Ultimate MTB Suspension Setup Advice with Jordi from Fox

[@dichotomousblue]

Jordi is chill as hell, and from what you can tell is a deep mastery of his craft. He's talking to us who want to fiddle around with knobs and waste our time, telling us that it's way more complicated but really... "just ride, it's likely you. Or try little setting changes and remember where it was"

[@luffyluck]

As someone who doesn't even notice when I forget to unlock my shock, I can confidently say that this is good advice 👌.

[@downtimepodcast]

😂

[@kirrmann]

This video is exactly what I was waiting for! And finally someone is asking all the right questions

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks Stefan, glad you enjoyed it.

[@theodounis]

Jordi explains everything easy to understand when it comes to suspension setup

[@rarelycomments]

Love the opening response, people worrying about weird details without understanding the basics. "I heard this on the internet, someone said that" but hardly anyone actually understands the engineering. I don't mean this as a gatekeeping thing, the engineering is not complicated. It's just easier to pick up on one thing someone said on a forum once than engage your brain in understanding the theory in a holistic sense.

[@downtimepodcast]

Glad you enjoyed it. Also, love the username!

[@rarelycomments]

It used to be accurate but now it's ironic because I comment on everything.

[@downtimepodcast]

@@rarelycomments 🤣

[@MTOProject]

Excellent interview - this was is a dream of mine - to sit and get to pick Jordi brain.. he is great at explaining things and just being real - you asked some great questions 👍🏼👍🏼 thank u so much for getting this interview out to the peeps 🎉🎉

[@downtimepodcast]

it's a pleasure

[@dumirazvan8741]

I've seen most of the dialed episodes and the way they approach a tuning problem is so simple and easy. we just have to be disciplined in what we do!. Love the show and Jordi!

[@downtimepodcast]

Glad you've been enjoying it.

[@letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo]

this is my experience as a novice-intermediate rider. i really dont know what feels right, let alone what would improve my bike's performance. i also think you gotta be really attuned to what you like and dislike about the bike feel, that can only come from riding a lot with that i invest a day of my time out in the trails slowly setting sag, rebound, compressions and bracketing them and arriving at a sweet spot for myself as a trail rider focused on comfort.

[@Bonky-wonky]

Interesting point on the rebound affecting the bike’s balance and cornering. I’ll play with it next ride.

[@johnk7390]

Getting clearing answers on suspension from the experts can be challenging. Well done articulating the questions we all want to ask.

[@downtimepodcast]

Thank you John

[@avgmountainbiker6083]

You literally asked all questions that I have been thinking on when I was trying to understand what is what. lol

[@downtimepodcast]

Great to hear, thanks

[@tim__sadler]

So basically this video should be watched by every owner of Fox suspension... Top work Chris. Way to kick off the year!

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks Tim, glad you found it useful.

[@SmokinSober]

Jordi you saved me from buying a new bike!!! I was so frustrated with my Trek Fuel Ex 8 until I watched this video and others of yours. 1 hour in the garage using your advice and my bike rips!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!

[@downtimepodcast]

Great to hear that the episode helped you!

[@SmokinSober]

I am subscribed to your podcast now 👍

[@downtimepodcast]

@@SmokinSober good to hear, thanks!

[@jeffroper5943]

I could listen to Jordi talk about bike suspension all day long. Every time I do I glean a little bit more about what to pay attention to when messing with suspension and how to understand it and get a really good feeling bike setup, and how it all relates to an overall setup, and what to look for and what to expect from speeding up or slowing down rebound, and when to add or remove compression.

[@nitbot]

I love this nerdy, super technical content

[@davec3568]

One issue I'd love to see Jordi address is fork bushing tolerances and how they affect damping. I sent my 38 in for bushing knock and asked them to burnish the new bushings and the difference was night and day. I had to add pressure and one volume token, and the Fox recommended settings were now darn close to perfect... before they were not. I think this is a tough one to address because the truth is there's a lot of variability in bushing tolerances in new forks, so having a factor rep tell you your new fork would greatly benefit from a bushing service right off the bat might be a topic they'd rather avoid?

[@iminacoma]

I had the same issue on my factory 38

[@fredboudreaux9663]

Great interview. Please do more with him.

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks Fred, will do!

