Fork functions?

Anonymous

SPLIT FROM BEGINNERS SECTION


ive been away for a few weeks so its nice to get back and find folk being real helpful,

the travel adjust makes the fork shorter. there are circumstances where a shorter fork is helpful, mainly as it lowers the front of the bike and puts the bike in a better position for climbing. if you climb with a long fork you will find that the steering will start to wonder and the front wheel will try to lift as if you are doing a wheelie.

making the fork longer is good for descending as the bike will feel more laid back and you wont feel like you are gonna fly over the handle bars.

these are just generalisations and you might find that you like the fork to be at its longest setting all of the time.

the knob with the rabbit and hare is used to adjust the rebound damping. more simply, it adjusts how quickly the fork returns to its normal sagged setting after an impact. if you set it too fast, the fork will fel like a pogo stick, too slow and the fork might not return fast enough before the next impact comes along.

hope this is more helpful than "read the manual........."

supersonic

Lol, well it is in the manual, always first port of call ;-) Manual has the diagrams too.

I tried to look for my old thread on the functions but couldn't find it. The search function needs improving, I'll get on the case.

Motion Control - set to full to lock fork out, set to miniumum for maximum fluidity, or anywhere inbetween to filter out brake dive, bobbing etc.

Anonymous

read the manual is all well and good but the manual often isnt particularly clear (in my opinion) it often lists how to operate the functions but rarely is it very clear about the real time usage of the function

and i often find that if that is the best someone can do with an answer, maybe they shouldnt bother atall.

we should get rid of post counts

medicineman

To be honest the manual is ok but sometimes you need a "real world translation"

supersonic

The RS manual is pretty good though - with force diagrams, pressure charts, spring guides. What is the point in repeating all that here, time and time again? I agree that a further explanation can be useful, but always start at the manual.

Andy B

supersonic wrote:

The RS manual is pretty good though - with force diagrams, pressure charts, spring guides. What is the point in repeating all that here, time and time again? I agree that a further explanation can be useful, but always start at the manual.

And there is a (much underused) search function on the forum

1) read the manual

2) something you don't understand, search the forum

3) nothing in the search, then start a new thread

Anonymous

dont get me wrong, the manual is the first place to look but as it turned out, the OP didnt have one, i would imagine this is why he asked his question.

i also apreciate that repeating info is boring for the more regular posters but surely its easier to say nothing at all than act high and mighty with the duty response "rtfm"

nicklouse

and if i can add, use the manual to identify the twisty bits you have on YOUR fork.

mympr02

Thanks everyone for the help, as a total novice beginner, I thought this would be the place to ask and as I didn't have much of a clue about what the answer was the search function wasn't going to help as I wasn't sure what I was searching for, admiitedly I should have been more persistent about the manual, I suppose i was just a little over excited about my new bike! The question wasn't meant as an annoyance to those already in the know but it appears that was the outcome,hopefully with more experience I will learn which questions to ask and which ones I can find out on my own! Sorry for the newbie error! :oops:

Anonymous

dont be sorry, you had a question which had a simple answer.

if folk dont want to answer, they dont have to and then eventually one of the thousands of members who frequent the place will manage to find 2 minutes to write a proper response.

nicklouse

just to clarify the reason for mentioning the manual so heavily is that a 318 U turn fork fitted as an OE fork to a bike can be very different to what is available as an aftermarket fork.

But if you have identified the U turn knob and want to know what it does... if you have found a gold coloured button that lifts off... or a gold twisty knob.... or... or.... or... and!

supersonic

Oh come on ST, that does the many members who do post regularly a big injustice. As has been pointed out, you can explain hpw they work, but if you don't know what dial is what, or where or what your fork has, then it still won't mean much. The manual pictures do does this perfectly, which is exactly why people pointed it out first.

