Forks set up

j4mesj4mes

Hello,

Just got a new bike with FOX 36 Float R forks. Ive set the sag and all seems to be fine.The query is that when bhopping a curb it seems to use probably 3/4 of the travel.

Is this normal? Not had decent forks before so I am unsure.

Thank you

toastedone

I think i am right in saying you should be using as much travel as you can without bottoming out, Ride on some rough stuff and see how it goes, I may be wrong tho as i am a n00b

j4mesj4mes

Just upgraded from some suntours so not sure what to expect, just seems like a lot of travel to use for such a small drop?

Anonymous

It depends how you're landing the drop. You can float it, or land heavily.
Go and ride, and see if you're regularly using all the travel. If you are, then increase the pressure a bit.

How did you set the sag?

j4mesj4mes

I used this link:

http://www.foxracingshox.com/fox_tech_c ... FLOAT.html

Pretty much step by step. I seem to have the right amount of sag, its just it uses alot of travel. First ride out is tomorrow so hopefully I will know more then.

cooldad

Might be a bit soft if you sat back (upright).
Sit as if you are riding a trail with a bit of weight on your arms (attack position) and measure again.
Or just take the pump along and if they bottom out a lot add a bit of air.
You'll probably need to fine tune a bit anyway.

Anonymous

Remember that since it's a 160mm travel fork, you're going to have over 50mm of just sag, before hitting any bumps.

j4mesj4mes

Wont know until I try but dont want it to bottom out on something bigger, if it does that after a curb

supersonic

So how much sag have you got?

Anonymous

j4mesj4mes wrote:

Wont know until I try but dont want it to bottom out on something bigger, if it does that after a curb

Fox 36s are monsters. Bottoming out, HARD is not going to be a problem.

j4mesj4mes

Think its was about 37/40 mm sag.
Can you see where im coming from though? its alot of travel to use off a curb

Anonymous

Without seeing it, its hard to tell. Like I said, it's a long travel fork, so it can look like a lot of travel is being used, especially if you're new to long travel forks.
I have the damping set really soft on my fox 36 RC2s, and I regularly use more than half the fork's stroke out on the trail, just with regular trail bumps. However, I still don't get a harsh bottoming out thunk even on some decent sized drops.

If you're regularly bottoming them out several times on every ride, then increase the pressure, if not, leave it.

an_original_name

take a shock pump with you and if you do find your self using all the travel then play around with pressures and settings a bit.

but as yeehaa said, bottoming out a pair of 36's is very hard work. i had a pair for about 18 months and only managed to get full travel out of them once, and that was dropping about 7' to flat with a very bad landing!

Dirtydog11

j4mesj4mes wrote:

Just upgraded from some suntours so not sure what to expect, just seems like a lot of travel to use for such a small drop?

What bike is it and are the forks new?

Edit a 316?


The forks will take a good few rides to bed in, the seals and bushes will be tight so you could be getting inaccurate sag readings.

Did you set the sag whilst sat down?

Try setting the sag whilst stood up on the pedals in the attack position.

j4mesj4mes

Ive not actualyl bottomed out, there is more to use, its just it was using more than I thought it should. As you say im new to longer travel forks so this might just be the case.

Well just got back from a ride and it doesnt seem to be using any more travel than off a curb, even off bigger drops.

It seems to use about 3/4 regardless. I thought it would only use more if it was bigger drops but I guess it uses as much as it can for anything.

Bike is a Lapierre Spicy 316.
I was stood up in the attach position when I set the sag.

j4mesj4mes

Just a Q regarding the rear shock, is this the same situation? Got back from Hamsterley and noticed the o ring was as far as it could possibly move.

Thank you

GJC

Hi i have a spicy 316, i seemed i was using a lot of travel for fairly light trails, i have had the float r rear shock customed tuned by mojo and there a big difference. I also had the front float r damper upgraded to a rc2 fit damper, that has made a big difference has well. due to fine tuning of fork compression. Although it wasnt cheap, i would recommend it.

GJC

j4mesj4mes

It seems we both had a GT Avalanche 1.0 as our previous bike too.

Out of interest, how much did the tuning cost?

GJC

The front upgrade was £309 for sservice and FIT RC2 damper upgrade
the custom tune on the rear was around £130 i think

Hope this helps,

the GT and i have now parted company

GJC