[@stevietoft4480]

Exactly what I expected from Jordie. It's not your suspension, it's just you 😅 100% agree

[@downtimepodcast]

🤣

[@vrwgq3q]

great guidance. Sag is important, but just a starting point and based on weight. Rebound is based on air pressure and weight more than preference. Compression is not progressive, but controls valving and controls 'firmness' throughout the stroke, one for general riding (low) and one for big hits (high) volume spacers are required if you bottom regularly at sag, or if you don't at all (add/remove)

[@downtimepodcast]

I'm glad you enjoyed it

[@lukelavine3244]

GREAT VIDEO Thoughtful questions, thorough answers, and all of the questions we've been wanting to ask Jordi ourselves! Awesome work + thank you a ton!

[@downtimepodcast]

thanks Luke, stoked to hear that!

[@djberg3483]

Seriously the best once you’ve gone through the dialed series, and getting your head to really start to wrap your head around suspension, this is a good dive into the details. And hey, great production as well.

[@downtimepodcast]

Thank you!

[@justsayin3600]

This video was helpful for me. I'll have to watch this again.

[@downtimepodcast]

great to hear, thanks

[@Teamsmash7379]

Can’t wait for this one, Jordi is one rad dude!

[@downtimepodcast]

He sure is. I certainly learned a lot from him in this chat.

[@kentpeters6446]

Great interview with Jordi? Great choice. How could you go wrong. You nailed the questions and had him answer so many questions with different scenarios that were all understandable. So great to watch him on Dialed. So knowledgeable and personable.

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks Kent, glad you enjoyed it

[@tallpaull9367]

"Sag is Just a place to start" First place to start is actually to take your brand new Fox 36 and rebuild it, remove all the excess excess excess grease that's blocking up the negative air chamber.

[@davidrioux611]

That’s horrible. And I hope that is outside of being ordinary. I hope you are incidentally unlucky…sorry you had to go through that.

[@veers0r]

Definitely one of the better videos on MTB suspension. :)

[@downtimepodcast]

thank you

[@rmhfpv9225]

fantastic video. I paused it a couple times to run out and check what my Fox sus is at.

[@donbenincasa7442]

One of the best discussions on suspension yet!

[@downtimepodcast]

Awesome, glad you liked it.

[@TheBald0ne]

Fantastic discussion, really interesting and informative! ! I really enjoyed it, so much I can see myself watching it again. Well done!

[@downtimepodcast]

That's great to hear, thanks

[@webb_11]

Happy New Year Chris! Really looking forward to this podcast with Jordi, love watching the Fox Dialed episodes, I’ve learnt a lot from watching those!

[@downtimepodcast]

Happy New Year to you too! Stoked that you're excited for this one. I hope it lives up to expectations!!

[@tristanbotteram]

Loved listening to this!

[@downtimepodcast]

thanks mate, stoked you liked it.

[@RossKuzma]

great questions...thank you!

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks Ross!

[@mattgranger1104]

Happy New Year Chris! Thanks for the cool interview.

[@downtimepodcast]

Same to you Matt, thanks!

[@tallpaull9367]

Ai tech will work wonders on bike suspension in the future for sure

[@downtimepodcast]

I 100% agree

[@olivierlessard2670]

Great video!! You asked what would he change for a bike park setting with big hits but he went on another subject. What would be the answer to that ? Thank you 👍🏻

[@gregsurat3734]

Awesome interview!

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks Greg!

[@MH-md6tb]

I always wondered if you start from fully closed and count the first click as click #1. That was a great question

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks, me too!

[@ostankovalex1176]

dunno, I feel like the temperature affects the suspension a ton. LIKE a lot. dunno what were you talking about in terms of degrees, but 10 degrees in C affects it a lot. The rebound becomes much slower and the fork dives much more (currently running the coil in the rear). So in winter I tend to run 5-10 more PSI when inflating the fork at home to compensate for the difference.

[@DavidFoundCo]

I found that it only affects the first two minutes or so when riding downhill, after that (especially forks) oil warms up and feel like previous temperatures. I think mellow/slower riders won't get the oil moving as much as someone more aggressive on the descends

[@ostankovalex1176]

@@DavidFoundCo maybe, but I tend to ride up to about -5 or so

[@DavidFoundCo]

@@ostankovalex1176 I rode in 28 degree Fahrenheit last week and that’s what I noticed on my setup, I didn’t make any changes

[@davec3568]

Yeah, notice it for sure around freezing or below!

[@oldtimerv7]

Thanks Guys

[@downtimepodcast]

it's a pleasure

[@1BrianFantana1]

I would love to know his opinion on the trutune device! Does anyone know if he has addressed it?

