How often should you go through full travel on rear shock?

NikB

Just been riding the bike a little over the last couple of days and doing some very minor jumps- even just bunny hops and I can see that the rubber O ring around the rear shock is getting pushed all the way to the end quite regularly. Does that mean there's not enough pressure in the shock? It was setup at the shop on Friday and the sag is exactly 20% with me and my camelbak on it. The shock is a Fox Float RP23 and I've tried it with both Propedal on (setting 2 & 3) and fully open. It all feels fine and I haven't heard any knocking. Is this normal or do I need to get more air in the shock?

nicklouse

if your sag is right then thats it. and yes you should get through the travel at least once if not more.

Amos

What psi is in the shock?

Andy B

I usually get 80-90% of the travel, occasionally full travel, it all depends on the pressure I have the shock at.

So long as it's not bottoming out it'll be fine.

nicklouse

Amos wrote:

What psi is in the shock?

not relevant. sus design and rider weight will give differing figures. as will different shocks.

Splasher

What bike?

NikB

It's an Orange 5 Pro, I think he set the shock to about 160psi. I weigh around 80Kg.
How will I know if it's bottoming out? Does it clunk or something? I was just a bit concerned because this hasn't even been out on the trails yet - am I just being a bit over cautious?

nicklouse

set the air to give the sag you want, about 20% and dont worry.

Andy B

NikB wrote:

It's an Orange 5 Pro, I think he set the shock to about 160psi. I weigh around 80Kg.
How will I know if it's bottoming out? Does it clunk or something? I was just a bit concerned because this hasn't even been out on the trails yet - am I just being a bit over cautious?

My Orange 5 (with Manitou Swinger 3 way) does exactly the same (goes through the travel quite easily, depending on pressure), I wouldn't worry, unless it makes some expensive noises

NikB

Thanks for the help, I'll stop worrying about it.

skyliner

Try sitting bolt upright with your hands at your side to measure the sag. You may find you get a lot more this way. This is the correct way to set up Fox shocks, and you should be running 30% sag with your riding kit on for general trail use.
Has your shock got a small Orange 5 sticker on the can?
If it has, it's tuned to ride a little plusher with less low speed compression to improve descending performance.(until you elect to add some with the lever switched on) If the rebound is set a little too slow though, it'll tend to pack down a little on consecutive hits and without the added low speed damping to prop it up between hits, you can get deep into the stroke easily. Try decreasing rebound 1 click at a time, and resetting the o ring between runs until you find a good feel. (bottom out will usually be a harsh clunk) If you find you bottom out too often, add air in 10 psi increments and adjust the rebound to suit.
Check out www.mojo.co.uk and look at the setup section for more tips.

NikB

Thanks for that, I'll take a look at the shock and see. I haven't heard any clunks but I haven't been over anything big yet.

Andymtb

I'm in a very similar situation, I've just got a second hand Orange 5 pro with rp23 shock and I weigh about 80kg.
I set up my shock according to fox's documentation which should - if I understand it correctly - give me sag of 14.2mm which for me was about 210psi.

I took it out yesterday around Skyline - not the best day of the year - and there's about 25% left of the shaft from the O-ring. I didn't get any 'air time' or drop offs, so I presume that 25% left would soak up any big hits if I was to start launching myself off things.

Is this right or am I getting things completely wrong?

toasty

Sounds about right, some people run a bit more sag than that on 5+" bikes, especially if they're using pro pedal much. I personally do pretty much what you're doing Andy.

Steve_b77

On my Pitch the O-ring is quite often just up from the very bottom of the shock.

NikB

Just come back from Dalby and the shock has done it's job well - multiple jumps and the O ring has gone to the bottom but I heard no nasty knocks.

Andymtb

Thanks Toasty.

Mancunianfightingcat

I let some air out of my rear shock last night, I would guess I weigh about 80kg loaded up, my shock is now at about 140PSI, it did feel really good but also reached full travel quite often. I don't want to damage anything but, if I put more pressure in it I have to have the rebound set on the slowest setting to feel right.

Should you measure sag by getting on the bike really carefully or by plonking yourself on the seat and allowing the suspension to move a little?