[xdeity]

Hey all, just been out to practice doing some bunny hops, which went really well using the method from the video. Not saying I'm the worlds best bunnyhopper after 2 hours practice but it was going well.

Anyway after a while I got bored of jumping and stupidly decided to take on a steep set of stone steps, never ridden down stone steps before, they were quite steep and each step is similar to a staircase is a house for distance apart. Well I got to the top with confidence, hit the first two steps coming down, panicked, braked and came off rolling down said steps, fortunately no damage to me othe than my ego and a couple of grazes and scratched helmet. Even more lucky no apparent damage to my bike!!

However on ride home I noticed the bike felt very bouncy, so I checked the pressure in the rockshox bar 2.1 rear suspension and it had dropped to 100psi, having pumped it up to 175 only 10 days ago. Is this something I should be worried about or is it likely to just be because of about 100 bunnyhops?

So, advice time peeps, what's the best way of going down steep steps and what should I do about my rockshox?

 

[xdeity]

41 views and no one has even laughed at my fall......

 

[AndrwSwitch]

Pics, or it didn't happen. Preferably X-rays of hardware permanently installed in one of your bones.

I'd say it depends on the staircase. There was another thread about descending a while back in which someone suggested that when braking on a descent, rather than pushing the bar with one's hands, it's better to push the pedals forward with one's feet for stability. I've been trying to do that lately, and find it helpful. It lands me further back on the bike than I'd been in the past, but it feels balanced, like skiing well, not like leaning back. I mention this because if a stairset is longish, I usually roll the whole thing, wheels on the ground, rather than trying to do something fancier. I find it makes the transition at the bottom a lot easier. Macho freeriders can jump several feet to flat if they want to, but I have a short-travel hardtail. Too much weight on your hands means too much weight on the front wheel, and it'll be a much harsher descent, and also easier to end up over the bars, IME.

Anyway, don't carry too much speed into a stairset, because you're going to be accelerating on the way down. Also, if you can't see the path you'll take at the bottom, you might look for a different one to practice on. Line yourself up so you're aiming at your exit, slow down to an acceptable speed (up to you, start slowish and work your way up. If you're confident and the exit's good, you don't really need to slow down at all,) and then GET OFF YOUR BRAKES! Just try to stay loose and centered until it's over. (Is that what he said?) Congratulations. You've just rolled a stairset without killing yourself. You can treat rock gardens about the same, although the minimum speed to get through well is a bit higher.

If you want to be fancier about it, you can try airing over the whole thing. I'm having visions of blowing my shins up through my knees trying that on anything sizable on my bike, since stairs usually have flat landings. You can even ride up a smaller stair set. I think two or three steps is the most I've managed, but most of my riding is either road or on trails and if they have steps, it's usually the individual largish ones with an erosion control thing holding them up.

 

[theMeat]

Depends on how long the stairs are, how fast you're going, ect, ect. Shorter stairs I usually ride down on my back wheel.
The shock shouldn't loose air so it's leaking.
Oh and Ha ha ha.

 

[xdeity]

Thanks for the advice, when you say you go down on your back wheel what do you mean, leaning back or literally on one wheel

 

[xdeity]

I've pumped up my rear shock to 200psi and I'm gonna check it tomorrow to see what it's lost if anything

 

[zebrahum]

Easy thing to fix on your shock would be the valve core. Make sure it's tight, you can get a tool from most gas stations and any auto parts store. Otherwise, you can submerge your shock in water (off the bike) and look for leaks.

 

[AndrwSwitch]

Keep in mind that shock pumps are sometimes funny about matching gauge pressure to pressure in the shock. So it can be hard to figure out how much pressure is in the shock when you start topping it up, and once you've topped it up, it's too late to learn anything useful. So if you've been using your shock pump to check pressure (which I would never do, of course ) consider getting a gauge. Or just do the plan suggested above.

 

[Kona_CT]

When I ride down stairs (which I do if it's more than like 3 since I don't have the skillZ to jump more than that) I treat it just like a steep descent with my butt behind the seat. If I use the brakes I use the rear one slightly.

Either that, or if it's kinda crowded at a park or something, I'll treat it more like a rock garden descent and slowly go down step by step - but that sucks!

 

[Kaizer]

This video looks good...
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/taiwan-urban-dh-race-2011.html

 

[faceplant72]

However on ride home I noticed the bike felt very bouncy, so I checked the pressure in the rockshox bar 2.1 rear suspension and it had dropped to 100psi, having pumped it up to 175 only 10 days ago. Is this something I should be worried about or is it likely to just be because of about 100 bunnyhops?

So, advice time peeps, what's the best way of going down steep steps and what should I do about my rockshox?

I'll focus on the shock since your getting advide on skills already. I also a have an Otera and have never liked that the the air valve and rebound noob seem vunerable to impacts. "Bouncy" sounds like the rebound was tweeked. Other than checking that it will hold pressure check the rebound noob, valve, and the rear travel adjustment QR for damage. If the Bar is leaking you will need a new shock because the bar is not servicable

 

[hazdxb]

BAHAHAHAHAHA YOU FAIL!

seriously though your fork shouldn't lose air......and if you wanna become pro at going down stairs, find a medium/large set of stairs catch some air and then land on the stairs going down. Just make sure to lean back enough and you should be fine. Sorta like the guy in the vid below. Good luck!
http://www.pinkbike.com/video/2165/

 

[xdeity]

Bought a scHrader valve tool today, when I put it in I was able to turn it approximately half a turn until it was very tight, do you think then that could have been the cause of the leak. I also tightened the actual valve body into the body of the shock slightly as it looked a little loose. Gonna check it again in a few days, riding to work on it for the next three days so we'll see how it rides I guess

 

[Shark]

Yep a 1/2 turn in the air valve might be enough for a slow leak. Keep in mind, every time you connect the shock pump, a small amount of air will fill the hose, so the pressure is generally slightly lower each time you connect the pump.
My fork loses about 4psi each time, and rear shock about 7psi. Generally once you pump it to a specific pressure then remove the hose, it will stay at that pressure.

You might want to do it a few times in a row, keeping track to see how much is loses. Then when you pump it up you'll know for the next time.