The Definitive Guide to Flip Chips: what, why, and how to flip

[@jessehill3780]

The leverage may be the same at sag but it’s pretty obviously different riding at sag or just past sag to the point that the low position doesn’t really work well with air shocks (IMO). At least on the few Nomads I’ve had when set in low and matched with an air shock the super progression but lack of initial support just leads to constant pedal strikes. Set two up that way for Downieville and both of us were just smashing pedals all through butcher creek. When I swapped in a coil and retested then it became usable, so for me most times I’m using the air and in the high mode for local rides and then if going to park I’ll drop in the coil and low.

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

Sounds like you've been doing lots of testing. That's great. Everyone's needs are a little different (trails, conditions, tastes, etc) so that's we have these little points of tuning.

[@stefankaufmann2340]

Great vid! Had a wrong idea on my mind what the flip chip does. will try out soon the high setting of my hightower.

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

Glad it helped!

[@MTBMcPhee]

SC cop a lot of flak for the minor adjustment the flip chip make but after having a bike with larger adjustments I find the SC way so much more usable. There's no point in having 9 adjustments if 7 of them are unusable. I like my tallboy in lo but my mega in hi. The tallboy benefits from the slacker head angle and the lower BB, while the mega is slack enough in hi and it pedals so much better than lo.

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

NAILED IT!

[@WilliamForrestBrownell]

Is there a video on how to flip the chip on that 5010? I just got mine, and was struggling so hard to get it done. I finally managed to get the chip out, but how do you push out the bolt? There’s so much in the way to access that area.

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

Scroll forward through the film to see the how to...or check out the chapter guidelines in the description.

[@clarks888]

Just got a Tallboy V5 and may play with flipping the chip after I get to know the bike stock a bit more. Does flipping the chip have any effect on sag for a given shock pressure? Do I need to remeasure or can I use what worked in the stock chip config?

[@kubismo99]

On the Nomad 6, is the bike in high or low position if the top of the chip says high and the bottom says low?

[@rmhfpv9225]

the Hightower v3 spec sheet on the SC website says to torque to 20nm, but this video says 15.8nm???

[@mitchellmtb7202]

I got it down to about 90 seconds. Flipping it used to be a real PITA, especially with the older narrower non coil designs.

[@Randy_Johnson]

How can you tell what setting your bike’s flip chip is in by looking at the flip chip? I’ve never touched it since I bought my Hightower or Megatower. Do flip chips come typically installed in a standard position when a bike shop puts the bikes together?

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

Your link has high/low markings on it. Look at the lower link from the non-drive side. Typically they're installed in low position.

[@Randy_Johnson]

@@santacruzbicycles2841 I see where it says lo and hi by the link, but how do you know which one it’s set at?

[@Randy_Johnson]

@@santacruzbicycles2841 I see where it says hi and lo, but how can you tell which position it’s in?

[@Randy_Johnson]

@@santacruzbicycles2841 The Megatower has a different style flip chip than the Hightower. I can see the flip chip setting on the Megatower and it’s set on lo, but can’t tell what the setting is on the Hightower. The Hightower is a 2022 model and the Megatower is a 2023 model.

[@jeranemo5504]

Funny how he called pictures being the same, next time plain back drop 😎 also cool to see the Scotland flag hanging up in Santa Cruz HQ 😂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✌️

[@chazmann749]

Would a coil help add mid-stroke support in the low position? Ride my Nomad 6 in high with the stock SD Select+, feels great but blows through the end of the travel a lot. The low positions just feels like my feet just push through the mid-stroke with the air shock, but I would love the end stroke progression. Any thoughts or opinions on this ramble?!

[@jackfoden8993]

Just want to double check, do you have to remove the air from the shock to do this

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

Nope.

[@clintgubich1828]

Is the 15.8 torque for the shock bolts bike specific? The exploded diagrams for the 2024 Hightower say the shock bolts should be 20 Nm.

[@RaptorV1USA]

follow your bikes specific setting.

[@rhettcorbett3346]

Flipin heck. .👍👍👍

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

Comment gold

[@Tomzzzzzz]

The diagram on the link is still confusing as heck and this video doesn’t help me at all. I still have no clue if I’m in hi or lo setting.

[@a.r.8850]

Look at where the bolt sits in your link. If flipping the chip would move the link in direction of the damper, you are in the high position. If flipping the chip would move the link away from the damper, you are in low position.

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

^This

[@theodounis]

Santa Cruz engineers know there stuff

[@two2pedal289]

You can get .118" progressive "flip chip" provided by rear tire wear or an air pressure adjustment alone! I do ride Santa Cruz, please engineer my BB off the floor instead of this ridiculousness.

[@TheSdumache]

Absolutely pointless, doesn’t show the actual orientation of both chips on both sides, you just need to trust way this threads, as low won’t thread to high and vice versa, was expecting more from a company as big as Santa Cruz. Don’t tell people they need to take their bikes to a mechanic, just make it clear on what to do! Again, absolutely pointless!!

[@santacruzbicycles2841]

You couldn't possibly get this wrong. If chips were opposing they wouldn't line up and you wouldn't be able to thread.

[@decoherence926]

Feel pretty stupid now?

[@TheSdumache]

@@decoherence926 fortunately never as stupid as you mate 😆

[@TheSdumache]

@@decoherence926oh look, a troll! 🧌 you’ve got such a sad existence if you sift through comments like this… but each to their own, I guess. 😊

[@JoshuaDomoslai]

⁠@@santacruzbicycles2841this comment helped me. I took off my fox float x to install the LSC knob and was initially confused. But both sides are marked on my Bronson 4.1. It sure does crank up the height on the hi setting. Really not sure what setting to go with. I just ride regular trails, nothing crazy