Why/when would you use a lockout function on some suspension

Oxygen Thief
Oxygen Thief Posts: 649
edited May 2010 in MTB general
Why/when would you use the lockout function on some suspensions?

Cheers
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Comments

  • JayKingFunk
    JayKingFunk Posts: 411
    When riding on road or possibly on a steep hill?!
    I love the sound my tyres make on dusty single track!
  • MacAndCheese
    MacAndCheese Posts: 1,944
    JayKingFunk wrote:
    When riding on road or possibly on a steep hill?!
    yep, and the reason is you're putting wasted energy into making fork/shock go up and down when pedaling, so it can be helpful to turn it off when you don't need it. Personally I only ever use mine on road, as I like the extra traction the suspension gives on off-road hills.
    Santa Cruz Chameleon
    Orange Alpine 160
  • Dan Dare
    Dan Dare Posts: 367
    I sometimes use mine on long XC climbs as it gives more pedal efficiency, just make sure you remember to take the lock off before the next steep rocky downhill section as I've forgotten a few times and nearly rattled the teeth out of my head :lol:
    VIMEO
  • Oxygen Thief
    Oxygen Thief Posts: 649
    Thought as much. Pretty pointless really aint it.
  • .blitz
    .blitz Posts: 6,197
    edited May 2010
    jonbonjovial wrote:
    Thought as much. Pretty pointless really aint it.
    It depends on the fork to some extent. My Tora Airs were inevitably compromised between small bump sensitivity and big-hit resistance. I didn't want them to blow through the travel so they were set up fairly stiff, hardly moved on bash road climbs and the lock out was, as you say, pretty pointless.

    I swapped the Toras for some Revs and the remote lock out is pretty much essential. The forks are very supple and I use the lock out a lot.
  • silveringsurfer
    silveringsurfer Posts: 225
    Not pointless if someone is pulling the tripe out of you on their hardtail up a long fireroad! :roll: On smooth climbs rear lock out is great.
    For me front lock out is less useful if the forks are well set up however I'm generally a sit down and spin guy rather than stand up and honk where there would be more benefit.

    Overall It's horses for courses and some bikes benefit more than others dependant on amount of travel and suspension design.
    Scott Genius 08, Marin Rock Springs 08, Marin Pine Mountain 89
  • welshkev
    welshkev Posts: 9,690
    i only use mine when riding on the road. never turn it off whislt going up hill off road :D
  • Oxygen Thief
    Oxygen Thief Posts: 649
    True true, I'm a sit down and spin kinda guy too that's why I'm ot too bothered. Standing up without lock out would be a nightmare.
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    jonbonjovial wrote:
    Thought as much. Pretty pointless really aint it.

    No.

    Can be useful for climbing off road as well as road.
  • bomberesque
    bomberesque Posts: 1,701
    jonbonjovial wrote:
    Standing up without lock out would be a nightmare.

    some designs are better than others

    I was very impressed with the out of the saddle sprinting ability on the Intense spider 2 but if I try the same trick on a Mojo, 575 or (god forbid) my kona stinky, the bike just folds in half (although the mojo was by a fair way the best of those 3)

    fork lockout I use on road climbs (ie rarely) rear lockout I don't think I'd have a need for unless I need to climb out of the saddle on a frame that pogos
    Everything in moderation ... except beer
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    If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
    then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
    ... or being punched by it, depending on the day
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    jonbonjovial wrote:
    Why/when would you use the lockout function on some suspensions?

    Cheers
    Played with lockout and travel adjust on my bike for a bit, but after a week just left it fully active, and full travel. Not convinced by it's efficiacy.
  • MrChuck
    MrChuck Posts: 1,663
    Whether it's useful depends on what you're riding. I have about 7 miles of tarmac on the way to my usual riding and it's very handy for that, also for endless fireroad climbs like near the start of the Dyfi.

    Of course life would go on without it but for me it's not pointless (when it works- the Poploc on my Rebas is pretty prone to gumming up).
  • fletch8928
    fletch8928 Posts: 794
    i lock out all the time when the goings easy. well maybe nott all the time. I do when heading upto the moors as its nearly 4 miles of road hill work (inc 1m of down) that makes for 1500ft of uphill.

    Off road, unless its easy fire roads then i just switch them on and go with it. my reba poplock is rubbish. it works but dosnt spring open as I would expect. Thats not going to cause any moments so its just a niggle.

    I spent miles going to various local trails with the lckout on and off and decided that it works better for me to have it locked on the road. What amused me was that in the snow it was far better set softer than usual (more sag).

    Sometimes I forget and its not until I try to power up a hill on the way home I go OH and just sit back down and think of the cuppa + cake.

    You'll work it all out as you go .
    fly like a mouse, run like a cushion be the small bookcase!
  • Briggo
    Briggo Posts: 3,537
    The lockout on my Fox Triad isnt that noticeable over the pro-pedal setting, so most of the time I just leave it in pro pedal.

    However the missus notices the difference between locked and open loads on her Manitou Radium RL when going uphill.

    I'll get round to swapping the Radium over to an RP2 can one day.
  • paully617
    paully617 Posts: 139
    I have fox FL130 forks and i always lock them out when going up hill to save any unwanted dipping. Also stiffens up the front end whilst travelling over any technical uphill stuff.

    The Fox RP2 stays in pro pedal on all but downhill lunacy then its set to mr softyland with a big old dollop of rebound damping to stop me getting pogo'd off the seat.

    To be fair, its as much about "how you set the suspension up" as to whether you need the lockouts.

    I have the awesome maestro rear link system on the giant and it climbs hills like a mofo!!

    TOP TIP OF THEY DAY FROM ME.....

    When going up hill, move your thumbs from under the grips to on top of your grips next to your index finger.

