Front shock advice

moorey

call me Mia
What is the shock? How much sag are you getting?
Weight to pressure ratio is only a guide. I run 140 on one bike, 210 on another.
 

RangaWal

Likes Bikes
What is the shock? How much sag are you getting?
Weight to pressure ratio is only a guide. I run 140 on one bike, 210 on another.
The front is a Fox 32 (not sure if this is enough info).

I just spoke to the service guy, and he explained that they can tune it to be stiffer, but this would mean paying another $50

The rear on the other hand would apparently mean a full re-tune (or something) costing around ~$450. It's a Fox Float CTD Boostvalve with a "Valve Tune 250" sticker (I think).

I guess I'm angry at myself for not stipulating what I wanted. I just assumed lock-out was lock-out, not varying degrees. At this stage, I'm tempted just to move the bike on and cut my losses. The service has just cost half of what I paid for the whole bike (2nd hand), and to put it back in the shop would take it up to about the original cost of the bike.

You live and you learn, I guess...
 
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RangaWal

Likes Bikes
@RangaWal

https://www.srsuntour.com/collectio...oducts/aion-rc-15qlc-27-5?variant=44138279694

FIRSTORDER gives you 15% off the site.

That's a Werx program fork, so they do a custom service before sending it. Should be free postage as well unless you get it "too cheap".
Thanks - for $50, I'm happy to have my front shocks adjusted. The rear might be best off replacing, if anyone can point me at a cheaper option than $450.

Actually, I'm mostly annoyed that perhaps I didn't really need to have my 'perceived' issues on the original suspension in the first place.
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
So, just picked up the bike with the freshly service rear shock, and replaced forks/service on the front.

Come someone please explain lock-out, i.e. how stiff should the suspension be when locked out? I gave them my correct weight (no, I didn't cheat!), but unfortunately I couldn't test them by sitting on the bike at the shop due to a flat front tubeless tyre they couldn't inflate (I did it first go when I got home). After getting home, inflating the tyre, and having a test ride, they don't seem really any better than the supposedly kaput shocks that were on it, because IMO, there's not really that much difference between locked and unlocked!

Anyone care to weigh in?
Most forks & shocks will have a little bit of give when "locked"; exactly how much does vary between brands & models. Typically only the shittest forks which have no damping and a mechanical lock will fully lock. Anything from remotely average upward with a hydraulic damper will have some give. Here's a (hopefully) not-too-complicated rundown on How Stuff Works.

Hydraulic dampers found in every self-respecting MTB fork use oil flow to control the speed of movement. The details differ to separate the good from the average, but the basics apply at all levels. In the damper system there is an oil bath. Above the oil bath is the damper head which contains two flow control mechanisms, a low-speed circuit, and a high-speed circuit. The low-speed circuit uses a port that allows high volume oil flow for maximum activity, and a valve to alter the size of the port to reduce oil flow, which makes the fork slower to compress. The high-speed circuit uses a stack of steel shims of varying thicknesses and diameters (logically called the shim stack). The shim stack responds to very rapid, forceful compressions caused by trail bumps.

"Lockout" works on the low-speed compression circuit of the damper, closing off the port to allow no or very little oil flow when you lean on the fork. Soft lockout can be caused by several things. There may not be enough oil in the bath, leaving an air pocket that can be compressed; the valve may not be completely closing the port, allowing some oil to flow through the damper, enabling compression until the spring says "enough" and kicks you back; or the shim stack on the high-speed (which acts as a blow-by even when the low-speed is closed off) is a very soft tune, reacting at a lower threshold than would normally be expected.
 
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