How to DIAL IN your suspension + TROUBLESHOOT COMMON PROBLEMS | Syd Fixes Bikes

[@jessiefair7391]

BEEN WATCHING FOR YEARS WHEN I HAVE AN ISSUE I ALWAYS COME BACK TO YOU TWO. THE BEST !!!

[@pawelwityk1963]

Never really fully understood suspension settings until watching these vids, great content!

[@jeff7086]

"When I am doing sweet jumps, at the top I'm always getting bucked!" = 3/4 of all Fridayfails vids

[@sydfixesbikes]

True story 🤣

[@davecrashes4905]

Thank you for a great pair of videos explaining suspensions to schmos like me

[@tfraz99]

Thanks Syd! Your style of explanation is why people subscribe, this is great .. once new bike frames and accessories are available again I plan to try all this out! Still stuck on my 2001 Cannondale Super V 500 , so not much applies to me yet ;)

[@89yjrj]

Excellent video on how to trouble shoot suspension issues. I like the simplicity of how it was all explained. Great Job! Also when I saw Macky in his riding gear for filming I thought he was going to do a Trials run in the shop. lol

[@arenjanian8295]

Well done on the videos. My philosophy was leave the settings as much as possible, since it seemed like black magic to me.

[@alexakhtari831]

Best Guide Ive found. Good job

[@mattkavanaugh5623]

Really great that you gave examples of suspension issues and the adjustments to deal with them. That helps illustrate how the suspension works and makes all of the other stuff you’ve taught us fall into place :)

[@tsiturbotsi]

Have you guys done a video on assembling a new bike? I searched your channel and didn't find one. I am planning on getting a bike soon and will buy from a local shop if possible but if I have to order one and get it all put together myself I am capable but would love to see a video from you on the things to look out for and tips and tricks for the best out of box setup. Though maybe others would benefit from this video too. Love your channel and videos.

[@sydfixesbikes]

We will be doing a full build in the near future. A bit different from an out of the box build, but will hopefully still be helpful!

[@tsiturbotsi]

@@sydfixesbikes Great. I am sure that will have a lot of great info for me. Thanks. Can't wait to watch it.

[@jeremyplunkett6889]

A very useful and informative video. Thanks so much

[@chrishorbatt3504]

Two really good videos in a row. Very good practical , useable, explainations. I had somewhat of a understanding of what the different setting effected but this gave me the prctical applications.

[@BCursed2012]

Great vid, Syd. The one suggestion I’d make is further explanation of damping as it pertains to suspension adjustments. If a rider understands damping, they’ll understand what they’re actually adjusting.

[@sydfixesbikes]

We covered it in part one of the series! kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqvEo6x9i5t8g6s

[@NDemanuele1]

You guys always do a great job with explaining everything! Suspension definitely is confusing. I have Fox Factory on my Ripmo. Fox Factory is an eye opener because of all the adjustability!...LOL. When I first got the bike I followed Ibis' and Fox recommendations. It felt good to me when I was done but I bet it wasn't perfect. Now I'm revisiting and want to check everything to make adjustments accordingly. One thing I'm curious about is the air pressure. According to Ibis they recommend 230-235 psi for a 180 Lb rider ( Me!). The other day, I checked the pressure of my shock and it was at 150 psi so I added to make it 240 before disconnecting the pump. So it's probably actually 230. On the trail it seemed like it rode stiffer and I got more traction. It didn't feel harsh or anything. So maybe it's good. I bet the optimal psi would be 210. I like it a bit plush. For the Fork, I noticed it was actually on the higher side - 85. So I bled it to 70-75 which is the recommended pressure. I didn't mess with all the adjustments yet. I plan to do it later today. My local shop offered to help me set it up. The owner weighs the same as me so he said he could dial it in.

[@sydfixesbikes]

Sounds like you're getting it figured out! One thing to note: when you remove the shock pump, the air escaping noise is the air in the shock pump hose, so it doesn't decrease the pressure in the shock. So you should go ahead and set it to what you want before removing. When you attach the pump though, the shock will lose a bit of air (it has to fill the shock pump hose) which is why it will read lower than the pressure that was in it.

[@S_Mendez_28]

Commenting as i watch along, while learning. 😊 So, would it be right to say that a fork/shock with high-speed compression, is like having an adjustable token?

[@sydfixesbikes]

There are similarities, but the difference is that a token ramps up the resistance (air pressure) so has the main effect towards when the fork is more compressed. High speed compression affects high speed hits, which usually involve the fork going through most of its travel, but not necessarily and it affects the entire stroke, but just the end of the stroke like a token will.

