Suspension settings, opinion, discussion

[VarioHSDelite]

With 50 miles on the odometer, I have become dismayed at the suspension on my Delite. This is solely a commuter bike, and as such the hope for the air suspension was to remove those unpleasant cracks, connections and other aberrations of a rails-to-trails commute each morning. If I were to ride right off a curb, I would largely not notice, but little bumps and breaks in the pavement aren't much different than a regular bike. I was kind of hoping for the other way around: not notice all the little here-and-theres, but it would be ok if a 6 inch drop was jarring. All of the R&M bikes have the same suspension, so other than an a different implementation of it, I suspect they are all largely the same in this regard.

I started with 20PSI in the tires and 45PSI in the suspension, going for the max plushness, but found the drag too high and the suspension quick to bottom out.

I'm up to 32PSI in the tires and 125PSI in the suspension, and still seeing a full stroke of the suspension on the rail-to-trail commute at some point, though I no longer detect the bumpstop in the shock.

I have the rebound wide open, such that the suspension returns right back to full stance immediately after a bump. I'm going for another 30 minute ride tonight, and i'm going back down to 45PSI in the shocks, but this time with the rebound turned completely the other way, to see if that helps.

Was another $700 in Fox shocks necessary? Are there other choices you are aware of? Anyone else have experience in this department?
Thanks.

Edit: I can't get less than 90PSI in the rear shock without sitting on the bumpstop at sag; 170lb rider. Front suspension was at 50PSI; dropped it to 45PSI.

 

[Chris Nolte]

I would recommend you set the proper sag on your suspension. Bottoming out will cause premature failure of your suspension. You’ll also lose the safety benefits of Control Technology. Not you could set the sag to ~30% of travel while sitting at your normal position to make it a bit more plush. We generally recommed 20% as does the Mfg. For the rebound I recommend setting this in the middle, I think the extreme settings are working against your ideal result. I don’t know the numbers offhand, but under 100psi sounds super low and I’d be concerned about the health of the suspension after riding on it at this low pressure.

If you want to absorb the minor imperfections in the road you might want to opt for the addition of a Kinect seatpost. Many might feel like this might be overkill, but this will give you the desired result. The suspension will handle the larger bumps, curb drops, etc, and the Kinect will handle the smaller stuff. You could also consider a saddle with some elastomers.

Regarding your question about whether Fox suspension would be worth it. I will say that the Fox suspension is a bit more responsive and tunable, so in some ways yes. But I think you can get better performance out of your suspension with the appropriate setup.

I hope this is helpful. Keep us posted on how it’s going.

 

[VarioHSDelite]

Chris,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I too felt anything under 100 PSI to be concerning, and didn't ride it this way for more than a few hundred feet. However I got this idea straight out of the SunTour leaflet that came with the bike; see attached image (if I can attach from phone.) showing a 65-75kg rider should have 60-70PSI in the various shocks they make.

It's early AM so I haven't researched your suggestions yet - I'll let you know what I find.

I would recommend you set the proper sag on your suspension. Bottoming out will cause premature failure of your suspension. You’ll also lose the safety benefits of Control Technology. Not you could set the sag to ~30% of travel while sitting at your normal position to make it a bit more plush. We generally recommed 20% as does the Mfg. For the rebound I recommend setting this in the middle, I think the extreme settings are working against your ideal result. I don’t know the numbers offhand, but under 100psi sounds super low and I’d be concerned about the health of the suspension after riding on it at this low pressure.

If you want to absorb the minor imperfections in the road you might want to opt for the addition of a Kinect seatpost. Many might feel like this might be overkill, but this will give you the desired result. The suspension will handle the larger bumps, curb drops, etc, and the Kinect will handle the smaller stuff. You could also consider a saddle with some elastomers.

Regarding your question about whether Fox suspension would be worth it. I will say that the Fox suspension is a bit more responsive and tunable, so in some ways yes. But I think you can get better performance out of your suspension with the appropriate setup.

I hope this is helpful. Keep us posted on how it’s going.

 

[Chris Nolte]

Keep in mind the bike is a lot heavier than most mtb’s the bike shocks will normally be found in so that can impact things. You also tend to be much more upright. Use the O-Ring on the rear shock to test your sag. Push it down the shock, sit on the bike in your normal position with a wall or a counter to stabilize yourself. When you get off the bike you should see approx 20-30% of the suspension being used. Sam goes for the fork.

 

[Nova Haibike]

You won't find a better explanation of suspension setting:

 

[ChrisHudson]

Thanks for posting this - I've been trying to figure out the same stuff for our Homage GX Rohloffs. I have no complaints about the ride, but wanted to make sure no damage was being done.

The video is excellent.

 

[ChrisHudson]

OK, so I spent some time getting to know the suspension on our Homage GX Rohloffs. They have the Suntour Aion front fork and X-Fusion O2 Pro R rear shock.

Did the sag test a few times and have adjusted both units for about 25%. I'm about 67kg and my partner about 59kg. The Suntour recommended pressures were pretty much correct. About 60psi for me and 55psi for my partner.

For the rear, mine were set to about 200psi and my partner about 180psi.

Going for test ride soon, so we'll see how we go,

 

[Alaskan]

When I got my Homage I had already researched which bike shop in town has the most respected expertise in suspensions. Surprise, surprise it was one that specializes in mountain bikes Upon arrival and assembly, the next day I visited that shop and bought a half hour of their time getting the bike's suspension tuned to my weight and riding style. The general rules of thumb they used were 50% of my body weight in the front and 100% in the back. Then they fine tuned it and had me ride around their parking lot over curbs, deep bumps, cracks etc. tweaking the rebound by small increments. It was important to let them know where I ride which is mostly roads and a few reasonably well groomed trails. During over 4,000 miles, I have played with the rebound one click either way but that's about it. It was the best $30 I've spent on the bike. Going up and down stairs and rocking on washboard dirt roads, zipping along country roads, my tush thanks Mr. Fox every day.

Given that Cirrus, the body float people, are right here in my hometown of Bellingham, I did add the body float to the mix to deal with the high frequency chatter/vibration that the full suspension doesn't really deal with. Bottom line (pun intended) she rides smooth as silk and never bottoms out.