1:56 - Spring rate 3:45 - Progression (Volume spacers) 5:20 - LSC (start anti clockwise) 9:20 - HSC 11:25 - LSC and HSC progressive / regressiv 12:48 - Set up steps 13:10 - Rebound 17:50 - Ride the same trail again and again ;)

I've watched the Fox Dialed series, GMBN tech, and countless others who all seem to regurgitate the same lingo from suspension manufacturers to just "set it in the middle", "bracket", and "doesn't matter how you setup as long as you do it consistently any time you make adjustments". That's all well and good, but then I feel like I'm just blindly turning dials and searching for a difference. This video gives me direction. It reminds me that everyone's riding will differ, but makes it easier to diagnose a problem and have a general idea of what dial to turn and what direction. Now to find half a day and a trail I can repeat...

@SplitComms

2 жыл бұрын

Agree 100%. I've watched all of those too, but this one explained it the best.

Easily the most detailed, yet easy to understand suspension video I’ve seen. Thanks!

Finally! A clear explanation of low speed compression adjustment. Great video!

This is the best video I’ve seen on this subject. Thank you!

Two of the most interesting mtb videos I have ever watched.

@bikeradar

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you found them useful!

Very detailed indeed. No other cycling channel has this amount of detail on suspension. Good job BikeRadar.

@ignae

4 жыл бұрын

Vorsprung Suspension, it will blow your socks away.

Finally... everything explained as it should. Definitely an asset video. I am curious about those disliked the video. These are the guys you don’t want to mess with your suspension settings😂

Been wanting to fully understand this for ages Thanks for producing such an in depth, yet clear and easy to follow video Suspension is no longer a dark art and I now know how to get the most out of my bike!

Thank you so much for the good info and detailed explanation of the differences between HSC vs. LSC.

this was an amazing episode. i really learned how suspension works. great work guys!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS EXCELLENT EXPLANATION! For me this kind video with deep, complete and easy explanation, costs hundreds of nice videos from GMBN. Now we have too many different video channels and vlogers, but it's usually more fun, or even lost of the time. but this video is something that I rewatched several time (some of the difficult moments) saved in my video library and will share with my friends. Please keep doing like that, this kind of content is a gold on KZread and differentiates you from others.

@sebstott3573

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words Yuri. Any suggestions for topics you'd like to see covered in the future?

@ydvitaSwim

5 жыл бұрын

I guess all cycling subjects can be retold if they are retold in a better way as you did with suspension setup. I believe if you have deep knowledge in any cycling subject it will be very interesting to watch. For me right now the questions related to wheels and tires are interesting: In long term I'm planning to make an upgrade on my hard tail and full suspension bikes, and there are several related question that sounds easy, but they still make me thinking:

@ydvitaSwim

5 жыл бұрын

1. what is the optimal tires width. There are many factors that influence this decision: terrain, type of riding etc. - it can be already nice video, if it will be also complete and deep overview. In my case I want to be fast and light, but I was impressed with amount of grip that wide tires provide in the corners) 1.1 does it make sense to use wider tire in front to have more grip there?

@ydvitaSwim

5 жыл бұрын

2. what should be rim width in relation to tire width? and if to ignore this relation what are the consequences: e,g now I have light rim with internal width 20mm, what if I install 2,35 or even 2.6 inch tire for the winter period (with snow)? this sounds as not a good idea, right? so I'm thinking about buying wider carbon rim e.g int. rim width 30.mm. to add more stability to the tire, but then in summer if I consider to use this perfect wheel-set with slimier tires, e.g. 2.25 will it be okay? what are the pluses and minuses of the 30mm rims with narrow tires, or will it be better to select 25mm rim as a compromise

@ydvitaSwim

5 жыл бұрын

3. how to balance tires and suspension pressure? to make tires softer to absorb the small bumps or suspension

WOW!!! This is absolutely the BEST suspension video out there, period. Save it and watch it over and over. His explanation for tuning your air spring rate by pressure rather than sag is deep, and I had to wrap my mind around it. But once I got it and how volume spacers affect pressure...game changer.

Fantastic. I find it all so confusing but this pretty much sorts it out. I can't believe I found it so hard to get a grasp on which direction to turn the dials.

Love the deep dive. A lot of youtube videos are short and simple mostly catering towards beginners but this is more my like it. I have a little notebook I keep track and make notes about my suspension setup. I found this help me approach my setup in a more scientific way.

