[Magsrgod]

Hey guys, I was looking to get some feedback on setting up the Super Deluxe and if anyone has experienced what I'm seeing with it.

I did my first ride on the Calling over the weekend and I found the small bump compliance to be super harsh. I'm in NE and I was riding one of the more technical trail systems around me, so its constant roots and rocks. I weigh 175ish with gear and had the shock setup @205psi which give me 30% sag.

What I was feeling was the top end of the stroke isn't supple at all, the rear end was getting kicked and bounced around. I initially thought it might have been too fast of rebound so I added some dampening, not much changed. OK, hoops I've never used and new tires, maybe over inflated, so I let some air out of the tires, still not there. So now I started bleeding some air out of the shock and it gets better. After a little while longer I bleed some more air out and it was good. I knew what I had done wasn't ideal but it was going to get me through the ride and help with fatigue. I bottomed the shock out on a small flat 3' drop that I never normally bottom out on so I knew it was to low.

I checked the shock PSI when I got home and it was at 160 and my sag was around 40%. Tires ended up being at 22/22 with DHF WT Front and Minion SS rear, normally I run these at 26-28 psi.

Today I took the bike out for a quick spin again, set the shock back up to 200psi. This time I added even more rebound dampening and it helped, but I can tell that its going to get packed up once I hit some faster DH runs.

I'm kind of perplexed with what to do. Normally on my first ride I can get the shock 90% dialed in and I just make macro adjustments until its perfect. I don't even feel like I've gotten 75% of the way there as is. If I was going to run buffed out trails or buff DH it would be perfect in its current setting. I even took the shock off to check the frame pivot's, everything was moving nicely and nothing was binding on the initial travel.

Also the compression lever was wide open the whole time.

 

[Mt.Biker E]

Perhaps the seal needs to break in on the shock. My dad started experimenting on his following with running higher pressure than you would on other suspension platforms and he had good results doing that.

 

[Magsrgod]

Perhaps the seal needs to break in on the shock. My dad started experimenting on his following with running higher pressure than you would on other suspension platforms and he had good results doing that.

I was thinking that, but this would be the first shock Ive ever owned that changes that much during break in. Normally I dial it in and get damn close, I'll add some air and a click here or there as the shock breaks in and I fine tune it!

 

[Gutch]

Maybe try a larger spacer in the shock with less air.

 

[Halfabrain]

I had similar issues with the small bumps and found a happy spot at 32% SAG..rebound at '6', or just a click clockwise from the middle.

 

[Dave1078]

How high is your LSC set? I run mine almost all the way down and it helps a lot. It sounds like yours might be set too high. You could also try 10 PSI more. It could be that you're riding deeper into the stroke, which is firmer.

 

[Magsrgod]

How high is your LSC set? I run mine almost all the way down and it helps a lot. It sounds like yours might be set too high. You could also try 10 PSI more. It could be that you're riding deeper into the stroke, which is firmer.

So sadly this shock doesn't have an LSC adjustment, its a 3 way compression lever and external rebound, that's the show with it.

I spoke with Evil last night and they suggested I add 10 more PSI and see what that changes. I talked to Fanatik and they suggested removing the token from the can and see how that feels. I got somethings to try!

If all else fails, it gets ripped off and sent to Craig and he will make it right!

 

[Rngspnr]

People had the same issue with the Following. The suspension seems to get better with higher psi. You also need to cycle the shock when inflating to equalize pressure between chambers. That's probably why you had lower pressure after ride. I have a V1 Following and it took a little bit to get the shock where I like it. I'm actually too heavy for the Debonair but with three bands in positive chamber the shock is better.

 

[jwren00]

Evil shocks should be set at 50-60 PSI higher than your weight - I wish they would just put this on their website, it took me a while to figure out. I ride my calling at 225-230 psi and my riding weight is 170 pounds. You also need to cycle the super deluxe as you inflate it to get an accurate PSI reading - it will drop when you cycle it. For example: fill it up to 150 psi, bounce on it a few times, fill it up to 200, bounce on it a few times, fill it up to 220, bounce on it a few times, fill it up to 230 and bounce on it, top it off at 230. That should get you to 30% sag (on the shock shaft).

Riding with way too much sag will make the bike harsh, as you experienced.