[@downtimepodcast]

I don't know, but I can ask him if I see him at a World Cup next season.

[@1BrianFantana1]

@@downtimepodcast that would be so cool if you could!

[@TheAngryHusky]

Every time I set fork sag as recommended the fork feels harsh to me. I have to reduce pressure quite a bit to get my fix forks to feel supple. 15-20% sag just beats the crap out of my hands. For instance on my Fox 38 it recommends 91 psi for my weight. I have had to drop the pressure to about 65-70 to get the fork to feel comfortable. At that pressure the 15-20 percent sag goes out the window. What am I missing?

[@nomadcarpenter8549]

Are you over compensating with compression damping

[@NoShredDad]

@@nomadcarpenter8549 I was about to say that. I was always chasing supple feel, and with trial and error I found that actually stiffening your suspension gave me more supple feel. I realised that I was trying have my suspension to observe every bump possible and after many trials I realised I just need to eliminate that first initial contact and float on top of everything else. This set up gave me way better feel and support. I dig it now.

[@Ben-sb1xu]

When Jordi talks i listen

[@downtimepodcast]

Ha

[@mrjamieholloway]

Thanks Jordi. :)

[@rider65]

When suspension fluid gets very cold (sub freezing), it's slows down the compression & rebound circuits. That is not debatable. Seals get stiff etc. When you ride in regions that experience very, very cold temps, slight adjustments must be made to compensate. Here in the NE, we can get 100 degree swings from the hottest days to the coldest days. I ride in weather as low as 10 degrees. Typically the last few winters I've ridden in teens to 30 degree temps. Forks need a slight adjustment.

[@In_dependent]

What's your take on putting more tokens than you need? say 3/4 and lowering the overall pressure to make fork very plush at the start?

[@Ben-sb1xu]

Feel over numbers!!!

[@mscott9666]

Excellent, well worth listening to all of it.

[@downtimepodcast]

Thanks, glad it was useful.

[@nathantoney.1501]

awesome

[@downtimepodcast]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@davec3568]

Are you sure there's no "shift point" between high and low speed damping? Usually there is a "knee" point in a shaft speed vs damping force plot. Please consider showing some graphical info in these kinds of discussions, thanks!

[@nick_john]

I understand sag, and maybe rebound a little bit, but beyond that suspension is a black box to me.

[@AaronMarkie]

HA Zero click - as an IT guy counting the first as Zero is absurdly normal. Hearing Jordi explain from a "normal human" point of view made me laugh at the stupidity of the IT world's use of Zero as the 1st :)

[@davidrioux611]

That’s funny!

[@ridedirtymtb9938]

Do you all set your rebound open for sag?

[@kurtrichardson5060]

Don't think......feel

[@downtimepodcast]

That's the one

[@vlbz]

If you're a programmer, the first is usually 0.

[@nothinglessness]

You lost me at 15-20% sag 😂. Clearly ain’t 100kg and riding the Lake District and Scotland regularly. Rough a feck massive long descents + 15-20% sag do not make happy bedfellows!

[@realmcerono]

I am 105kg with gear. I use somewhere around 20% sag but I run compression more open than what fox recommends.

[@topchoice1621]

i dont know why people treat MTB suspension like it’s rocket science smh 🤦‍♂️

[@tylersvensson4468]

Because one click makes the world off a difference, the guy isn’t working with your average rider his working with the 0.01% of the sport at the highest level. When you have multi million dollar teams wanting to win they are gonna do anything they can to win. Just like any other sport with suspension if it’s not set up correctly they loose confidence which loses alot of time. This video is perfect for someone who is average wanting to take there Riding to the next level and make them faster then ever before

[@Bonky-wonky]

Maybe because they take their sport a bit more seriously than you…?

[@topchoice1621]

@@Bonky-wonky it’s still not NASA technology and or that hard click rebound blah blah blah

[@topchoice1621]

@@tylersvensson4468 they’re not riding for multi million dollar teams lmfaooo haha

[@davec3568]

Then don't watch.

[@Skipperjames]

Very good info and explained perfect. You put great questions to him.

[@downtimepodcast]

Thank you!

[@31acruz]

Jesus, this jordi guy OVERCOMPLICATES everything. ITs a simple thing dude, it's not rocket science. Keep it simple. (don't let your insecurity puff up and amplify what it really is)