My First Full Suspension

Kirk71

Evening everyone,
Classic case of mid-life crisis, getting old, over weight so picked up my first full suspension to get active and fit (hopefully)
Most likely this bike is way out of my league and more than i will ever need but hey ho, what the heck.
Managed to pick up a Kona Process 153 DL.
hopefully i can get some tips on setting up the suspension for my weight
I apologise for the awful picture but until i get out on it she is under lock and key.
cheers, K.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160378144 ... ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160378144 ... ed-public/

looking foward to getting to know some of you and visiting some trails in the North West

cooldad

Start at about 25% sag each end and adjust accordingly.

Kirk71

cooldad wrote:

Start at about 25% sag each end and adjust accordingly.

I am the North side of 15 Stone , im uncertain about the rear shock, i was under the impression that it can fully lock out but it seeems not. Will pop it into the local Kona dealer to ask if the shock needs pumping up. (unit says 25psi max)
when on the hardest setting is the orange band supposed to stay on one of the readings or is it meant to go way past ??
thats why i think it is to soft even on the hardest setting

cooldad

Two very similar threads get's confusing.

25psi? Can't see what it has in your pic, but that sounds a bit low.

You need to get a shock pump, as they need checking and adjusting regularly.

It is meant to move. Or you'd have no suspension.

Kirk71

cooldad wrote:

25psi? Can't see what it has in your pic, but that sounds a bit low.
You need to get a shock pump, as they need checking and adjusting regularly.
It is meant to move. Or you'd have no suspension.

It is a Rockshox Monarch Plus RC3
And yes i guess i did make that sound a bit dumb in my previous post

https://flic.kr/p/2bBdrFW

robertpb

More than likely 250psi max.

cooldad

https://www.sram.com/rockshox/products/monarch-plus-rc3

See tech docs and sag set up video. Starts at body weight in pounds.

JBA

Nice bike.
You'll certainly get fit peddling that beast up hills.

As mentioned above, get a shock pump and learn to set the sag and rebound on forks and shock yourself. You shouldn't have to take the bike to a shop for such basic settings.
For the rebound count the clicks from one extreme of knob rotation to the other and then set it in the middle to start. Work from there to get the rebound right for your riding.

tom_howard

Setup guide says to use your weight in lbs=1 psi in the shock, so start at 210psi and go from there. I'd be surprised if the bike can hold its own weight at 25 psi...

Then if you aren't confident setting rebound/compression damping, rent a shockwiz and use that to dial it in (should work for your fork too.)

billycool

You'll get fit with a bike like that. My friend has just got the 134 and that feels a lot like an enduro bike. It's great on the trails and loves anything DH but I find it a tad heavy for general XC (I have a very similar bike but it's a lot lighter around 13kg). He huffs and puffs more than he did on his older Kona!

Not sure how the 153 compares to the 134 but you'll have a lot of fun on it.

PS - rear shock should be 200psi+ so as others have said, get some more air in it and go from there.

JBA

Have a read of THIS DOCUMENT to learn how to set the sag on your shock. Pages 19 - 23 apply.

Kirk71

Thanks everyone for the advice. Off to get a pump and go from there.

steve_sordy

Kirk71 wrote:

Evening everyone,
Classic case of mid-life crisis, getting old, over weight so picked up my first full suspension to get active and fit (hopefully)
Most likely this bike is way out of my league and more than i will ever need but hey ho, what the heck.
Managed to pick up a Kona Process 153 DL.
................

Congratulations on the wise choice of taking up mtb. You will not regret it. You will soon get fitter and start to enjoy the riding even more. Forget about the "out of my league" bollox. As your skills improve, your ambitions will increase and you will start to exploit the potential of the bike. Go on a skills course, best money I ever spent was my "Introductory skills course for MTB"

Take the time to set up your suspension, don't leave it for others to do. It's easy to do and crucial to your enjoyment. Do not be afraid to experiment, but change one thing at a time so that you can tell what that control does.
The link below is the absolute best all in one document on the topic of setting your suspension that I have discovered. It covers the basics like setting sag and rebound and then proceeds to cover stuff that will seem like rocket science right now. But if you get the bug, you will read it all.
https://bikerumor.com/2014/10/30/bikeru ... -download/

Another absolutely crucial adjustment is tyre pressure. I wasted a couple of years riding trail with my tyre pressure too high in the belief that high meant faster and less effort. True for smooth surfaces, not so for rough ones. Read this, watch the video, it was a proper light bulb moment for me. Why did nobody ever tell me this stuff!
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tues ... -2011.html

Oh, and go tubeless! (A whole new topic, for another day).

Danny1920

That's a very nice first full susser.Looks very nice in blue as well.So you've got yourself a nice bike....now what?.... think about doing a training course.Best investment you'll make

buddy_club

20181106_205840 by KIRK MOSELEY, on Flickr
Kona by KIRK MOSELEY, on Flickr

Embedded the pics for you

cooldad

And get the QR lever pointed in a sensible direction. Straight up the fork leg protects it. Straight down and it's more likely to get fubared. And the axles tend to be expensive.