    NOTE how your elbows have moved in and any front end wobble has disapeared and so has any death grip cramps !!!!!!

    ITS....................................... MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Trek Remedy 9.8 2013
  • GHill
    GHill Posts: 2,402
    Never bother with lock out on my fork. Occasionally turn to pro-pedal on the shock on for long fire roads, it doesn't make that much difference on my bike (Fuel Ex 8).
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    what he said - if a bike needs lockout or platform damping to pedal properly, it's not been designed correctly :wink:
  • Atz
    Atz Posts: 1,383
    I'm hoping the smiley is because you're joking because that's clearly not right. I have poplock on my HT and lock the forks out a lot when climbing as it's definitely a lot easier when climbing out of the seat and for the FS, I run a reasonable amount of sag so there's too much energy lost if I'm doing a long climb out of the seat unless I lock out the shock/forks (and wind down the forks). The suspension is efficient but I don't see the point in wasting energy for the sake of a second or two of flicking switches.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    erm, I'm only half joking to be honest.
  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553
    much like yeehaa....I played around with fork lockout on road and in climbs.

    Now I don't bother.

    I have adjusted my climbing technique so that my top half doesn't bounce the forks up and down and that works just as well on my fox 32's with no lockout as it does on my toras with lockout.

    Also....it is a bit poor for manufacturers of full sussers to say that they have a design that eliminates pedal bob.....and then rely on a pro-pedal or lockout feature of a shock o actually do that work.

    Put more effort into the platform design.
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    [magura smugness rant]

    my Magura thors have a best of both worlds compromise... totaly adjustable platform damping.... i know fox/RS.. also have it... but its not as easy to use as on magura's, you set the level then just turn it on or off.

    i have mine set about 6 clicks from least. when turned on it provides a totaly stable, rock solid braking and pedaling platform, yet is still active and will still absorb impacts, however its small bump sensitivity is reduced..... and when its turned off its just a normal, totaly active, super plush fork.

    [magura smugness rant/]
    I like bikes and stuff
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    I use my propedal a bit, it's not neccesary but the fact is you don't want the same behaviour from a bigger hitting suspension bike when climbing as you do when descending. And sometimes I do the same with the motion control though I have it set to "stiffer" rather than "lockout", just to reign in the compression a bit. Haven't had a fork with a crude full lockout for ages, didn't use it at all when I did, it was horrible.
    joshtp/mbukman wrote:
    i know fox/RS.. also have it... but its not as easy to use as on magura's, you set the level then just turn it on or off.

    Um, that's exactly how the Rockshox equivalent works too.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • bike-a-swan
    bike-a-swan Posts: 1,235
    Got to say, I either like my forks to be plush for anything bumpy, or properly locked out for road/smooth ground sprints.
    Rock Lobster 853, Trek 1200 and a very old, tired and loved Apollo Javelin.
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    Northwind wrote:
    I use my propedal a bit, it's not neccesary but the fact is you don't want the same behaviour from a bigger hitting suspension bike when climbing as you do when descending. And sometimes I do the same with the motion control though I have it set to "stiffer" rather than "lockout", just to reign in the compression a bit. Haven't had a fork with a crude full lockout for ages, didn't use it at all when I did, it was horrible.
    joshtp/mbukman wrote:
    i know fox/RS.. also have it... but its not as easy to use as on magura's, you set the level then just turn it on or off.

    Um, that's exactly how the Rockshox equivalent works too.
    ye but its not as easy to use, or as effective as on the mag's though....

    :wink:
    I like bikes and stuff
  • projectsome
    projectsome Posts: 4,478
    uphill or along roads...
    FARKBOOK TWATTER Happiness is my fucking mood!
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    joshtp/mbukman wrote:
    Northwind wrote:
    I use my propedal a bit, it's not neccesary but the fact is you don't want the same behaviour from a bigger hitting suspension bike when climbing as you do when descending. And sometimes I do the same with the motion control though I have it set to "stiffer" rather than "lockout", just to reign in the compression a bit. Haven't had a fork with a crude full lockout for ages, didn't use it at all when I did, it was horrible.
    joshtp/mbukman wrote:
    i know fox/RS.. also have it... but its not as easy to use as on magura's, you set the level then just turn it on or off.

    Um, that's exactly how the Rockshox equivalent works too.
    ye but its not as easy to use, or as effective as on the mag's though....

    :wink:

    But it is.
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  • Raymondavalon
    Raymondavalon Posts: 5,346
    I have lockout on the RS Pikes but barely use it as I am in the idiot fringe and forget to turn it off once I've ascended the climb..
    Seriously it does make a difference on my bike, but then again so does turning the U-Turn from 140mm travel down to 95mm before climbing a hill, reduce the travel and you'll reduce the pogo effect
    The Bouncer
    The Shaker
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    joshtp/mbukman wrote:
    ye but its not as easy to use, or as effective as on the mag's though.... :wink:

    Oh I'll probably regret this but what's easier to use than flicking a switch? Do you get stuck in dark rooms sometimes because the lights are too complicated? :lol:
    Uncompromising extremist
  • neil_sheehan2000
    neil_sheehan2000 Posts: 529
    I had a Marzocchi fork a few years back that would lock out (well, still got about 5mm of travel) at full compression, which I found really rather handy for climbs. The Fox forks I have now though lock out at full extension, and I've never found this useful at all- if I'm going up something really steep with the fork locked out it just feels like the bike's goig to tip backwards.

    If I bought a new set of forks just on their own (as opposed to coming with a bike) I wouldn't be at all bothered if they had lockout or not though.
    Meta
  • Oxygen Thief
    Oxygen Thief Posts: 649
    Reason I asked in first place was I heard someone sayign to someone to get one bike over the other because of a remote pop loc and I thought that was stupid!

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