How much travel should you be using when braking? Seems to me there should be a percentage that equates to a proper setup. Of course there are variables such as how hard you brake and body position but I feel like if you brake moderately hard on flat ground, while seated, you probably shouldn't be using over 50% of your travel. Has anyone else thought about this?
How much should your fork dive? 50% of travel?
evan9r
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How much travel should you be using when braking? Seems to me there should be a percentage that equates to a proper setup. Of course there are variables such as how hard you brake and body position but I feel like if you brake moderately hard on flat ground, while seated, you probably shouldn't be using over 50% of your travel. Has anyone else thought about this?
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Makes sense. Mine will vary based on the setup, but I like to keep it at about 40. You probably also shouldn't be braking too hard when seated. Using correct techniques could help.
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The problem is there isn't one proper setup. It's going to be terrain and rider specific. Even only considering brake dive, a faster rider in steeper terrain with lots of heavy braking will need much more support than a slower rider on flat terrain. So setting suspension based on brake dive in a driveway won't work. You'd need sensors mounted during a run to see how much dive you actually experience on the trail. Even then it's ultimately going to come down to feel or timing results.
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I found this helped:
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29,132 Posts
Step 1: Lock out elbows...
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Step 2: Go on a diet and lose 10#...
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Briefly, but then I realized it was pretty pointless on its own. Also, braking while seated? Yeah, no.
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Step 3: remove saddle...
The point Im trying to make is, is there a threshold where the travel used is greater than it should be? Say 75% of your travel is used, that to me sounds excessive.
I had an experience testing a new fork that felt great at speed and then in a low speed technical section, it didnt have enough support. So much so that an obstacle ended up making me stop in my tracks and have a get off, nearly an OTB.
Just seems to me you could verify how much travel is being used by putting all your weight on the bars during braking and if its past that threshold, you know you need more support.
I had an experience testing a new fork that felt great at speed and then in a low speed technical section, it didnt have enough support. So much so that an obstacle ended up making me stop in my tracks and have a get off, nearly an OTB.
Just seems to me you could verify how much travel is being used by putting all your weight on the bars during braking and if its past that threshold, you know you need more support.
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I have never paid much attention to braking compression. I do know how much suspension is needed for my riding terrain.
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What you need to do when going down steep stuff (especially if it's rough) is put more weight on the bars. That way there's less on the rear of the bike and you'll be more stable. Lean waaaay forward, too, and after that don't move at all.
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No because that doesn't account for the parameters previously mentioned.
Also, I'd hate for this to become a thing and then l have to read post about people saying "I have my fork setup for 50% under the braking test but it still dives on the trail" or "but it's too harsh over bumps", etc. Just set it up with bracketing like you'd need to to anyway even if such a test existed.
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Is that how you normally brake?
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The amount of spring progression you need for the rest of your riding takes care of the total ramp up.
Springs determine how far it will dive, damping determines how fast it gets there and how stable it feels on the way there.
The big two players right now are putting out forks with very little compression damping. Riders have to overspring to compensate.
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This doesn't really answer your question, but there's a lot of variables to consider. I transfer my weight to the rear for maximum braking, which will be different than casually tapping the front brake in a parking lot. And whether I'm on a MTB, motorcycle or off-road vehicle, when approaching an obstacle or bump I'll grab a lot of brake and then release to bounce the front end up as high as possible at the right moment. So front end dive isn't all bad.
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Never put your weight on the bars while braking. All weight should be loaded via the feet.
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