[steve695]

Hey everyone

I have googled and read guides but It's just too much information and I only really want dot points.

I want my suspension setup for Downhill only.

To start off, I ride an 07 A-Line, it has a fox DHX 3.0 rear shock and an MZ 888 front shock.
The local Downhill tracks consist of drops, a few sharp corners, burms and are rather steep.

The front shock has a rebound knob and a compression knob, the rear shock has a single knob that says rebound and compression on it, with no specific arrows, I have no idea what to do with that one.

I'll divide down to what I want to know:

Front Shock:
-Compression, what does it do? Do I turn clockwise for more or anti clockwise? How much do I want?
-Rebound, I currently have it set on highest rebound, however I have red that slower rebound is better for downhill. How much rebound do I want and how do I test it?

Rear Shock:
-Air, there is currently 90 PSI in it, it says 75min 200max. How much should I have in there?
-The pink knob, what do I do with that?

What do I use to adjust sag on both shocks? How much do I want? How do you test it?

This is my first dual suspension bike and I have no idea what to do. Please help me out but keep it simple if possible. I just want to know how to get a good balance for Downhill without having to worry about bottoming out and wrecking my bike.
Sorry for the huge amount of questions, but this is a major headache for me.

 

[ruralrider528]

I will answer some of the basics, as I don't have much knowledge of fox shocks.

Compression controls how fast the fork or shock goes into its travel when hitting a bump or drop etc. The more compression the slower the fork and shock will compress and vice versa.

Rebound is how quickly or slowly the suspension returns back to full travel. I like the rebound set where you feel the suspension rebounding slightly slower but still quick enough that it does not pack down after repeated hits.

For sag you adjust spring rates, not preload. A general rule for sag is that it should be about 20% to 30% of your travel so the suspension can "sink in" to the trail so you will have good control over the choppy stuff.

Testing the sag isnt too bad, you can put a zip tie around your forks stanchion then sit on the bike and when you get off measure the distance between the seal and zip tie. If its an 8 inch travel fork it should come up around 6 cm or 30%.

Someone else will have to explain how to do your rear sag because i am not 100% sure how to explain how to do it.

Good luck

 

[slothoncanvas]

The easiest way to do sag in the rear is by having someone help you. have them look at the bike without your weight on it, then sit on it. it should compress 30 ish percent. if it's too much, put more preload on the spring... if it's not enough, take some preload off. you do that by actually grabbing and turning the spring and the threaded spring stop together.

One thing I will say, I had a DHX 3.0 and for me, I could never quite get it set up right. It was either too stiff, or I was bottoming it out off things. Set back with the 3.0s is that they don't have the bottom out control the higher level shocks do. How much air you want in the shock depends on rider weight and to some degree preference.

 

[giantsaam]

It all depends on weight and riding style really so here's a couple of webpages to get you started.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=47726
http://pushindustries.com/media/Fork Sag Instructions.pdf

 

[essenmeinstuff]

As mentioned compression damping controls the rate of compression, and the rebound the rate of extension.

Their effects are as follows:
Compression damping on high: Increased bottoming resistance on big hits, less small bump compliance, feels "stiffer".
Compression damping on low:
Better small bump compliance, more brake dive, more likely to blow through travel on big hits, more rider comfort (ie less fatigue).

Some forks/shocks have high and low speed compression circuits, that means you can adjust how the fork responds to low speed compression (brake dive for example) and high speed compression (landing a drop) differently.

Rebound:
Faster rebound means the wheel returns to its "normal" position quickly: Good for traction because teh wheel stays on the ground, bad for landing bigger hits because the bike will tend to "buck" you off, esp if rebound is too fast on the rear shock.
If its too slow, then your shock/fork will "pack up", ie it won't return to full extension before the next bump, and then a little less every time, and you end up with a partially to fully compressed suspension, and it won't work very well at all. Typicaly the rebound is changed for the riding you are doing, slower for big hits, faster if you are riding chundery trails with less air time.

basically the best way to go into it is understand what each control does, and play with the settings to see how you like the effects of each.

The problem comes when you have shocks that don't have a "compression damping" knob, but two or three things that affect a bunch of different characteristics in a convoluted way, for example propedal+bottoming resistance+ compression damping all intertwined...

Most importantly, play and learn...

 

[NorKal]

To the OP: The very first thing you should do is go to MZ'z and Fox's websites and download the manuals for your fork and shock and familiarize yourself with your equipment. That should answer most of your questions. Then the rest is just fine tuning your suspension for your style of riding.

 

[steve695]

Thanks everyone.

All of this has helped a lot

 

[swaussie]

Here is some basic but good info to get you into the ballpark with setup :thumbsup:

Front: http://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/3242

Rear: http://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/3173