rear suspension leverage ratios ?
 

I recall reading an article about leverage ratios for rear suspension.

I am an overweight guy and am looking for the most appropriate frame for my next new bike.

While I recall something about leverage ratios I do not recall what is on the member for a heavier rider (265 lbs of solid steel -- :thumb:)

my current ride is a Santa Cruz superlight, which is a single pivot design and is set up with absolutely no sag and 250 psi in the back shock (Fox RP 23) it is basically a hard tail until I hit something pretty brutal or big.

I do not know what the leverage ratio is of the Santa Cruz, if it is good then maybe I just need to have my shock re-valve and stick with Santa Cruz for my next bike.

So I guess my question if anybody knows it is what is the leverage ratio for a Santa Cruz superlight, and if it is not appropriate for bigger guy what would be a frame choice that might be more suitable? I realize it's hard to get supple suspension action out of only 4 or 5 inches of travel but I would like to have a little bit of suspension action to smooth out trail chatter, braking bumps, and things like that in the way the Santa Cruz is set up it barely moves until I hit a rock or root at a pretty good rate of speed


thanks in advance if anybody has any input

Leverage ratio is computed by dividing rear wheel travel by shock stroke. Lower ratios are better insofar as they generally yield greater shock tuneability and a commensurate improvement in performance. This is more important for heavier riders. I'd aim for a ratio not much higher than 2.5:1.

If you're over 2 bills on an air shock, a revalve by someone like Push industries will give you signficant benefits. If you're over 250 I wouldn't recommend a single pivot frame, particularly an SC superlight, due to the relative lack of lateral stiffness inherent in that design.

Thanks Cryptid --- maybe i need to investigate getting that shock re-valved ---- i just took the tape measure to it and i have 2 inches of shock stroke and 4 inches of wheel travel for a 2:1 ratio

The lateral stiffness hasn't been bad for me --- i have had some knee issues over the years, which pretty much makes me a pre-dominately sit down rider . I probably put out the wattage of a healthy 13 year old girl at the rear wheels (LOL !)