Mountain Biking - Cable ties... What gives

I am seeing a bunch of guys with cable/zip ties around there front fork... what gives?

Just to see how travel used or something?

Yep. :)

hmmm are there any other real reason for it... Why does it matter? I mean I have never bottomed out but once and that was because it was 4 feet down and I landed wrong, that is really all i have ever cared about. I did it once just to check the dip when I sit... what else should I be taking into acount when I ride? Am i missing something?

A lot of times you bottom out and don't notice it on rough trails; the zip tie provides a record of how much travel you actually use. You want to adjust the fork so you use the most travel possible without bottoming out, in general.

A lot of Dhers do it to see how much travel they use. they then break the course up into sections and ride each section and adjust the forks so they bottom out once ort get very close, they do this to each section and then try to average the settings out. In a DH race you haven't got your forks set up properly unless you bottom your fork out 1-3 times per run.

And yes, some people do it cause they think it looks cool to prove they bottomedthe fork out.

I do use it. I use it to judge if I have my fork setup to soft. I should be close to bottoming, but not bottoming unless on big drops. I use it to help set rebound, compression etc.

ohhh thats awesome, i get it now..lol i had no idea wat the hell you were tlakin abuot at first...but ya thats a good idea...

OMG I just did this yesterday when someone else mentioned it. A little XC curb hopping got me 50mm of travel of the 80mm. Not too bad since I'm not doing jumps or anything.

I usually look at the grease rings to see how much I bottom out.

What kind of damage can be done with bottoming out alot? I was under the impression that I would be better if I were on the stiffer side than soft. A side from feel when landing, what are some of the problems with having a stiffer setup? too much stress?

I have taken a part my fork a few times for a rebuild and I do not really see anything that works like that of a cars shock. where when it is hitting faster and harder it changes the characteristics of the suspension. A small plate shifts and the shock has a stiffer action. Are forks like that and I did not notice or is it just a bunch of holes that have oil or air rush through them?

Its more to control performance. In dh each rider likes a certain amount of sag, packing up and rebound. I like my fork to be a little active at the top of the suspension and stiff near the bottom (progressive) so I set my fork to sag, but set the compression damping a little stiff (with my fork I have a tonne ofadjusts) so that it doesn't react to small bumps, or pedalling BUT reacts to bigger bumps/drops. However I also have it set so it won't bottom unless I really mess something up.

Bottoming can destroy bushings, seals and various other things though. Some forks have valving (specific air cartridges) in them as well that can get destroyed under bad circumstances :)

I use zip ties to control the cable on my disk brakes. There are no routing slots on forks. Also, did they have a cable to a odometer? Unless they use a wireless mount, you have to keep the cables from snagging stuff.

If you do put one on, don't do it up too tight, ive heard of people's stanctions getting worn where they put the zip tie on which can lead to screwed seals and eventually, a screwed fork.

I use zip ties to control the cable on my disk brakes. There are no routing slots on forks. Also, did they have a cable to a odometer? Unless they use a wireless mount, you have to keep the cables from snagging stuff.
That's what mine are for.