Thanks. I will rewatch this a few more times.

videos like this are so much more helpful the second time, i finally get it now

Dudes, just perfect, congratulations

Best suspension setup explanation video! Thank you, great work again!

@bikeradar

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching!

this was a very detailed video and the best one when it comes to suspension. Good job!👍

Suspension nerds unite! ✊🏻

@ElevationStation1988

5 жыл бұрын

🤘🏼🐻🤘🏼

Cheers Seb. That was massively useful. I was always confused about the interplay sag/PSI, LSC, and volume spacers. Now I understand! I've always found my Pike a bit jarring on square edge hits. Now I think I know why. Guess I'm just going to have to hit the trails and do a bit of tweaking :)

thanks heaps for those two videos especially the the second one as i had really been struggleing with my set up but you guys have put it in a way thats verry easy to understand thank heaps . keep up the great work

Best explanation ever🤘

very helpful, a lot better than any other ones

This is a really great video! Helped me understand how to get my suspension dialed from start to finish.

@bikeradar

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Thank you, you make best videos for suspension tuning

@bikeradar

4 жыл бұрын

Great to hear you liked the video and thanks for watching!

My dudes!!!!!! I needed this

Yeah Seb, great vid! Will look into this on the new bike 👊

Superb explanation.

This explains it so well. Thankyou.

Great job everyone!

great explanation ..thanks a lot

Thats exactly what I needed! Thank you sooo much! :)

Great video, thank you!!

Thank you Seb!

Great explanations!

I agree best video so far on this

@bikeradar

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching the video, hope you found it useful!

Seb is the man!

Very well done!

Really helpful! Thank you!

Great video mate , very informative and makes a not of sense . Your like the Brian cox of bikes ,you make complicated stuff sound easy to understand

I have the new YT capra pro race and came from the Giant reign carbon but with the 36 rc2 fork and x2 shock so the same as my new bike but the settings wouldn't work when I transferred over to my new bike. I ride a 4 mile loop in the forest 13.5 miles and 5 or 6 times a week and come from a motocross back ground and admit I am a suspension nerd. Your video is very good. I ride the same loop I can feel the difference if one day is wet and one day is warm without even changing settings. The fox x2 shock is superb with very fine adjustment and gives great feel.

So good. THANK YOU!

@bikeradar

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you found the video useful!

Great video, I saw this from the free MTB guide I got online somewhere. I love my new budget Sr sun tour remote lock out shocks I got from eBay that I stuck some Sr suntour XCM stickers but I am unsure if I can adjust them which hopefully a bicycle store can help me with 😅

Great ! Thank You so much !

I've been taught that sag is everything. After you set sag then add volume spacers if you are bottoming out. If you try to add more pressure you don't end up using all of your travel and won't be as supple.

@whothat4684

Жыл бұрын

Coming from motocross, that’s how I was taught as well with the best results. Reducing sag is a symptom of poorly valved suspension in my opinion.

Very informative

Good subject

Great video although has anyone had the issue of when you put lots of low speed compression that it makes a noise quite irritating

Vorsprung have some good vids if you want to nerd out on this stuff. Good vid guys.

Great video thanks i made it to the edn!

Brilliant!

Great video thanks

@bikeradar

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it. Have you tried out any of the tips in the video yet?

hsr and lsr finaly clarified

COMPREHENSIVE! You’ve earned a subscriber 👌

@bikeradar

4 жыл бұрын

Glad to have you onboard!

can the rockhox judy silver fit volume spacers i heard some forks can't fit those ?

I have a Cane Creek DBAirCS. If my main concern is safe predictable jump take-offs (everything else is just comfort) is it mainly LSC and LSR to prevent bucking? Is HSC and HSR mainly in play during landing big drops? Thanks!

very helpful

As a complete newb to Mountain biking, I appreciate the simplicity of this explanation. Unfortunately, no matter how many videos I watch, I still can't wrap my head around the need for setting sag. Out of pure curiosity, what would be the adverse effect of skipping Sag and just going straight to setting the compression? Wouldn't the more extensive range of compression settings, already cover the smaller sag settings? Almost like a 'Buy 1, get 1 free' kind of concept? Hopefully, I'm making sense. lol. 😄

Didn't know shocks or forks have hsr I always thought of volume spacers as that. Is there a difference , just curious I have a dpx2 with a spacer about double the size of stock and love it for the terrain I seek out.