[@taffycymroukmtb9073]

Great stuff Syd & Macky 🚴👌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👌

[@asherosullivan5856]

I’m wondering when you guys can go over bottom brackets and pivot points that make odd noises

[@DemonicVelocity]

Get a srew-in bottom bracket.

[@yetimasher1114]

So, last night I watched your video, today I went trail mashing, was actually amazing, my suspension felt so good and I actually understood what I was feeling and how to fix it!!! Thank you so much I've watched so many videos. My front forks seem to dive when I use my front breaks, is that normal? Othet than that the setup is perfect, if I take off lsc it makes it harsh again.

[@sydfixesbikes]

Yeah, LSC is definitely a balancing act between diving and too harsh. It's worth noting that there will always be some compression when you brake as all your momentum is going forward, so when you brake your weight will shift forward which will cause the fork to compress.

[@timquain5341]

Really good explanation. I've been watching suspension videos for years. I'm starting to get my head around it now. Prior to watching your part 1 video, I felt like my vision was being distorted due to the amount of vibration going through my bars. I also know that my air pressure has always been on the lower side to try to combat this. Therefore, I have used low and high speed compression to try to stop bottoming out. Yup, all backwards. So after your part 1, I pumped up the suspension and decreased all of my compression settings. Suddenly, I'm riding on clouds. I haven't ridden bermy or jumpy things since doing this, so I imagine I will need to add a little compression for when I next ride these types of trails. I wanted to ask your thoughts on using a seated roll off a kerb to set the rebound in your rear. I hope that makes sense. The one where you sit down on your seat and ride slowly off of a kerb to see how your suspension reacts after compression. Thanks for your help!

[@sydfixesbikes]

So glad it was helpful!! I think that a seated roll of a curb might work, but I think it would probably tell you more about your compression than your rebound. Instead, I'd recommend a standing mid-speed ride into a curb (or maybe something a bit smaller) to see if the rear end bucks you as the shock rebounds after compressing when hitting the curb.

[@timquain5341]

@@sydfixesbikes ok. So today I went for a ride and hit some jumps. I did end up bottoming out on a hard landing. My question, can you just add heaps of HSC and keep the LSC all the way off in order to keep the small bump compliance whilst avoid full bottom out on big hits? Almost like a token ramps up the compression as it goes further into the travel? I'm 98kg as well. Should I just go and put some tokens instead?

[@sydfixesbikes]

Unfortunately HSC doesn't quite work the same as a token because it affects maybe the last 1/3-1/4 of the stroke and you do want that range to feel decent too. A couple thoughts: 1. Was it an unusual hard landing? So you expect to rarely land that hard? For example, Macky bottomed out front and rear when he accidentally hit something as a drop that was supposed to be a roll. If that's the case, it's okay to bottom out in that situation. If not though, then yes, you want to make some adjustments. 2. Assuming that it wasn't a 1 in 100 hit (as discussed above), adding a token would probably make sense. Keep the rest of your settings the same and see if that keeps you from bottoming out in a similar landing.

[@timquain5341]

@@sydfixesbikes It wasn't an ideal landing. I was going for a shark fin jump but didn't commit enough and landed in between on the flat with it also a little too front wheel heavy. So not a common occurrence. So maybe I'll just leave it as is. Hey, thanks! :)

[@johnbrooks1534]

How about dealing with the good old baby heads (lose rocks)... I feel like my front tire just slides all over when I run through a section like that

[@sydfixesbikes]

That could be a body position thing. You may not have enough weight on your front wheel. But it also sounds like maybe your fork is too harsh. Potentially try lightening (opening/unscrewing) you low speed rebound (assuming you have it) a couple clicks.

[@Filthy_Rich_556]

I hope you are successful. You deserve success. Objectively. From my perspective.

[@sportherz]

Really cool video, lots of demystification ;-)

[@hanstubben]

Forgot to mention tire pressure, tire pressure makes a lot of difference in small bump compliance. It's not allways the suspention settings.

[@sydfixesbikes]

That's a good point, but we wanted to focus on suspension in this video and not being in too many other variables. Especially one as divisive as tire pressure 😁

[@mathewcampbell8479]

@@sydfixesbikes That would make an awesome video though...

[@brunoj6146]

Hello from France and thank you for your videos. I have Specialized Brain in my suspension. Would you say it is a kind of low speed compression?

[@sydfixesbikes]

Yeah I think that's the general idea.

[@257sombra]

great video keep up the good work.

[@stakedGOAT]

You guys are the best

[@johnmason3506]

Another great video!

[@sidhaw]

So helpful! Thanks

[@jeffc9av]

Any extra tips for extra cold weather. I would assume that the oil would move slower but any idea of how much based on exact temps? We ride in ~15f quite often in toronto. TIA.

