What have you done to your bike today?
- Thread starter Chris(NJ)
- Start date
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
Definitely like that light... But I did ditch the "multi mount" in favor of one of the old stiff wire ones. Bounces less.
Tim
aka sptimmy43
Let's get into the weeds a little bit... Something a lot of people complain about on newer geometry bikes is pedal strikes. If your shock is 5% under pressure on a 150mm travel bike then your BB will be 7.5mm (.3 inches) lower than it should be. On a 100mm bike your BB will be 5mm or .2" low. For your fork every 10mm of travel is about .5 degree of head tube angle. If you're on a hardtail then your head tube angle is probably already pretty steep so if your sagging way into the fork travel you are just making it steeper. That's cool if you want to rack up miles on the tow path but on anything remotely steep it can really affect your confidence on the bike.
Don't take my word for it. Play around with it yourself. If you have ever set sag or messed with your suspension settings at all then you know that 5 or 10 psi can have a huge effect on not only sag but also the overall feel and performance of the suspension. I can tell you that the pressure in my shock can fluctuate by 10 or 15 psi either way and my fork can vary by up to 10psi from day to day when temps fluctuate. I can absolutely feel the difference in 5 or 10 psi.
Then my suspension isn't the way I like it at the end of the ride.
I think your math is actually pretty good...my ideal shock pressure is 186psi so 5% is 9psi. Factor in a pound or 2 lost from hooking up a shock pump and you are at 10 or 11 psi.
Don't take my word for it. Play around with it yourself. If you have ever set sag or messed with your suspension settings at all then you know that 5 or 10 psi can have a huge effect on not only sag but also the overall feel and performance of the suspension. I can tell you that the pressure in my shock can fluctuate by 10 or 15 psi either way and my fork can vary by up to 10psi from day to day when temps fluctuate. I can absolutely feel the difference in 5 or 10 psi.
Then my suspension isn't the way I like it at the end of the ride.
I think your math is actually pretty good...my ideal shock pressure is 186psi so 5% is 9psi. Factor in a pound or 2 lost from hooking up a shock pump and you are at 10 or 11 psi.
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rick81721
Lothar
Pfffft
Tim
aka sptimmy43
Why spend thousands of dollars on a bike and then not put in a minute or 2 worth of effort before a ride to ensure it's working as good as it can? Seems silly to me but do (or don't do) what you want. Doesn't affect me at all...
Somewhere up this thread, I mentioned putting Hope brakes on the Tallboy.
Sram Level TLMs with matchmaker came off, so i needed to find the hope adapters
for the XO11 shifter, and wolftooth dropper - $21/ea from hope. They are marked
LH and RH, as they are mirror images.
per their recommendation, i put the RH on the RH brake - and immediately noticed there is no rotational freedom like the brakes,
the shifter would be in a fixed orientation to the brake handle - i run the handles up a little high to feel behind the bars (to keep me from
going over them) - which put the shifter a bit underneath. Moved the brake handle down - but may switch to a clamp.
the other problem with the RH adapter is that it inboarded the shifter too much. Here is a pic of the RH adapter.
it has the torx head - on the brake side, there is a hole/slot for the adapter to bolt through.
this was easily solved by switching to the left hand adapter, and using the "other" mounting hole in the shifter.
this was much better.
Now onto the dropper - Since I had the matchmaker adapter for the wolftooth, I made the bad assumption
that it would use a similar mounting strategy - it did not. Off to the wolftooth site, and I find that the
shimano adapter works with Hope brakes. So i order it up - and since i didn't trust it, i ordered a clamp.
The adapter arrives, but it doesn't have the right bolt/nut for the Hope brakes. Luckily, i can use the one from
the other Hope/matchmaker adapter - of course now i can't sell or use that adapter on another bike, cause no bolt/nut.
Then to make it even more interesting, the Hope bolt is too large for the Wolftooth adapter. Well it is made of AL,
so drilled the sucker out. Which probably means it won't work with the Shimano system anymore.....
at least it works, and i'm very happy with the orientation. could be a bit more out, or the lever could be longer....
