Is it a cheater switch and do you use it?

[Flow-Rider]

What does the clock say?
Fast never feels fast for going downhill, is there a similar mental effect on climbing? Is what we think feels good actually really slow but just feels quicker because it's being dumber?

I'm not one for climbing but the city folk here are big on Strava, the trail network I ride has some mean short pinces and you know when you're on something that doesn't climb well.

 

[gippyz]

I don't think it is a cheater switch, as it can be useful in some circumstances. Though some people has said that it "destroys" your seal (interpret it how you like).

I have a super enduro bike with 190mm RS vivid air on it, and I wish it has a climb switch as it sags and bobs a lot when I'm climbing. Yes I could be running too much sag at 30%, but when I run 20% sag, the bike climbs well but descend like a pogo stick. Again it could be due to my novice shock tuning, but if I can run 30% sag and have a climb switch for climbing, I'll be happy as a larry.

I also have a trail bike with 120mm RS monarch whose climb/trail switch I never use. Just because I never have a need for it. Running 25% sag, the bike climbs like a demon and descend like a lucifer.

Horses for courses I guess.

 

[DMan]

I'm not one for climbing but the city folk here are big on Strava, the trail network I ride has some mean short pinces and you know when you're on something that doesn't climb well.

Too right. We have plenty of nasty, loose pinches here and I can certainly feel the difference in climbing efficiency...

 

[Oddjob]

I don't think it is a cheater switch, as it can be useful in some circumstances. Though some people has said that it "destroys" your seal (interpret it how you like).

I have a super enduro bike with 190mm RS vivid air on it, and I wish it has a climb switch as it sags and bobs a lot when I'm climbing. Yes I could be running too much sag at 30%, but when I run 20% sag, the bike climbs well but descend like a pogo stick. Again it could be due to my novice shock tuning, but if I can run 30% sag and have a climb switch for climbing, I'll be happy as a larry.

I also have a trail bike with 120mm RS monarch whose climb/trail switch I never use. Just because I never have a need for it. Running 25% sag, the bike climbs like a demon and descend like a lucifer.

Horses for courses I guess.

The Vivids got a great lsc circuit. Just add 2 clicks of lsc for climbs.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

[gippyz]

The Vivids got a great lsc circuit. Just add 2 clicks of lsc for climbs.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Thanks. Will keep this in mind.

 

[Flow-Rider]

Too right. We have plenty of nasty, loose pinches here and I can certainly feel the difference in climbing efficiency...

Like climbing Mt Marley , like I said there's a lot of people that say they climb well after they've plunged money into another brand of new bike and usually the placebo effect of new bikes is that it has to be better than the last bike I owned.

 

[DMan]

Like climbing Mt Marley , like I said there's a lot of people that say they climb well after they've plunged money into another brand of new bike and usually the placebo effect of new bikes is that it has to be better than the last bike I owned.

Have you been here and ridden Mt Marlay? The new trails or the road up?

 

[Flow-Rider]

Have you been here and ridden Mt Marlay? The new trails or the road up?

Not yet, a good mate that I ride with a lot has ridden it and I hear they're shuttling it also now.

 

[DMan]

Not yet, a good mate that I ride with a lot has ridden it and I hear they're shuttling it also now.

Yep. Shuttled it for the first time on Sunday. Pack of 7 and we got 8 shuttles in each over 2 hours for $25. Well the rest of the crew did as I blew my tyre on the 3rd and I left my gear bag at home unfortunately. What gets Stans of an alloy frame.....
You need to come up and ride them with us!

 

[Flow-Rider]

Yep. Shuttled it for the first time on Sunday. Pack of 7 and we got 8 shuttles in each over 2 hours for $25. Well the rest of the crew did as I blew my tyre on the 3rd and I left my gear bag at home unfortunately. What gets Stans of an alloy frame.....
You need to come up and ride them with us!

My mate broke his derailleur climbing it, it sounds every bit as rough as what he said it was
A plan for a trip out there is in the making but I don't know when. I wipe sealant off with Metho, not easy but it comes off.

