I bought a Racer X with a 5th Element Air shock...I was attempting to set up the correct sag by following what the users manual said and other literature. However, to get ~10mm/20% sag I only have to fill the main chamber to about 90 psi, and thats with filling the IFP chamber before hand to 85psi. And being I'm 170 lbs, I'm a bit concerned about how low the main chamber psi is, considering that most everything I've read, most are filling the main chamber much higher (120-140) at equal body weight and stating that the owners manual suggests a psi that tends to be a bit low. Is this low psi issue due to the factory preload, type of bike, or am I worrying about nothing. Has anyone had a problem like this? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..Thanks.
5th Element Air Pressure
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You're fine. 90 psi sounds about right for your weight. The 5th's main chamber can only be filled up to 150psi for the heaviest rider anyway. It runs at much lower pressures than Fox shocks for example. That thing about filling the pressure to equal your body weight is pretty useless because it doesn't take into account suspension leverage. Always base the pressure on getting the appropriate sag and use whatever pressure gets you there.
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IFP/main balance for sag?
velomannr,
I'm new to 5th Air myself, and I'm still fiddling with the psi. I'm 150lbs + 10lbs/gear, and so far I ended up with 75psi/IFP & 95psi/main. I may go with 80psi/IFP, though I keep switching between 75psi/IFP ~ 80psi/IFP. Strictly sag-wise (25%~30%, preferably closer to 30%), I should really be at 90psi/main, but I'm so afraid to bottom it out. One time I even tried 80psi/IFP & 105psi/main just to experiment, and that was way too much for me. Anyway, I still can't seem to decide on this last bit of fine-tuning...
Hecubus,
I've read somewhere that, one would sit higher on a bike with a higher SPV setup, which can be compensated by lessening the compression/pre-load. What I read might've been about a SPV coil shock, but I wonder that maybe I can do so similarly by putting less main-chamber air when increasing IFP, when trying to achieve the same sag...?
If that were true... By having less air in main chamber for this purpose, on the other hand, I wonder if I'd bottom out more easily...? So far, I've used up 48mm of my 51mm full-spec stroke (94%). Have you bottomed out on the 5th air? If so, did you get a full-spec stroke upon doing so? I used to have an old Float R, and it did give me a full-spec stroke upon occaionally bottoming out.
By the way, my leverage ratio is 2.5 (5" travel by 2" stroke), which is a good figure. Other than the leverage "ratio", does the suspension-linkage "type" (how the shock is mounted --- ie. horizontally mounted along toptube vs vertically mounted near BB) make a difference? (If so, how?) Generally-speaking, with my linkage "type" (pic below), should I be pumping more (or less?), when compared to other types, say, like velomannr's Racer-X's linkage type?
Thanks,
- PiroChu
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velomannr,
I'm new to 5th Air myself, and I'm still fiddling with the psi. I'm 150lbs + 10lbs/gear, and so far I ended up with 75psi/IFP & 95psi/main. I may go with 80psi/IFP, though I keep switching between 75psi/IFP ~ 80psi/IFP. Strictly sag-wise (25%~30%, preferably closer to 30%), I should really be at 90psi/main, but I'm so afraid to bottom it out. One time I even tried 80psi/IFP & 105psi/main just to experiment, and that was way too much for me. Anyway, I still can't seem to decide on this last bit of fine-tuning...
Hecubus,
I've read somewhere that, one would sit higher on a bike with a higher SPV setup, which can be compensated by lessening the compression/pre-load. What I read might've been about a SPV coil shock, but I wonder that maybe I can do so similarly by putting less main-chamber air when increasing IFP, when trying to achieve the same sag...?
If that were true... By having less air in main chamber for this purpose, on the other hand, I wonder if I'd bottom out more easily...? So far, I've used up 48mm of my 51mm full-spec stroke (94%). Have you bottomed out on the 5th air? If so, did you get a full-spec stroke upon doing so? I used to have an old Float R, and it did give me a full-spec stroke upon occaionally bottoming out.
By the way, my leverage ratio is 2.5 (5" travel by 2" stroke), which is a good figure. Other than the leverage "ratio", does the suspension-linkage "type" (how the shock is mounted --- ie. horizontally mounted along toptube vs vertically mounted near BB) make a difference? (If so, how?) Generally-speaking, with my linkage "type" (pic below), should I be pumping more (or less?), when compared to other types, say, like velomannr's Racer-X's linkage type?
Thanks,
- PiroChu
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