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Front & Rear Shock Pressures
Could somebody please let me know how often should you check your front & rear shock air pressures, and do they lose much air pressure?
Any help would be much appreciated, i'm a newbie to all this.
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Check them every now and then. Normally don't loose much unless seals are damaged.
Note when you put the pump on the valve some air flows back to balance pressure in the pump hose so it might seem like you have lost a bit of pressure.
When you pull the hose off you'll hear a bit of air escape, don't panic this is just the pressure trapping in the hose line.
Good quality pumps allow you to close off the air valve before you disconnect the pump, so you don't lose any air. Check the pressures regularly until you become familiar with its rate of loss (if any). Write the pressures down so you don't forget your favorite setting. Wrap a bit of tape on the bike somewhere and write your pressures on that so that if you're at an event you have the figures handy. Don't be afraid to experiment with pressures and settings. I connect the pump and pump it up to the correct pressure and then open the valve to the shocky, if the pressure on the gauge drops significantly then obviously you're loosing air.
Thanks guys, you've been a great help, i keep my settings in my phone.
All good info.
If you check the sag using the "o" ring if fitted or even keep an eye on the dust max travel line you should notice any real pressure loss.
The dual chamber shock on my new (used) Trek took me a while to work out as the first chamber pressure appears then as the connector is screwed on further the second chamber pressure ramps it up further.
Btw, once you get the pressure right you'll find that you check the rebound far more often as the viscosity alters with temperature.
T
Put a cable tie (or o-ring) on your stanchions and check your maximum travel after every ride. If it's getting close to bottoming out you may need a top up.
Can anyone recommend a good shock pump, i have the one that came with the bike, it's a Bontrager, it came with my Trek Slash 8, i wouldn't know a good one from a average one.
Thanks for all the feedback guys, mtb'ers are quite a helpful bunch, especially to us newbies.