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DVO diamond

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#1,441 ·
A few general notes about running the diamond at lower travel (<160mm). The recommended settings are based on the fork at 160mm of travel so the recommended pressures will be low for running the fork at 130mm on the Ripley to get the same spring force at bottom out. In turn, the OTT spring is further away from the piston at top out, so you will likely want to run a higher OTT number than DVO recommends.
Echoing Ripbros advice I would 1st recommend doing a lowers service at a minimum, it probably will make sense to disassemble the air spring to make sure that is all lubed up and slick.
Even 125 psi seems very low for your weight running the fork at 130/140mm travel. I ran a diamond on my last bike @ 140mm travel and had the pressure at 125 psi for my 185ish lb rider weight. I suspect that you're running too low of a pressure and relying on the springs progression to hold you up, making the fork harsh since you're not using all the travel.
My recommendation is to start with a higher PSI (140?), set the OTT to max and then unwind it until the fork stops sucking down into its travel at rest (remember not to adjust the OTT with air in the fork). Unwind the LSC and HSC all the way and see what you get. For rebound you can start with DVOs setting, but use the air pressure not rider weight. I found these numbers to be slow (too much damping) but in the general ball park and a decent starting point.
 
#1,444 ·
Whatsupcountry, thank you too. When I’ve run the fork at 130psi I’m leaving two inches of unused travel (my fork is set at 140mm). I’m a smoother style rider but pretty aggressive as well. I’m left thinking my height puts my weight further back than average or that my fork might need some service (although it is new). I’ll study what Ripbro said and do the lower service and see if that changes it and brings it more in line with the norm.
 
#1,445 ·
hellion1 said:
Whatsupcountry, thank you too. When I’ve run the fork at 130psi I’m leaving two inches of unused travel (my fork is set at 140mm). I’m a smoother style rider but pretty aggressive as well. I’m left thinking my height puts my weight further back than average or that my fork might need some service (although it is new). I’ll study what Ripbro said and do the lower service and see if that changes it and brings it more in line with the norm.
Click to expand...
Leaving two inches makes it a 90mm fork! That's a lot you're leaving on the table.
 
#1,446 · (Edited)
Exactly! If I run the fork at 100psi I can use pretty much all the travel but it still feels too firm in the first half of the stroke. Going back to my original post, reading this entire thread there were several guys even heavier than me with the same issue. They never mentioned their height but I’m wondering if that’s got a lot to do with it (taller rider, seatpost way up there putting more weight over the rear and less into the front).

I’m riding today. I’m going to try going back up to 120-125psi and max the OTT and see how it feels. If that doesn’t work I’ll research how to service the lowers to try and slick everything up in there.
 
#1,447 ·
hellion1 said:
Exactly! If I run the fork at 100psi I can use pretty much all the travel but it still feels too firm in the first half of the stroke. Going back to my original post, reading this entire thread there were several guys even heavier than me with the same issue. They never mentioned their height but I’m wondering if that’s got a lot to do with it (taller rider, seatpost way up there putting more weight over the rear and less into the front).

I’m riding today. I’m going to try going back up to 120-125psi and max the OTT and see how it feels. If that doesn’t work I’ll research how to service the lowers to try and slick everything up in there.
Click to expand...
Try higher pressures.


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#1,449 ·
Call DVO and speak to Ronnie or one of the other techs they can help you with settings over the phone. I'm 225# running about 115 psi the other settings I can't remember but I have my fork at 150mm and leave about 10mm of travel on my typical rides. I started at DVO's recommended settings for my weight and made some small adjustments to get it where I like it and it feels the same as the rear does.
Here's a good video that I used to set up my suspension;

 
#1,450 ·
Rngspnr, you’re in line with what I’m finding. You’re a little heavier than I and run 10psi more than my best setting so far. How tall are you?

Today I tried 130 psi with max OTT and it was so firm it just wouldn’t budge on small stuff like roots or softball size rocks. Went back to 105 and it’s fairly good but still not plush. Go down to 100 or below and you can feel that you’re riding too low into the travel.

Guess I’m to the point where I need to open it up and make sure everything is lubed up properly. I don’t feel like this is the issue though because when you air it down and cycle it in the garage it feels very smooth.
 
#1,451 ·
Im a bit pudgier than you at 5'10". I will say that setting initial sag is a bit different than with other brands. What I do to set sag is get into the attack position to load the fork and get off the bike as carefully as I can and take my reading from there. These forks are very pressure sensitive and a couple pounds either way can make them feel weird. What I can tell you is that you should try to get your fork to feel the as close as your rear shock as possible. I've had three FS bikes and have had to swap to a different rear shock due to being a Clyde to get the mid stroke support that I need and then tune my fork to feel as close to the rear as possible. Most FS bikes come with a rear shock that is tuned for riders in the 150-180# range. I am beyond that range so aftermarket shocks work best for me. I'm at max OTT as recommended by one of the guys at DVO other than that my settings are pretty close to DVO's recommendation aside from me setting the fork according to the video I posted. If you are very plush at the rear it could possibly be making your fork feel harsh compared to your rear shock. I try to tune my suspension as close as I can to the frequency that feels right to my body. I know this sounds like some guru kinda **** but I do know when I get on a buddies bike whether it feels good or not. Just a final point once you get your front/rear feel correct you'll instantly know. I hope you can get this fork to feel good because once you do you'll really enjoy it. Current bike is a medium Revel Rascal with fork set at 150mm with a DVO Topaz at the rear and it's by far the best set up I've had. Also once again I suggest giving DVO a call and discussing this with them, they are great about helping with tuning their products and also one of the few companies that encourage people to do their own service/tuning.
 
