Shock adjustment
 

Hi All. Trying to figure out how to dial in my shock better. I'm on a Giant Trance 27.5 with a Fox Float 32 shock. I generally leave it on the Trail setting. I weigh 220 lbs. I'm running the shock at about 218 lbs of pressure. It feels so stiff on the trail, practically like a hardtail in sections of small washboard type bumps. However according to the rubber ring I'm bottoming it out on trails with nothing bigger than small 1-2 ft rock hops. I've been experimenting with rebound settings but so far I'm not making much progress . Advice?

You can download the tuning guide from Fox here https://www.ridefox.com/family.php?m...y=float#tuning

As far as rebound settings, you should make a large change between more and less damping to get a feel for what each extreme feels like. That should give you a better idea of which way to make changes to get the feel you want.

Thanks dsaul!
 

I will thoroughly read the tuning guide. I've made only small adjustments to rebound and no luck figuring out which way it needs to go, so thanks for that advice.

Let some air out of your tires.
What tire pressure are you at?

Rebound damping controls how fast the shock will extend after absorbing an impact. More damping means the shock extends slower. Without rebound damping the shock will spring back to its extended position immediately after impact and transfer that impact back into the bike and rider, sort of like a pogo stick.

The ideal amount of rebound damping will have the shock extend back to its sagged position just in time to absorb the next impact, but not so fast that it springs the bike and rear tire up and out of contact with the trail surface.

If the shock rebounds too quickly, the rear tire will bounce over things like roots and rocks and cause an out of control/lack of traction feeling in the rear.

If the shock rebounds too slowly, the shock will "pack up" or go lower into its travel with each successive hit until it bottoms out or you stop hitting bumps and it has time to extend. In this case, the bike usually feels great on single large hits, but long sections of roots/rocks will cause it to go though the full travel and bottom out. I suspect this is your problem with the hardtail feeling and blowing through the full travel.

I would start with a minimal amount of rebound damping a repeatedly ride over a section of rocks/roots, increasing the rebound damping with each pass.

replies
 

Kapusta - Its the shock, Fox Float CTD.

dsaul - thanks for the additional advice. Its worked so well in the past that I haven't really had to mess with it much. I had it serviced recently and trying to get it set right. What you said about it feeling like its losing traction/control over small bumps is exactly right and I think reducing the rebound a bit will resolve it. I just havent had time to work on it since i last posted.

trailangle -= Im running 29 lbs front and rear with current trail conditions. I usually soften it up a bit when it gets wet to help reduce slippage on roots and flat rocks. I like it a little more firm in dry conditions because it feels like it hooks up so well in the corners and on the leaf covered ground with the tires im running.

First, when you say 1-2' rock hops, does this mean you are doing up to 2' drops? If so, it is not surprising that your shock is using all of its travel on a bike like that. That is OK, as long as it is not bottoming harshly. Also, how much sag are you running? I don't believe in being too tied to sag numbers, but it is a good starting point.

As far as the roughness goes, How do you have the compression set? If I remember CTD correctly, doesn't it allow you to fine tune the "trail" setting? I would try the descent mode and see if it feels smoother. Then at least you will know if the compression damping is the issue.

This is the best guide I have seen for setting rebound adjustment:

Kapusta
 

Yeah, im hitting drops of abotu 2ft on my normal trails. Other places I ride there are some 4 ft drops, but I totally expect the shock to use all of its travel there. Now that you mention it though, it doesn't feel like it bottoms out harshly. I dont feel it "clunking" during those rides. I did loosen up the rebound 2 clicks and its absorbing quick hits better, but it still isn't ideal. I'm running about 25% sag. When i added PSI (up to 225lbs) to try keeping it from bottoming, it was more like 15% but it felt so harsh i went back to 218psi. I do not know if the Trail setting can be fine tuned, if your guide has anything about that I will give it a try.