Anonymous

i dont think there is any injustice.

check the original question, it is very easy to figure out what was being asked and in lieu of the correct terms, the guy gave easy to understand explanations of what he was talking about.

i reckon no post count= less dog toffee answers

supersonic

But you have said rather less than the manual offers! It has a great explaination of the rebound and motion control settings and how to adjust travel. How do you know it wouldn't have been good enough if he has not read it? It is a good manual.

Andy B

Andy_B wrote:

read the manual?

Maybe I should have put "have you" before that post, which is what was meant, as in "have you read the manual?"

Maybe if people didn't assume things it might help.

stumpyjon

Sorry guys

I'm with Sheepsteeth on this one. The OP actually stated quite clearly what he was after (much better than many) and this is the beginners section.

Manuals vary in quality and existance. Some are an absolute b*gger as they can cover all sorts of variations for a wide range of forks, if you're new to the whole thing it can be near on impossible to work out what's relevant to your fork and not. Even the good manuals (and I'll grant you the Rockshox ones are quite good) can still be a daunting read, took me a good couple of sessions to get my head around my REBA manual earlier in the year.

I'm still new enough to modern MTBs to remember what it was like when I got my first full suss 18 months ago, didn't know a thing. I've learnt masses since then (a large amount due to the people on here) to the point where I specced and built my own ride from scratch.

The search function isn't great on here, I've searched for my own threads on occaision and not found them :shock: , plus it always feels better to ask a question yourself and get replies, feels more personal and gives you the chance of re-asking something if it still doesn't make sense (i've done it myself).

Some of you really experienced guys have forgotten more than the rest of us know and I sometimes think you forget that what is absolutely basic to you is rocket science to the newbies.

Generally this is a cracking and friendly forum, something often said by new members, let's try and keep it that way rather self destruct like one or two other forums seem to have done :roll:

And please, no-one take offence, it's just my view and it's probably pretty warped (and as I said earlier I've learnt a huge amount from the posters on here and am very grateful).

supersonic

I just don't understand why it is a problem to direct someone towards the manual, when they do not have one? Then accuse that poster of being lazy and trying to increase their post count?! The OP was given duff info by Halfords. Point was they hadn't read the manual, and it would probably answer all the questions quickly and conscisely. If they still had problems, then they could be addressed, which I would have been more than happy to do as I have done many times before. Start at the beginning is my view!

stumpyjon

It's not a problem.

However short brusque posts can seem rude and dismissive, especially to new posters (something Andy_B accepted above).

People generally fall into 3 categories

Have already read the manual (and didn't understand it). Can't be arsed to read the manual. What manual ?

Asking have you read the manual isn't going to be that helpful in most cases, posting a link can be (I know there are pretty good links in the stikies but again not everyone realises that straight off).

As I said before, just my view point, but I can sympathise with some newbie posters. If the post is really blindingly rubbish or lazy sometimes it's better not to answer at all and then the thread just sinks without a trace

Andy B

Why is everyone but the OP getting their kickers in a twist?

The OP seems to be happy with the answers I have given, if you search for any of my posts you will find 99% of them to be informative and useful, as were my posts in this thread.

Speaking of posts, I couldn't care less if I had 20 posts, or 20,000.

dirtbiker100

Should this be moved to the sandbox now? hmmmm?

supersonic

I split it as was getting away from the subject in the beginners thread. No bugger reads Off Topic anyway ;-)

Anonymous

andy, your answers do always tend to be well constructed and very informative which is why i stil believe your original answer (before you had the chance to edit it) was meant to be a flippant as it read.

im with stumpy jon on the way the answer looks, and on the atmosphere it presents to new forumites, it certainly would hve put me off.

sonic, i agree the manual is a very good thing and having looked at the rs one andy linked, im confident my answer is just as good when relating to the veryquestion asked, so good drills in chopping the thread just before a useful answer.

supersonic

I think we have to agree to disagree on this: we have interpreted the post in different ways, I would not have added anything extra in an initial post that the manual does not offer, but would have offered my personal views on the fork functions if the manual was not understood.