps? Were they huck to flat, was there a transition landing, how high were these? If you are doing downhill or freeride-like riding, I wouldn't have thought that 150mm is not enough for an average-skilled rider. However, letting someone like Jared Graves loose on a 150mm bike is another thing entirely... where even downhill would be made to look easy.
Note that a rear shock really only has one air pressure setting, set to provide the optimum sag of ~30-35% (consult your manual). You can't really soften or harden this pressure setting without compromising the performance of your shock. It remains the compression and rebound settings that you are left to play around with to suit your riding style and particular trails you ride.
That said, if it was me, I think I would be far more comfortable on 160-180mm travel. This is my preference even for stock all-mountain riding where I am currently 160mm up front and 6.5 inches out back. Larger hucks, like over 6ft, I would definitely want 7-8 inches at least. Sure you could do it on 150mm, but it tends to feel uncomfortable after a while and can play on your mind.
In my opinion, I find most riders have their all-mountain bikes set up too much like their XC bikes, where suspension is not set up with softer compression and a slower rebound. Pogo stick settings. But obviously this all comes down to personal preference.
If you are doing more and more of this kind of riding, best to use the right weapon. Maybe time for some new forks?
Petsonally I find a 160mm fork with 40mm sag and 30% sag on the back with medium bottom out limiter settings is plenty to drop 6".
The exact pressures were trial and error, try increasing shock pressures by 5% pressure (not sag %) and try riding, increase again if still no good. Of course recheck damping settings.
Small percentage increases can make big differences when shocks fully compress. Eg 5% with 80kg rider just sitting on bike gives say 4kgs extra, 5% when fully compressed could be 40kg difference etc. You may not need much extra to stop bottoming, 3kg not enough when fully compressed isis still a bottom out.
Also are you pumping to compress the bike before the jump or letting the jump compress the suspension? Pumping to compress will reduce bottom out issues going into the jump.
Also check your landing technique, I can a dually land smooth off up to 6" drop or bottom on 2" to flat with same settings.
Also landing front wheel first will allow you to land softer. Tail first will blow through travel then slam front wheel down hard.
+ 1 to this. so many people falsely believe back wheel first is the best. Simple physics show that is wrong. Slightly front first makes it a lot smoother.
Yes I know trials guys land back wheel first from massive drops but they tend not to carry forward momentum and are landing in a stop. That's a whole different ball game
But to clarify for those scratching their heads, this doesn't mean pile driving your bike towards the earths core, it means landing the front wheel making contact first, with the rear following a nanosecond after.
Interestingly Lezo, I took my 150mm Remedy to Oxford Falls yesterday and only needed full travel on couple of occasions, one of which was overshooting a lander and one being a straight forward huck to flat.
Fiddling with rebound settings was necessary but once sorted, the bike handled very well.
Thanx everyone,
Answering a couple of questions.
Was riding the aboriginal land at Menai at the DH fun park.
90% of jumps have landers. As the confidence grew, there was a couple of landings that over stepped the mark.
Running 30% sag currently front and back with slow -medium rebound.
Doing the "learning to fly" course on Sunday, I'm sure I'll know one way or another if the bike can handle in it's current guise.
Some really great info and ideas as usual, I knew I could rely on the collective know-how of you blokes to justify the spend on some new gear. I'll check with Marin to see if I can hook up some larger travel componenents without mucking things aroundf too much. Look out TBSM...
Thanx everyone
If you mean the main DH / FR area near the big sports complex then this area needs to be left alone. In fact I'd go as far as to say ALL of Menai should remain bike free until more concrete plans are made. There is more info on Rotorburn but it's generally being treated as a no go area.
Dropped into TBSM today to price up a few new bits and to ask about more travel, spring shock etc. No spring shock in current frame, can put on bigger forks but no more travel with the shock.
Solution
TALAS 180 fork - $1400
RP23 shock - $600
ELKA custom shock - $550
Look on my face when Mark told me the damage...
So rather than listen to advise about setting up your current suspension properly and adjust your riding style you thought it best to purchase your way out of the issue?
TBSM are very lucky to have you as a customer
Lezo, heed the advice re sus settings. These combined with some changes to technique WILL make a huge difference.
The comment about AM bikes set up like a XC bike is something I was guilty of in the past and now I realize the difference.
Save your money for a telescopic seatpost!!
Flynny and Matt,
I haven't bought anything, it wasn't priceless when Mark told me the price...I'm definately working on technique and setting with no change from $2000 for better suspension. Booked in for "learning to fly" on Sunday at Oxy, can't wait, hope the weather stays clear. With some advice on set-up and some serious repetition on particular drops and jumps on Sunday, I'm hoping to see a difference.
Will keep you posted, out of interest.
thx guys
Well if the weather clears, I may well see you there. What time does it start? If I'm there I'll be sure to say hello.
Learning to fly starts at 9. From where im sitting in Manly, we will be very lucky to get a run in...
So having done about 45mins worth of " Learning to pile drive oneself into the earth" what are your thoughts on your suspension needs now? Looked like you were getting the hang of things quite well.