On The Rebound!

[dougielampshade]

Does anyone know the proper way to go about setting up the suspension on my new Rev3 when it arrives? It seems to be a myserious art which nobody is sure about and i'm not convinced with the mess with it til its right theory. All the shop can really tell me is that they just ride 'em standard and they're superb! But i'm not havin it that these hoppin skippin 9 stone teenagers are bouncing their bike around effortlessly without some help from the correct rebound settings, as i've been told by some of their dads. It's obviously not rocket science but there must be a systematic approach to getting it just how you want it and if everyone rides them standard why bother making them adjustable? I'm hoping this is the missing link to take my riding to the next level (and keep Toni off my throne) so please tell me where i'm going wrong.

[munch]

wrong dealer

[bigdamo]

I'm new to trials so don't go off what i say but would it be slow compression and fast rebound?I come from a MX / enduro background and they and myself included where pretty particular about finding the sweet spot.Trials riders don't seem to worry about suspension settings to much which i find strange as a well set up bike is vastly different to a badly set up bike at least in MX, Enduro and MTB's

[woody]

You don't need to touch the suspension settings on any modern bike to be able to flick and hop the front and back around. It'll do it as it comes out of the crate, it's down to who's on it. Some riders may alter settings to their personal preference but it isn't necessary to make the bike do it.

And just to back this up if you doubt it, one of our local lads who can skip and dance a bike all over the place, had a go on my Ossa MAR a few years ago. He hopped the front, hopped the back and then bounced the bike about six feet sideways in about 4 hops with both wheels off the floor together. At its best, the Ossa suspension is say, 10% as effective as a modern bike and has about 6" of travel on the front and 4" on the back, so I think a Beta can be made to do it without suspension alterations. I've also seen him do the same on a Honda TLR and a TY175 Yam.

Just ride it standard, the suspension set up on a trials bike is not as critical as a MX/Enduro bike as the standard settings on a modern trials bike are more than good enough to cope with anything that novices, intermediates and most experts are likely to point it at. Far more important than twiddling suspension settings is your stance on the bike, using your body and weight to work with the bike and suspension and most importantly, timing. If you still doubt it, give your bike to one of those 9 stone young guns before you change anything and watch what they can do on it.

[bigdamo]

What about if you don't hop and skip and just ride the bike?What about when riding up a hill with say 1 ft rock ledges all the way up it, would it not be better to have your suspension sorted rather than having to much or not enough rebound and the bike kicking about all over the place where as a well sorted out suspension set up would track straight up?

[dougielampshade]

I can manage the front no problem, but the back end, in a section, where you've got no momentum, is another story! And yes you can ride even most expert sections without the need for this but just sometimes it can make life a whole lot easier if you can do it without any room for setting up.

And with regards to my sense of rythm and timing, it's second to none (my girlfriend told me)! And i must caution you that those who attempt to cast doubt on my prowess will find themself challenged to a dance-off in my local.

So even with rythm to make Hugh Heffner blush, i struggle to move the back end around without a good bit of forward momentum to help get it up, surely some rebound can help? Someone must know how to use it?

[rob214]

despite the fairy tales your girlfriend tells if you can't do it on a bike then don't blame the bike. it's all down to the ability of the rider. body postition and proper Technique. more important than what the suspension is doing, is where your handle bar position and body position. most stock out of crate bikes work perfectly. also most of the best hoppers come from bicycle roots and they have zero suspension it's all rider skill. and it's a learned thing you can get just keep trying

rob

p.s. i can't dance a step at all but i can hop and flick it like i want. plus no complaints from the wife

[neil king]

It's obviously not rocket science but there must be a systematic approach to getting it just how you want it and if everyone rides them standard why bother making them adjustable?

I feel that a systematic approach is easiest to do if you start at one end of the spectrum and work your way to the other end. The less rebound dampening you have, the easier it is going to be to hop, and harder to control on rocks and logs plus cause traction problems. So, you might want to start with as little dampening as possible and move up from there. But first you will want to set the preload to where you want it, then make the rebound adjustments.

[rob214]

also i find it easier to keep a note pad and write down all the changes you make. so you can go back later and evaluate the progress.

[eddie_lejeune]

all i do, is adjust it to take the sag out of it, and monitor it after this.

[smalley250]

leave the rear shock alone as you hop the bike not the bike bounce you around. If youre unable to do hopping then you need to learn the art of it. My friend years ago buggered around with his beta strippy and it cost some to get it back to standard setting as in yes it hopped but crap in sections with rocks, pebbles even. Take what you might get in advice from fathers with a pinch of salt as ive heard all sorts of crap to be honest. Ask an adult inter or expert and im sure you ll get the right reply.

I learnt but riding on falt land and made a circle to which i made it smaller and smaller and likewise with a figure of eight.

Best of luck

[dougielampshade]

It's obviously not rocket science but there must be a systematic approach to getting it just how you want it and if everyone rides them standard why bother making them adjustable?

I feel that a systematic approach is easiest to do if you start at one end of the spectrum and work your way to the other end. The less rebound dampening you have, the easier it is going to be to hop, and harder to control on rocks and logs plus cause traction problems. So, you might want to start with as little dampening as possible and move up from there. But first you will want to set the preload to where you want it, then make the rebound adjustments.

How do i know when the preload is right though?

[putrid_fruit]

How do i know when the preload is right though?

The beta manual says for less than 70kg, no fork preload, 75-80Kg, 5 turns on the forks and 80+ Kg, 10 turns. Then ( this bit is not in the manual) set the back to match. they should move similar amounts when you push on the lowest point of the seat.

As for the damping- the oil in the forks is 5w. you have to change it to change the compression damping, but Don't. I believe that the damping adjustment on the forks mostly affects the rebound. the manual says the shock adjusts the compression (but the english is poor, so...).

The best riders have very little damping (springy) they are able to control the bike without the assistance of heavy damping. Lesser mortals need the suspension set to keep uncontrolled skip to a minimum.

Set your bike up so that the suspension damping feels a little quick to you, but just controlled enough.

P.S. My '07 feels quite heavily damped from the factory.

Cheers.

Edited April 11, 2007 by bad fruit

[dougielampshade]

Fruit, that's exactly what i was after, should help a lot cheers!