How to make your E-MTB suitable for off-road use

THE RIGHT SETTING

1 Adjust air pressure

The first step is to adjust the air pressure to your rider weight (ready to ride, with rucksack if necessary). The manufacturer's air pressure tables, some of which are printed on the fork, provide an initial guide. Important: Set all adjustment dials for damping, platform and lockout to fully open beforehand and proceed as follows:

2 Negative suspension travel

You can recognise the correct air pressure by the so-called negative suspension travel, also known as sag. To measure this, push the rubber rings on the shock and fork right up against the seals. Stand on the bike with the cranks in a vertical position (large picture above), without rocking or swaying. Hold on tight or lean against a wall with the handlebars. All the pressure of your body weight is on the lower pedal. Get off carefully and check the suspension travel used on the fork and shock. Adjust the pressure until you reach a sag of 20 to 30 per cent.

3 Read SAG

Most forks and shocks have a scale printed on them for reading the negative suspension travel. If this is not the case, read off the suspension travel used with a folding rule and calculate the percentage value.

4 Setting the damping

The next step is to adjust the rebound damping. This is to prevent the suspension from rebounding too quickly and the tyres losing contact with the ground. Rule of thumb for the damper: Roll down a kerb in a seated position, the damper should now rebound one and a half times. If it bounces more often, the rebound must be closed further (slower).

5 Rebound suspension fork

Adjusting the rebound damping of the suspension fork requires a little dexterity. You can feel the rebound by squeezing the fork hard and then suddenly releasing it. If the handlebars move out and the front wheel loses contact with the ground, the damping is too weak. Increase the rebound setting (usually at the bottom of the right fork leg) bit by bit until the fork rebounds quickly but the front wheel just remains on the ground. The rule is: as quickly as possible, as slowly as necessary. You can use the same technique (pressing on the saddle) to check the setting of the shock again.

TO NOTE

• Utilise the suspension travel: Always push the rubber rings as far as they will go before riding and check them after the ride. The suspension travel should be utilised almost completely, otherwise you are wasting the performance of your suspension. The response behaviour suffers and you lose traction and control.
• Less is more: Too many adjustment options overwhelm the average biker and lead to incorrect settings. The performance of the bike suffers as a result. Adjustment options for air pressure and rebound are mandatory, while a platform or compression adjustment is desirable. Anything beyond this (e.g. separately adjustable low and high-speed damping) only makes sense for experts.
• If you use the suspension fork manufacturer's air pressure tables as a guide, please note that E-MTBs require more air pressure due to their higher weight. The manufacturers provide corresponding information or separate tables.
• When selecting the negative suspension travel, also observe the manufacturer's recommendations. The values vary depending on the bike category and intended use. Basic rule: the more suspension travel, the more sag. Enduros with 160 or 180 millimetres of travel can be ridden with 30 per cent. 120-millimetre touring bikes are better with 20 to 25 per cent negative suspension travel.

Interview with Stefan Herrmann, riding technique expert and suspension specialist

Do E-MTBs need special suspension settings?
The basic setup is the same as for an MTB, but I set up my e-bike differently in some areas. The main difference is that you ride the e-MTB in a seated position uphill and on flat terrain, including over obstacles and through dips.

What does this mean for the suspension setting?
There is more pressure on the rear wheel as the entire body weight presses on the saddle. I therefore tend to ride with a little less sag and a little more compression in the shock. This effectively prevents bottoming out and bottoming out, the rear end is higher in its travel.

How do I benefit from this?
The riding position remains central and the front wheel does not lose contact with the ground so quickly. An effective platform is also helpful for these points. It allows me to switch quickly between downhill and uphill mode.

Are there any other differences in the setup for MTB and E-MTB?
For technical uphills with the E-MTB, I open the rebound on the shock by a few clicks, which allows the rear wheel to quickly regain contact with the ground and generate more grip. However, this only applies to slow riding speeds! Lowering the fork also makes sense on an E-MTB. The steering angle becomes steeper, allowing me to ride tighter radii. I also have more pressure on the front wheel.

LEXICON

Spring hardness
The fork and shock can be adjusted to the rider's weight using air pressure. All that is required is a shock pump (supplied with new bikes). In exceptional cases, steel springs are used instead of air. In this case, a spring with the appropriate degree of hardness must be installed for adjustment (optionally available).

Damping
The damping regulates the speed at which the suspension compresses and rebounds. It brings calm to the ride and keeps the tyres on the ground in a controlled manner. The damping works via a flow of oil that is pressed through a series of valves or shims. The spring speed can be regulated via the size of the passages.

Rebound
Rebound damping, also known as rebound, regulates the rebound speed. In other words, how quickly the fork returns after compression. In most cases, it is controlled via a red adjustment knob.

Pressure stage
The compression or compression damping regulates the compression speed and thus supports the air or steel spring. If the compression damping is increased, the fork dives less (e.g. on steps), but also becomes harder.

Platform
Function that can be selected in stages, which greatly calms the suspension (platform) or switches it off completely (lockout). When riding uphill, this function can prevent the shock from sagging and the front wheel rises later on steep climbs. Caution: Only switch on lockout on level ground!