ok, i'm stuffed. i don't understand how to set the sag on my forks.
i tried the suggested air pressure of 90 psi for my weight to start with and got almost no sag. i got down to 50 psi before i was getting the sag required. now i notice that i depends on how i get on the bike to cheekc the sag changes the answer dramatically. i if get on the bike with my body forward of the cranks the forks sink down and then recover when i am in a riding position. if i get on the bike with my weight around the cranks or behind them there is almost no compression in the forks. the sag in the rear shock is pretty much the same no matter how i get on the bike.
Any suggestions as to how I should be doing this properly? I thought this would be the easy bit before I got to grips with compression and rebound damping.
Setting the static sag is a guide only to final pressures. It can be difficult to get it spot on as the stiction in the forks as well as body positioning can all affect the result.
First up for best results this is a 2 person job
Best way I have found is to set the initial pressure to that recommended by the fork manufacturer.
Put on all your riding gear including a full camel back if you ride with one.
Have a friend hold the bike upright with a leg either side of the rear wheel
You now need to get on and adopt your most preferred riding position, standing in attack mode I have always found gives best results.
The trick is to get on the bike without "bouncing" the suspension, just let it settle in to position, personally I use a couple of milk crates either side of the bike.
Get on and off several times noting how much sag you use.
Average the results and adjust pressure accordingly to where you want your sag [typically 25 - 30% of total fork travel].
Note that this pressure will be just a guide. Once your forks have had a chance to bed in or loosen up with a few kms under them sag may increase. You may also find that the fork is way to hard and you are no getting anywhere near full travel on your normal trails or be too soft.
Best way to final adjustment is to carry your shock pump on your first few rides and adjust up or down until the fork feels right.
As for initial rebound setting in the fork.
Count the full range of clicks in the rebound dial from full fast to full slow, say it is 16, wind it back till it sits in the middle, in this case 8 clicks out from full slow.
Go for a ride and adjust according to feel.
A good base line for the rear I have found is to ride slowly off a normal 150mm gutter while sitting down with your full weight on the saddle.
Adjust the rebound damping so that the rear suspension bounces just once and stops.
If it does not bounce at all it could be set too slow, if it bounces twice its too fast.
adjust accordingly
Hope this helps
Remember, don't be afraid to fiddle, as long as you now where your base settings were you can always start again.
Adjust only one thing at a time don't go altering front pressure, rear pressure rebounds etc all at once on the trail. Once you set your base lines in the garage adjust only one thing at a time on the trail or you will not know what each adjustment is doing to the ride quality.