Almost back on the trail.... put about 165 in the shock for 25% sag @75F Will report back with fork settings, eventually.
Sram Level TLMs with matchmaker came off, so i needed to find the hope adapters
for the XO11 shifter, and wolftooth dropper - $21/ea from hope. They are marked
LH and RH, as they are mirror images.
per their recommendation, i put the RH on the RH brake - and immediately noticed there is no rotational freedom like the brakes,
the shifter would be in a fixed orientation to the brake handle - i run the handles up a little high to feel behind the bars (to keep me from
going over them) - which put the shifter a bit underneath. Moved the brake handle down - but may switch to a clamp.
the other problem with the RH adapter is that it inboarded the shifter too much. Here is a pic of the RH adapter.
it has the torx head - on the brake side, there is a hole/slot for the adapter to bolt through.
this was easily solved by switching to the left hand adapter, and using the "other" mounting hole in the shifter.
this was much better.
Now onto the dropper - Since I had the matchmaker adapter for the wolftooth, I made the bad assumption
that it would use a similar mounting strategy - it did not. Off to the wolftooth site, and I find that the
shimano adapter works with Hope brakes. So i order it up - and since i didn't trust it, i ordered a clamp.
The adapter arrives, but it doesn't have the right bolt/nut for the Hope brakes. Luckily, i can use the one from
the other Hope/matchmaker adapter - of course now i can't sell or use that adapter on another bike, cause no bolt/nut.
Then to make it even more interesting, the Hope bolt is too large for the Wolftooth adapter. Well it is made of AL,
so drilled the sucker out. Which probably means it won't work with the Shimano system anymore.....
at least it works, and i'm very happy with the orientation. could be a bit more out, or the lever could be longer....
Almost back on the trail.... put about 165 in the shock for 25% sag @75F Will report back with fork settings, eventually.
not sure i'd notice the fork, but the unexpected pedal strikes go up when the shock is underfilled. which is how i know it is underfilled......
probably could start charting, and make it part of the pre-ride....might actually start getting a feel for it then.
rick81721
Lothar
What does this have to do with the ridiculous claim that a 5psi difference can be felt?
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
Got the Weehoo ready and loaded with folding potty and change of undies for my daughters 1st ride this year. She did 24 miles
Cleaned the XTC today and threw a new chain on. ST tomorrow!!
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
which Shimano adapter did you buy? the i-spec-b? You probably just need a washer to make it work with Shimano again.
There's a screw underneath that holds the axle to the adapter of choice, since the axle itself is slotted you should be able to move it sideways more to your liking,
And they sell the light action lever, it's just a longer lever.
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Replaced the offending brake lever and pin with new ones. It was most definitely easier with new, straight components! The technique to push the pin halfway, compress the brake and then slide the spring in worked the first time with no issues.
sundaydoug
Well-Known Member
It can depend on the suspension design and ultimately leverage ratio progression, but on full-suspension bikes I've owned I can absolutely feel if the shock is a little low or a little high when compared with my optimal settings found after a few rides to dial everything in. Changes in ambient temperature can also play a big part in how suspension performs, particularly the air spring variety. There's a reason people carry shock pumps in their packs on rides and have different compression/rebound settings for colder riding when compared with more fair-weather riding.
What makes you think that just because you can't feel something that no one else can?
rick81721
Lothar
5psi?? I'd love to do a controlled test to see how much you can really feel...
sundaydoug
Well-Known Member
I've done it on every full suspension bike I've built. For sag start with a base setting (25% most of the time) and ride a trail that you know like the back of your hand. Make specific notes on how the bike feels. Take 5psi out, ride the same trail, make more notes. Go back to the original setting, repeat ride and make notes in comparison with the second ride. Add 5psi, repeat ride, make more notes. Do this until you've found proper sag.
I do the same thing with compression and rebound settings, except I start at the extremes and work my way in (i.e. start at zero clicks, ride, make notes, turn dial to full clicks, ride, make notes, then back down incrementally towards the middle).
Just because most people don't know how to do it or don't take the time to do it doesn't mean that no one does.
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qclabrat
Well-Known Member
Is it Reynolds?