[@sydfixesbikes]

If it's really cold (-15F definitely counts) we usually end up speeding up our rebound to make up for the temp. It is worth noting though that assuming the suspension is being used, the oil will end up warming up somewhat. Although maybe not much at those temps 🥶

[@Ruben-vn2ix]

I have a Manitou Markhor air fork. I weigh about 80KG but I need to put about 120psi into the fork just to get the sag correct. Does that sound correct?

[@SirJohnCalzone]

Hey Syd, hey Macky - great video as always, keep it up. :) Was wondering if you could just clarify one thing for me - my fork has both a high and low speed compression setting - does the combination of those two options in a way replace the function of shock tokens, or are those two different things? Basically, are tokens a factor that I can still consider somewhere down the line, or do my compression settings have me covered?

[@sydfixesbikes]

Fork tokens are yet another variable in addition to high and low speed compression. If you haven't seen this video yet, we did one talking about tokens: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5yvfKOAm7iBias

[@SirJohnCalzone]

@@sydfixesbikes Ah fudge, and here I was thinking I was getting the hang of my fork settings. :/ To make it even more complicated, I have a DVO fork which has this doohickey called OTT which as I understand is unique to DVO. So that's yet another variable I have to wrap my head around! Thanks for the reply though, waiting for more content from you two!

[@philbergeron4985]

My fork is really harsh, I tried to adjust the rebound but it does not work, I also notice that even when I take all the air out of my it, it doesn’t bottom out, does that mean I have too many tokens in it, or it is something else?

[@jrldude8719]

0:26 - What are bike fingers? =)

[@razmtb5028]

Awesome 🌟

[@GrzegorzGlider]

Hej description written would be appreciated.

[@SidiNic]

My 36 fox never bottoms out and i have both my compression fully open. I find my small bump compliance is rezll6 bad though. Is it a case of removing a token since i already lowered my psi?

[@sydfixesbikes]

In general, you don't want to bottom out. As long as you're using 2/3 to 3/4 of your travel most of the time (on trails that have some hits) you are good to go. You should only use all of your travel on really big hits (big drops to flat for example). Have you used the Fox setup guide to set your pressure, rebound and compression settings? If not, that's a good place to start. Just turning both compression settings all the way down isn't likely to make your fork feel good.

[@SidiNic]

@@sydfixesbikes on my biggest drop i used 90% of the travel, but on normal trail riding i barely use 55% of travel. I have the feeling my 170mm is too much fork for the trails i ride? Also love the channel, new subscriber.

[@sydfixesbikes]

I'd say that's quite possible. Unless you're riding a lot of bike park, 130-140 is generally plenty for most trails. That being said, nothing wrong with too much suspension 😁

[@TheDiablosix6six]

If I put tokens in my fork or shock do I need to setup my sag again??

[@sydfixesbikes]

Yup.

[@TheDiablosix6six]

@@sydfixesbikes Follow on question!! Do I use the same psi as before or is it less psi for every token used?? Thanks in advance!!

[@sydfixesbikes]

In general, we recommend using the same pressure after adding tokens, at least initially. The reasoning being: generally if you add tokens, you're trying to decrease the likelihood of bottoming out at a given pressure, so if you then decrease the air pressure, you'd be neutralizing the benefit of the added token(s). The exception would be if you were previously running higher pressure to keep from bottoming out. Then, after adding the token(s), you would decrease the pressure to get the desired feel and the added token would help keep you from bottoming out.

[@mathewcampbell8479]

I think the best take away from this, is don't be scared to experiment. You really can't break anything (mmm other than bones maybe). I loved these vids.

[@superchickensoup]

Further!

[@keaty1984]

What would be the problem ? Getting hung up on big roots !

[@jeffs2031]

Great video~~°

[@Cfass1]

I was really wanting to see how you were going to summarize this in less than 60 seconds. Also log your setting in your phone or somewheres once you get your settings dialed the way you like it. Otherwise they gone

[@CarlosRamirez-hj8yh]

Wow, why did I always think just open everything up after the climbs 😩🤣

[@tomahoks]

I love your videos, even tho my bike has no suspension. Haha.

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

Ugh, I ride a cheap schwinn, and I haaaaate the wishy washy sus fork. I miss rigid forks 😂

[@andyvan5692]

otb?, why not just call it for what it does, arse over the handle bars (AOH).

[@JustAGlitchFL]

No one's going to talk about how Macky was in his riding gear just for filming?

[@sydfixesbikes]

🤣 actually just my helmet and glasses

[@JustAGlitchFL]

@@sydfixesbikes but why?

[@coolmusic1579]

He's a method actor.

[@tomhogg5382]

Rickbmc😂❤

[@khh108]

I need to find me a girl like Syd

[@andrijatolimir9653]

First

[@arronmartin213]

Can we see u ride