[goatman]

My mate just got his new 20'(large) Trance 2 2007.
He weighs 190lb and is about 6' tall.
Coming off a 80mm travel Scott hardtail.
He is having great difficulty climbing steep singletrack, the front end feels very light and squirrelly to him.
His SDG Bel Air saddle is set all the way to the front on the stock Easton post which has a a setback clamp (NOT inline)
Bars are about parallel with top of saddle
Stock 100mm Easton stem.
Rs Recon (105mm travel) set at 90psi giving about 26mm of sag, Float R set at 160 psi, about 10mm of sag (total shock stroke 38.1mm)
I think it is partly due to poor climbing technique as well as the setback Easton seatpost.
Any advice?

 

[LyNx]

First up crank up that rear shock, it needs to be close to his bodyweight for proper SAG AND make sure when setting SAG that you have on all you "riding goodies" so you have an accurate body weight to test with. FYI max SAG should be 9mm on the FloatR on the Trance.

Second I would look at moving a few spacers above the stem to lower the HB a bit and see if this helps. I have never ridden my Trance w/ the HBs level yet, always 1+" lower than the saddle. Even consider not moving spacers but flipping the stem and see how that goes.

Let us know if any of this works or if you need more suggestions.

 

[majura]

Some more simple tips:

Use the plumb line rule to correctly position his saddle (fore/aft)- knees should be over or just behind the ball of his foot (pedal contact point) when pedals are level (9/3 o'clock).

To get more weight on the front end, consider flipping the stem so you have a reverse rise. Also angling the bars a bit further back will give more sweep and again lower the rise a little.

Climbing technique: Get him to use the nose of his saddle, thumbs on the top of the grips, bring the elbows in a little, lower torso over the bars, keep upper body relaxed to consume less energy and finally- spin to let the suspension find traction:thumbsup:

 

[goatman]

Trance "07 rocks!

Thanks for the advice, went for a trail ride with my mate yesterday and coached him through the steep loose and more technical bits.
Once he got his technique nailed he couldn't believe how well he was climbing in the saddle compared to his old hardtail.
We did put one 10mm spacer on top of his stem and sweep his bars back just a fraction.
He is loving the bike, which is great value for money (Trance 2 '07) with no real weak components except maybe the hubs.
Just want to make sure that max. rear travel is 38.1mm? He is not getting full travel at 180psi, but the shock is not yet "ridden in " I guess.

 

[LyNx]

If you're asking about that last little bit of shaft that nevers gets used, that's normal and means you've used full travel. It is possible to use it but that means you've really bottomed out the suspension - you know this by the O-ring actually being knocked off the shaft.

......................Just want to make sure that max. rear travel is 38.1mm? He is not getting full travel at 180psi, but the shock is not yet "ridden in " I guess.