What if you have many styles of riding on the same rig? I ride XC, All mountain, DH and Park all on my Patrol? Surprisingly my ride feels good on all these types of terrain?

Awesome video! How would you change the settings on muddy conditions? Thanks

@laurentp89

5 жыл бұрын

Maybe a bit less rebound damping and a bit more compression damping

Good vid, I'm using progressive setup with a little low speed damping but high speed damping is 1 out from full for big hits (rock shox Vivid Air)

@jakubgabris6901

5 жыл бұрын

Vivid doesn´t have adjustable high speed compression (unless you tuned shimstack)

Ok, great video. If I roll over roots very fast, is it more Low or High Speed Compression? I mean in an rather flat terrain, not those huge root drops. Thanks!

@antanis

3 жыл бұрын

idk if you ever got an answer but its probably low speed.

epiq!!! thank you

thanks!

Awesome video. Quick question: I'm getting way too much vibration through my bars into my hands but I am always very close to bottoming out my fork. I ride Queenstown bike park mostly so lots of very steep trail with very deep ruts but also lost of fast chattery stuff. Because of this, I'm gripping my bars a lot more and have developed a gripping related injury in my fingers (A2 pulley injury for any budding physios out there). So after watching your video, I'm thinking I should try some volume spacers/tokens instead of reducing the amount of air in the suspension. Does that sound right? Thanks!

@Noah-nx4ic

4 жыл бұрын

You could also try softer grips and maybe carbon bars to reduce the vibrations going through your hands

very informative video, thanks! but i have a question, how much compression is consider too much to relook into the spring rate? more than 1/2 of the total compression dial? 3/4 of the compression dial?

@jakubgabris6901

5 жыл бұрын

the spring rate and damping rate are two different things even though they have somewhat similar effect sometimes. If your spring rate isn´t good, no amount of damping will correct it .

i tend to set rebound a little slower on the fork than what you gus suggest, but counter the packup by adding low speed compressin. do some pros do that as well?

What I do is I run my fork 180mm and shock 160mm at 30% sag. Then I put 5/6 volume spacers on the rear shock and set the rebound so it overshoots sag by 5 - 8%. I run no volume spacers in the fork giving it a nice and linear feel. I am still a light and young rider about 56kg in riding gear. So u may want some volume spacers in the fork. However my shock and fork feel great. 👍.

please help, i have a sr suntour epixon, can i use volume spacers? i cant find anything on the internet.

Next video suggestion: Expert MTB Suspension Setup - How to change shims for different oil flow + oil viscosity. I am about to service my DVO Topaz T3 shock and my Formula Selva EX. The shock is phenomenal, my fork can not keep up with it and I did that much with almost all CTS drop-in valves to change the suspension curve, played with the progression with the ballistol oil on the air chamber instead of tokens but I can not find a setup who will balance the bike front to rear. This is really frustrating and I only can think about to change the oil at this point with a better viscosity for faster oil flow. Any other Suggestions? Maybe a professional tuner?

@jakubgabris6901

5 жыл бұрын

You need to balance spring rates and progressivity first and foremost, not mess with damping instead.

I weigh around 160lb all geared up and i have 2 volume spacers on my x2 (150mm travel) and i feel its too progressive. should i try 0 spacer or just take out 1?

Pole M A C H I N E ftw !

I recently swapped my Trek Remedy for a Scott Voltage, and I am now running on a Coil Shock, I have checked the manufacturer chart and the spring rate is just fine for me. I went for a ride last week and I found myself nose diving on jumps, I tried slowing down the rebound and it helped but I was still not comfortable with the way things was going. I have now tried to change the bike configuration from 190mm to 170mm on the shock do you think this can help? Do you have any tips that can help me get airborne safely? Maybe too little rebound on the fork? Thank you!

@sebstott3573

5 жыл бұрын

Hey Bruno, You're right to slow down the rebound on the shock - that's a good first step. Another cause of nosediving on jumps can be using too much travel on the take-off transition. In this case, increasing low-speed compression damping can help to hold the shock a bit higher in its travel, so it has less travel to rebound through. You might also want to double-check the spring rate on the fork and shock and make sure they feel balanced when you compress the suspension on flat ground. Ultimately, though, good jumping demands good technique, as well as good setup.