 

[DMan]

My mate broke his derailleur climbing it, it sounds every bit as rough as what he said it was
A plan for a trip out there is in the making but I don't know when. I wipe sealant off with Metho, not easy but it comes off.

The black trails are rough but the green and blues are pretty smooth. For the Granite belt. Plus there's Passchedaele and Broadwater which are both good areas. I'll try metho. I've read Handy Andy works too.

 

[hifiandmtb]

Doesn't that tell you something about bump compliance on other bikes then, you can't have the best of both it's simple.

Bullshit.

A DW link bike is perfectly compliant.

 

[beeb]

A DW link bike is perfectly compliant.

...or the Craftworks ENR (i-Track suspension system).

 

[Flow-Rider]

Bullshit.

A DW link bike is perfectly compliant.

If you set the shock like a wet sponge then suffer at the cost of climbing .

 

[hifiandmtb]

I run both my DW & VPP bikes fully open always. No climbing bob.

Happy days.

 

[Flow-Rider]

I run both my DW & VPP bikes fully open always. No climbing bob.

Happy days.

Are you sure about that ? Who are you kidding, every bike has pedal bob unless it has a full lockout or solid rear triangle.

 

[beeb]

Disagree.

From my own personal experience:
Trex Fuel EX and Trek Remedy - heaps of bob.
Santa Cruz 5010 - some bob, fairly minor and only tedious on fireroads.
Ibis Ripmo - very little bob.
Craftworks ENR - flat, no bob.
Banshee Spitfire - slight "inverted" bob (ie: tries to raise with each pedal stroke due to high amounts of anti-squat)

Obviously everyone's preferences are different too. Some people climb fireroads, some climb through rocky tech, some don't care if the bike bobs on climbs as long as it's supple descending, some sacrifice descending ground-tracking for better efficiency uphill.

I use the climb switch at times, but find a 'open' but firm climb mode (ie: most shocks 'middle' or 'trail' setting) is most efficient for me, as it allows some ground tracking but not too wallowly...

 

[hifiandmtb]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DW-link

Bicycles have a short wheelbase relative to the height of their center of mass, when compared to other vehicles such as cars. Because bicycles are pedalled, their forward acceleration tends to be in surges while each pedal is under power. Because the driving force at the rear wheel is not aligned with the center of mass, the bicycle experiences a torque, according to Euler's second law. This torque is partially responsible for the compression of the rear suspension under power known as squat. Squat which occurs in time with pedalling is known as "suspension bob."

Suspension bob has three main causes:

• Rider weight shift due to their pedalling stroke
• The chain tension acting on the suspension
• The suspension squatting or jacking due to acceleration forces.

On bikes which are subject to bob, the following two techniques can reduce it.

• Increase the compression damping of the suspension
• Increase the spring rate of the suspension

However, neither of these solutions are ideal as they hinder the suspension's ability to absorb small bumps or low-speed impacts while the bicycle is coasting (Note: "low-speed" does not refer to the velocity at which the vehicle is traveling, but the speed at which the suspension is compressed). In the case of excessive compression damping, this problem is known as overdamping.

The DW-link uses an anti-squat suspension design to counteract forces responsible for "suspension bob" and consequently removes the need for excessive compression damping. This allows the suspension to be much more active over low-speed impacts, allowing more traction.

It works.

 

[slider_phil]

Ridden a lot of different suspension designs. Best climbing ones by feel have been DW, VPP and to add another to the mix, Canfields Balance system. I know a lockout switch might make a bit of difference but I'm both too lazy to keep reaching down and flicking switches and secondly, too vain to run a remote switch on the bar.

 

[DMan]

Ridden a lot of different suspension designs. Best climbing ones by feel have been DW, VPP and to add another to the mix, Canfields Balance system. I know a lockout switch might make a bit of difference but I'm both too lazy to keep reaching down and flicking switches and secondly, too vain to run a remote switch on the bar.

But you're probably mad fit. I agree it's not the prettiest but I'm a big fan of the handlebar remote switch now I've got it. But I've set mine over the top and shifter, and dropper lever as of last night, are integrated into the ispec ii brakes. Brand X ispecii 1X levers for $39 on CRC..