 

[The Squeaky Wheel]

I'm about your weight at 175-180 geared
Super Deluxe at 168. Sag is spot-on. Your PSI sounds way too high, based on my experience on The Calling. I run 2.5 tires at 22F/25R. I've added no tokens or have done anything else to the shock. Darren at PUSH (local to me) helped set it up for me

Rebound about halfway. Always fun wide open. Feels buttery smooth. I'm frankly really surprised to hear some of the PSI people are running, but to each his own.

Having said that, I'm still replacing it with a PUSH 11.6 shortly ....

 

[jwren00]

I'm about your weight at 175-180 geared
Super Deluxe at 168. Sag is spot-on. Your PSI sounds way too high, based on my experience on The Calling. I run 2.5 tires at 22F/25R

Rebound about halfway. Always fun wide open. Feels buttery smooth.

But I'm still replacing it with a PUSH 11.6 shortly regardless....

Bizarre. My bike would probably be at 40%+ sag if I had 160 psi in the shock.

 

[The Squeaky Wheel]

Bizarre. My bike would probably be at 40%+ sag if I used 160 psi on the shock.

Yeah, sounds weird based on what some people are running. But I'm particular about shock setup, use a digital pump, and had PUSH help me with setup, since I have them right around the corner from me...

I'm carrying a little winter flub right now, so maybe I'll add a few PSI in the short-term until my 11.6 is ready but I can't see going much higher.

should add, I'm running mine in "low" mode with 150 fork. I've flipped back n' forth, and prefer Low to XLow for local trails. I have a Nomad for trails that require a more aggressive ride.

 

[Magsrgod]

Excellent thank you guys, I will try this out today when I get home and see how the bike sets up!

 

[Magsrgod]

When I got home from the first ride the shock was around 160psi and I was hitting 40% sag in my street clothes. I had started the ride at 200psi which Fanatik had set up based on my weight but had let air throughout the ride to soften the top end of the stroke. I don't know if they cycled the shock as it was being inflated or not. I'll report back tonight with what I dig up with going both up and down.

Yeah, sounds weird based on what some people are running. But I'm particular about shock setup, use a digital pump, and had PUSH help me with setup, since I have them right around the corner from me...

I'm carrying a little winter flub right now, so maybe I'll add a few PSI in the short-term until my 11.6 is ready but I can't see going much higher.

should add, I'm running mine in "low" mode with 150 fork. I've flipped back n' forth, and prefer Low to XLow for local trails. I have a Nomad for trails that require a more aggressive ride.

Do you know if you put extra tokens in the shock to add progression so you could run a lower PSI but still get bottom out resistance?

 

[The Squeaky Wheel]

Do you know if you put extra tokens in the shock to add progression so you could run a lower PSI but still get bottom out resistance?

I honestly have no clue. It's "stock" from Evil and I haven't touched it since it came out of the box. The stock super deluxe is a placeholder until my 11.6 is ready.

it sounds like my PSI is lower than what others are generally using, so perhaps I'm just the outlier here

 

[Rngspnr]

Evil recommends just under 30% sag for best performance. I have three bands in the positive chamber of my Debonair. Able to run lower pressure by reducing space in positive chamber leaving negative chamber stock. More space in neg will make shock more supple less space in pos makes shock firmer.

 

[The Squeaky Wheel]

Just wanted to post a correction. Rechecked my numbers and sag. I'm currently at 170 ride weight and running 178psi, not 168 as I posted previously. My bad....

 

[Mt.Biker E]

ramp up your air pressure by 30 lbs and see what happens

 

[McJustice]

I am riding a small insurgent and also started at about 50-60 psi over bodyweight at evil's recommendation. It wasn't that sensitive and also was harsh in the rough stuff. I removed a volume spacer and went down to 20-25 psi over bodyweight and it is much better. I use most of the travel, but still haven't ever completely bottomed out.
Also, at first I seemed to measure the same sag regardless of pressure - about 25% anywhere from 170 - 210 psi. I think the shock needed to break in because now I am running 180 psi and getting just under 30% sag consistently.

 

[Halfabrain]

...running mine in "low" mode with 150 fork. ...

There might be something to this... I don't really know, but my guess is that the geometry probably changes how the bike compresses and effects SAG... that might explain why we are not getting our numbers match up with similar weights?

I'm 170lbs with gear... just set my shock at 162psi (digital pump) and got 30% right on the nose (cycled the shock, etc.)... I can't imagine running 200+psi per the Evil recommendation.

140mm fork/Low setting....