#1,452 ·
hellion1 said:
Rngspnr, you’re in line with what I’m finding. You’re a little heavier than I and run 10psi more than my best setting so far. How tall are you?

Today I tried 130 psi with max OTT and it was so firm it just wouldn’t budge on small stuff like roots or softball size rocks. Went back to 105 and it’s fairly good but still not plush. Go down to 100 or below and you can feel that you’re riding too low into the travel.

Guess I’m to the point where I need to open it up and make sure everything is lubed up properly. I don’t feel like this is the issue though because when you air it down and cycle it in the garage it feels very smooth.
Click to expand...
Have you checked your bushings?


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#1,453 ·
If you put say 75psi in the fork you can tell that everything works smoothly. There’s no bushing play and no stiction. I might just be a strange case here but I do know what I like. Been mountain biking since 87’ and racing moto since 78’. I want the fork to feel linear. It should move easily in the first half of the stroke and naturally progress near the end of the stroke. As it is, it only moves freely at 100psi and even then it’s still not bottoming, comes about 1/2” from it though.

I’ll do a service to make sure everything is lubed up and in its proper place, I’ll report back if I find anything.
 
#1,454 ·
Well after pretty well reading most of the 1450 posts and a year of tinkering I have finally found the magic setup! I have a 160mm Diamond D1. I ride aggressive angled hardtails and was finding compression spiking in stock configuration. With a hardtail on fast bumps or loam holes, the ride was very harsh. Plush is a relative thing but done right, a decently tuned fork can mute a lot of the feedback coming from the hardtail end. IMHO, the suspension dynamics on a hardtail is complex. As the fork goes over the bump, the fork compresses, the rear hits the bump milliseconds later, forcing the rear up and pushing the handlebar forward and down. The fork is having to work much harder to not give the rider feedback through the bars to your hands and arms. Anyway, I figured to counter this feedback, I would do a piston flip and shim mod to open the circuit more. Still harsh and spiking. I then, put the piston to the stock position, which improved the ride somewhat. I left it there for 6 months. I recently got a Kona Honzo ST and one day rode it fast on some rough logging road. The fork was so harsh that I couldn’t brake anymore from hands being numb. I started looking for another fork as a replacement throwing in the towel, but I decided to reread the forum on my harshness issue and decided on full tuning restart keeping in mind to tune for a hardtail. Return to the stock shim tune, piston in the modified position, more air for a sag of 15%, less OTT, faster rebound. Oh. My. God! Finally the fork rides sublime! More mid support but still getting full travel, better grip and I have way more confidence hitting single and double blacks! Here’s my setup information that I’m very happy with.

Piston flip
Return to stock shim stack
19% sag - 31mm
OTT - 8 turns from open
Air - 120-130 - use 125psi
Rebound 15 clicks from closed
HSC - 1/2 turn from open
LSC -4 (5 on steep grades over 40% with root steps)
 
#1,455 ·
wab1234 said:
Well after pretty well reading most of the 1450 posts and a year of tinkering I have finally found the magic setup! I have a 160mm Diamond D1. I ride aggressive angled hardtails and was finding compression spiking in stock configuration. With a hardtail on fast bumps or loam holes, the ride was very harsh. Plush is a relative thing but done right, a decently tuned fork can mute a lot of the feedback coming from the hardtail end. IMHO, the suspension dynamics on a hardtail is complex. As the fork goes over the bump, the fork compresses, the rear hits the bump milliseconds later, forcing the rear up and pushing the handlebar forward and down. The fork is having to work much harder to not give the rider feedback through the bars to your hands and arms. Anyway, I figured to counter this feedback, I would do a piston flip and shim mod to open the circuit more. Still harsh and spiking. I then, put the piston to the stock position, which improved the ride somewhat. I left it there for 6 months. I recently got a Kona Honzo ST and one day rode it fast on some rough logging road. The fork was so harsh that I couldn’t brake anymore from hands being numb. I started looking for another fork as a replacement throwing in the towel, but I decided to reread the forum on my harshness issue and decided on full tuning restart keeping in mind to tune for a hardtail. Return to the stock shim tune, piston in the modified position, more air for a sag of 15%, less OTT, faster rebound. Oh. My. God! Finally the fork rides sublime! More mid support but still getting full travel, better grip and I have way more confidence hitting single and double blacks! Here’s my setup information that I’m very happy with.

Piston flip
Return to stock shim stack
19% sag - 31mm
OTT - 8 turns from open
Air - 120-130 - use 125psi
Rebound 15 clicks from closed
HSC - 1/2 turn from open
LSC -4 (5 on steep grades over 40% with root steps)
Click to expand...
I found out with my first Diamond that if your set up doesn't feel right to go back to factory recommended settings and start over with tiny adjustments. The one thing I know about the two I've had is that they are pretty sensitive to small PSI changes.
 
#1,456 ·
I found it interesting swapping my diamond from my full suspension bike to my hardtail. Went out with the normal settings and was bottoming out hard on fairly mild features With the same travel (140) I had to up the psi by about 10%, add a click or two of LSC and less OTT and rebound. I think because all the energy is going into the fork you need to run a harder setup and speed up the rebound so the fork can recover and preserve the geo.
 
#1,458 ·
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