1) Adjust spring rate: In the age of speed-dependent compression and stroke-dependent rebound, the well-known car park push-back method alone is not enough. However, you can find the right sag: open all compression stages completely, get on the bike and rest your elbow on a wall. Stand up and "pump" the fork two or three times while stationary. Then push the SAG rubber on the stanchion down to the seal and carefully dismount. The negative suspension travel (sag) should make up 15 to max. 30 per cent of the total suspension travel. Remember: the "racier", the firmer. Make a note of the values!
2) Sensitise for damping: If you want to adjust the damping, you should first check the adjustment range. Does anything happen when you turn the wheel? The following procedure has proved successful: We check the total adjustment range of the damping cartridge (rebound and compression). How fast or how slow do the most extreme settings work when stationary? We then roll a short distance in the extreme settings, pump a little and ride up and down a few kerbs. In this way, you quickly develop a feeling for how an over- or under-damped set-up feels and affects you.
3) Adjust the rebound: Then it's time to adjust - first the rebound. First open them completely, then put your full body weight on the handlebars and remove your hands at lightning speed. If the front wheel lifts off the ground when rebounding, increase the rebound gradually (max. 2 clicks per attempt). If it is a separate rebound stage (RockShox), then only adjust the Ending Stroke knob with maximum pressure on the handlebars. For the beginning stroke range, only compress the fork by a maximum of 3-4 centimetres. Caution! The tyre pressure should not be too low during the whole operation. With wobbly tyres, the front wheel will bounce even if the rebound is already too low. The tyre pressure should be 1.8 bar.
4) ...then the compression stage: You adjust the pressure levels on the descent. There are two options here: Either open the adjusters fully or turn them halfway. We prefer option two because you can then adjust in both directions. If the fork still dips (too) low on steps and when braking, we increase the low-speed compression damping. If, on the contrary, the fork is insensitive and transmits many small bumps to the hands, we reduce it. We reduce or increase the high-speed compression damping until it just stops bottoming out at the worst point of a section, for example a high drop with a bumpy landing.
You can find these tips and tricks in FREERIDE issue 1/2014.
Buy edition here!
