Full sus help. Pedal-bob

kingsleysmith

I'm after a bit of help on full suspension bikes if poss, as I want to upgrade and a bit unsure about how it all works. Pedal-bob is my main concern due to the type of riding I do. I posted a topic on bikes with front and rare remote lock-out features and I'm still kinda in the dark about how a full suspension bike would perform with the suspension set up correctly. I've got a hard tail with sprung loaded rock shox tora forks. I do a daily circuit of varying terrains and I'm constantly flicking the lock-out on and off for climbs, descents, road riding, trails, jumps etc. I want to know if I'd be constantly flicking the lock-out on and off on decent air sprung forks and also the rear shock with varying terrains if the suspension is set up correctly, or could I set it up correctly and not have to mess about with it while I'm out on a ride regardless of the terrain changing. Somebody mentioned decent suspension these days is built to alleviate pedal-bob. This is something my 4-5 year old spring loaded forks suffer from greatly. If I am going to always be changing settings on my suspension on a full-sus set up i maybe need to rethink my options.

Anyway, yeah if somebody could shed some light on pedal-bob and how/if full-sus bikes suffer from it and if it possible to get rid of it and ride without always changing settings with correct set-up id be most appreciative.

Thanks

kingsleysmith

And why is the word f.l.i.c.k.i.n.g censored out in my post?? Haha, such fowl language

Long_Time_Lurker

With decent shocks, set up correctly, there should be minimal pedal bob.
I only lock mine out when I'm on the road.

The only time I get proper pedal bob is when I'm on the Descend setting (full bounce mode) and I'm pedalling in the wrong gear.

Maro

Yeah, modern suspension set up correctly doesnt bob. Mine only bobs when I mash up and down on the pedals.

nicklouse

So you can't even give us any info.

Bike? Year? Shock? Sag?

Cqc

I never lock out my shock, very occasionally my fork yes. But it all depends on the shock tune and suspension design.

cooldad

I lock mine if I'm on the road going somewhere, because I paid for it and I'm going to get my money's worth.
Don't need it though.

mcnultycop

cooldad wrote:

I lock mine if I'm on the road going somewhere, because I paid for it and I'm going to get my money's worth.
Don't need it though.

Very much this.

I need to get rid of my pop lock too. Clutter.

kingsleysmith

Thanks for the responses.

nicklouse wrote:

So you can't even give us any info.
Bike? Year? Shock? Sag?

I have a carerra fury 2009 model with rock shox tora forks. That's something else I need a bit if help with actually; sag. I get what it means and I've watched a few vids on it but haven't found any that actually explains it fully with regard to using it to set up your forks correctly. They've all just said to use the rubber o-ring or a cable-tie to see your sag amount, and that's about it. They didn't really go into detail about how to use it to set your equipment up. I've obvs messed with the fork settings a fair bit to try get as best ride as poss but still def needing to use the lock-out when road riding or on flats etc. And that there is the issue, I do a fair bit of road riding (2 people have responded saying this is where they use the lock out feature) and if a full-sus would need to be locked out for that I might need to think about more options. But if it can be set up to not have to worry about it even when on flats or roads that's music to my ears. I'm living in Mallorca which one of the top destinations for cycling, there's so many different terrains here and really wanting a full-sus for the natural trails, but there's so many flats along beaches and roads etc. that if I gotta constantly f.lick the rear as well as the front lock out then that is something I def don't want. I'm getting annoyed with having to take my hand off the bars to lock the front fork out as it is.

The Rookie

You adjust the suspension preload (on the coil spring or by adding air to an air fork) to get the required amount of sag, not enough and it will be harsh over small bumps, too much sag and it will dive through it's travel making the bike less stable.

A modern decent FS doesn't really need lockout at all, due to using the correct geometry and/or a shock with a 'pedal platform' in the damper that makes it very stiff under pedalling loads (low speed shock movement) but much softer under impact loads.

poah

if you buy a decent bike with a decent shock/fork then you'll have no issues cycling on the road. I use mine on the road and I tend not to use the firmer setting (not a lock out) on the fork ever but I do use it on the shock. I also select the firmer compression damping setting in the freeride park. its really no issue to flick the switch on the shock or the forks though TBH.

as for your current bike

1/ undo all settings to min (rebound/compression) and see what sag is. 20 to 25% sag should be ok
2/ adjust rebound so you can push the forks down and lift the front end up before the fork rebound fully then do one click faster on the rebound.

go for a ride and see what you get. If you find you are not using all the travel on your normal off road track then let some air out. if the forks are rebounding too fast or too slow then adjust as required. however, different terrains require different sag settings as you might find on some you don't get full travel or you constantly bottom out.

stubs

Sounds like you need a firmer spring in your fork. If it was an airsprung fork you would add or let out air to set the sag but with a coil spring fork the only real adjustment is fitting a new spring.

As for pedal bob most frames nowadays dont actually suffer from it apart from some cheap and nasty ones. Personal opinion but I find a bike with an active slightly bobby pedalling action is better for climbing on rough loose trails. The lever on modern suspension isnt a lockout it shuts down part of the damping circuit to make it firmer but it still moves.