Help a noob with RS Revs set up

paulneenan76

I'll try and explain this the best as I can - I am new to the world of Air/Dual air forks and as such, whilst I followed the Rock Shox/SRAM manual guide thing linked to in FAQ's, I'm unsure whether I'm getting the most out of the fork with my set up - the difference in performance over my last fork is huge but I doubt the set-up is right.

I have the RS Revs 150 RLT Dual Air jobs. As an example of my lack of understanding, I was messing around in the local skate/bmx park at lunch and thought I'd practice getting the wheel up for manuals, wheelies, etc., however, when I lifted the bars the fork extended. Now I know I've probably weighted the front before pulling back but the extension was quite long and meant I couldn't get the wheel high enough, shifting my weight forward, and then embarrassingly back to the floor Is this a sag, rebound, or pressure adjustment or am I talking utter b*llocks and its purely my poor technique very likely.

Any help or thoughts appreciated

Paul

EH_Rob

Poor technique I'd imagine. Getting the front end up for a wheelie is not achieved by pulling up - it's actually a firm, well timed pedal stroke (just as your stronger foot goes past 12 o clock) and body position. The front of the bike should just lift if you're doing it right. You then need to continue that power, find the balance and stay there.

In terms of pressure adjustment, use the positive chamber to set the correct sag (20%?), then adjust the negative to roughly the same - you can alter the feel of the fork by adding or removing a little bit from the negative. Do some reading - I can't remember exactly what it does.

In terms of rebound, I'd set it to the middle and make little adjustments now and then. Hopefully this will allow you to appreciate how the feel of the fork actually changes, and in time you'll find the best setting for you. Although it is very trail dependent as well as rider dependent.

jairaj

The fork's natural resting position shouldn't be with 150mm of travel as you should be running some sag. So when you try to lift your front end up the forks should extend.

The amount they extend by can vary on the amount of sag you are running and the amount of pressure you exerted on the fork when shifting your weight forward.

The recommended sag range is from about 20-30% depending on personal preference. There are many guides showing you how to set this up correctly. If you are running sensible sag levels then I would guess the extension you saw was fine.

If you couldn't get the wheel high enough I would say that was down to poor technique. When doing a manual correctly the front end is significantly off the ground so the amount of travel you have in your forks doesn't really play a role.

jairaj

With regards to setting up the dual air chambers its actually quite simple. Start with both +ve and -ve chambers at the same pressure (what ever gives you correct sag level).

To make the initial stroke softer and some air to the -ve chamber.

To make the initial stroke stiffer remove some air from the -ve chamber.

I think guidelines say to keep the -ve chamber within 15psi of the +ve chamber.

I put 10psi extra in the negative chamber as it makes the initial stroke softer and gives me better small bump compliance and increased grip. This only effects the initial part of the stroke so the fork doesn't blow through medium and large sized hits

supersonic

35mm sag is expected at least with these forks.

mrmonkfinger

lovely forks

IME, 10psi more in the negative, makes for a very plush ride

keep both chambers equal until you've sorted the sag, which should be around 35 - 50mm. then pop in a few more psi to the negative


as for manuals & wheelies, its more about getting your bodyweight back than lifting the bars

paulneenan76

Thanks to everyone who responded

Supersonic & Mrmonkfinger - your advice was a lightbulb/I think i'm getting it moment for me. I'll go and have a play tomorrow before heading to FoD on Sunday.

Paul

Plyphon

10 psi more in the neg works very well for me, really nice feel.