This is such a useful and insightful video. Hats off and great deal of respect for putting this out! I still have a question though: my FOX 34 Fit4 fork does have only simple rebound adjustment (not HSR/ LSR) and after 2 years of tinkering with it, I still can't make it to feel right in all conditions. I am particularly dissatisfied with how it performs over rockgardens and roots at lower speeds, being overly harsh and giving me the feeling that I'm riding a mad bull that want's to buck me over. On the other hand, if I attack technical sections at higher speeds, it is quite ok. I have to mention that I run a volume spacer, and that I have 160mm of travel, but never use full travel, not even after drops or jumps. Any tips on improving the sensitivity/overall feel and way it reacts on the more low speed chunk?

@michaelstewart9308

5 жыл бұрын

I don't think it's possible to ride rock gardens and roots at low speed without feeling like you're riding a bull, you just need to work on your line and/or hit it faster

@TrailBreaker

5 жыл бұрын

Since it’s harsh at low speeds and you never use full travel, it sounds like your air pressure is too high. Your rebound is mainly LSR. Set it just slow enough to keep it from bouncing as in the video with the LSC on top full open (fast). Leave it there and ride.

I need a classroom instruction on getting my FS rig to where I feel comfortable and not being tossed out of the saddle.

Ok, no volume spacers and HSC and LSC almost dialed all the way open. Fork feels supportive and tracks ground fairly well, but it only uses 75% of travel even on larger hits, drops etc. I should lower spring rate, then use compression to dial back in support if wallowey? 2020 fox factory 36, grip 2.

So silly question from a roadie, doesn't the temperature effect the pressure in the shocks (mean of course it does, but maybe not enough to matter)? also don't they warm up after some hard riding, and thus increase the pressure as well?

@sebstott3573

5 жыл бұрын

Not a silly question at all! Air temperature will affect spring rate. Going from 0°C to 20°C will increase pressure (and therefore spring rate) by about 7% (the pressure is roughly proportional to the temperature measured in Kelvin). This will also affect the viscosity of damping oil slightly; so as the air temperature increases, the spring gets firmer and the damping gets softer, making for a springier ride. More importantly, dampers generate lots of heat (that's what they do). In air shocks, the heat from the damper can raise the temperature, and therefore the pressure, of the air in the spring. Again, this leads to a springier feel on long descents. That's why it's common to get bucked on jumps at the bottom of long downhill tracks. A famous example would be the jumps at the bottom of the Fort William World cup track, where it's not uncommon for top-level racers to go over the bars. In that case, you might want to start with your suspension too soft and slow, so it's "optimised" when up to temperature.

Thank bikeradar. Now i. Finnally understand

How does the CTD switch affect things? Is it high or low speed compression (or both)?

@jaytam1

5 жыл бұрын

Mtb Highlands I have a Fox 32 float 110mm and the CTD is low speed.

se ve algún sendero de la sierra de Mijas, zona embotelladora

I have a rockshox pike 160mm fork on my kona and always wondered what the charger damper meant. They made the knob blue so at first I thought it was a low speed compression adjustment but I don't think it is. I always just leave it fully open but could someone explain this to me?

@laurentp89

5 жыл бұрын

If you have a single dial with multiple, I believe it is LSC.

Is high and low seller compression affected by weight.

@laurentp89

5 жыл бұрын

No, just shaft speed.

i need some help, i setup my fox 40 preload to the recommended sag on the website (i cant recall the exact measurement) but i am not using the full travel on my bike, even with every other knob open all the way?

@Luca-ft1kv

4 жыл бұрын

It will probably be that you have 1 or 2 more volume spacers than you need. There easy to take out ( just take off the air cap) but take it for a ride before you do so. Go through this video and there other, simpler one to make sure everything is set correctly. Then consider removing a spacer.

@TheDHJunkie

4 жыл бұрын

@@Luca-ft1kv lol i should've clarified its a coil fork

@Luca-ft1kv

4 жыл бұрын

@@TheDHJunkie might be theirs excessive air trapped in the lowers or their might be to much oil in the lowers. Thats about all i could think of. You might have to ask someone else

At 8:20 the fork compresses all the way and the drop isn’t even that big. Can someone explain why that is? Too little psi? Rebound? I have the same thing happening to my bike on bigger drops and I don’t know what to do.

