Suspension Fork Tuning

[mil]

Hi,

The forks on my Rev3 (04 model) seem far too soft. I'm no heavyweight (far from it- 11stone) and I can't find any decent info on adjusting spring rates, oil heights etc. I want to firm them up and slightly speed the rebound up. Has anyone got any experience stripping them down and can advise?

Many thanks

Alan

p.s For the rear shock- is the allen key bolt at the top of the shock the rebound adjuster?

[putrid_fruit]

Hi Alan.

There is a rubber bush at the bottom of the spring leg that can perish. When this happens the spring is allowed to reach further down and essentially reduces the pre-load on the spring. If this happens a symptom is very harsh "topping out" i.e. when the front wheel comes off the ground the stop in travel is a metal on metal action. I recommend dis-assembling the forks and having a look. It's not a big job and these forks are easy to work on

A meduim use trials bike can use an oil change every 6 months, as the oil loses viscosity, and while this gives less damping, it can also feel like a softer action, especially on big hits which now bottom out.

Do you tie your front forks down hard for transport? I believe this can cause a loss in spring length. I had this with a 93 Zero.

Finally you can add pre-load by just chucking a spacer in the spring side, this gives more pre-load than you can get with the factory system, but if you genuinely need a stiffer spring, then a whole new spring is preferable.

Best in troubleshooting,

Chris.

[mil]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply. I wonder if this bush is perished and I'm sure the fork oil has not been changed before! It's interesting that in Mountain Bike circles the forks are very specialist, tuned by professionals and always tinkered with, but in Trials, where suspension is surely as important, there seems very little info on it and not as much attention paid to it...

Mil