@sportiefbezigutrecht3883

3 жыл бұрын

1 Springrate 2 in this case HSC and HSR because it’s the second part off the travel/ high speed impact. There is a lot of bodyweight at the front of the mtb.

Can someone please help I have my sag, rebound dialed But my bike shakes a lot on small pumps And it doesn’t sit enough for my liking to turn fast I need help figuring out what clicks to make

Is there any way to make the shock harder without affecting the sag

@laurentp89

5 жыл бұрын

Not "harder" maybe, but harsher, by dialing in compression.

You forgot to say... If you play with any setting then you need to revisit your rebound speed. For example pressure change effects rebound speed

Something that i find (nearly) allways to be missig in such guides is, that you cant have everything. Your suspension cant be set up to work optimally on jumps, small bumps, berms, rough terrrain, flat sections, drops and steep sections. It is just impossible. While this isnt something that helps you to set up your suspension, it is something thats important, because some riders never find a point that they are happy at so they keep screwing around with their suspension, hoping they can make it do everything perfectly. He talked about it in relation to rebound, but not in general.

@sebstott3573

5 жыл бұрын

You're absolutely right. You can't have everything; it's all about compromise. Finding that compromise is what this video is all about.

@Niko-xt5bs

5 жыл бұрын

When you do dirt jumps you need max pressure

I don't know what to feel, i have been riding hardtails forever , the rear shock just feels good

HSR or LSR for getting (nearly) bucked on lips? This is also consistent lips... as in the same ones that don’t look any different (eg 2nd tabletop at cannop for a small one but as you are there in the vid) or one specific but not the biggest or steepest on the new red @417 ... and on the same bike and shock.. CC DB Air CS ... in fact with CS left on by accident it doesn’t happen ... Equally doesn’t happen on the road gap or table top (cannop in your vid) ... it’s almost there ... I just don’t want to start randomly playing with both...

@sebstott3573

5 жыл бұрын

Hey Stephen, If your suspension is rebounding like we showed you in the more basic video (link in description) and you're still getting bucked, that suggests your HSR is too fast. I'd slow that down first. If you're still getting bucked, start slowing down the LSR. I'd say with HSR it's safer to start with it closed to avoid getting bucked, then speed it up until it starts to feel too unpredictable on big impacts.

@stephenlord599

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Seb, I'll give it a go with the HSR closed next time and open it slowly it's on 2/4 so I have 2 turns ... I still need to remove "user error" in terms of why it only seems to happen on specific lips... Perhaps a part of this is I'm expecting it to happen and going stiff... but although non of these are particularly big they are big enough for the LSR to return and equally big enough that I'd like to avoid a nose dive OTB. (stuff breaks more easily my side of 50) I should drag the HT over and then I'm 100% certain I have no shock rebound issues :D This is a new (to me) frame and shock (Mega 275 in the old Large)... and the other thing I noticed is in general the back feels lethargic/settled on trails compared to my Medium T-130. This isn't unexpected...(being longer, slacker and more travel). it just seems at odds with the kick I'm getting on the Mega on jumps..

Best thing i did was put a Vorsprung Luftkappe in my pikes, Feel like a totally different set of forks compared to standard. Couldn't recommend it enough

@pulDag

5 жыл бұрын

2019 DebonAir airshaft should do the same for less $$. And it's retrofitable.

@BigGdh100

5 жыл бұрын

@@pulDag that wasn't available when I got the luftkappe last year haha

How much so you weight

uhm yea okay but what if you have a coil shock in the back ?

@jakubgabris6901

5 жыл бұрын

One less thing to worry about.

I can never tell what my suspension is doing wrong in order to adjust it accordingly. It just feels 'off'.

I would NOT start with LSC wide open... Running damper settings all the way open or closed usually means that your spring rate is waaay off and you'll be trying to compensate for the issues created with a fully open/closed damper setting with having another setting way off. So if HSC was closed up all the way, running the rebound wide open to "prevent packing" will just make things worse. You really need to adjust spring rates with volume spacers and air pressure if you find yourself adjusting the settings wide open/closed.

Sooo, in a nut shell rent or buy a shock whiz and it will do all the thinking for you and all u do is turn knobs!

Did he forget to say that low speed compression damping helps against the fork diving under braking or did I just not hear it?

@sportiefbezigutrecht3883

3 жыл бұрын

Specific, yes he forgot. But no he doesn’t because he mention that LSC helps you to setup ‘anti diving’.