Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some guidance on how to set up my coil shock (bomber cr) for big jumps and downhill. I’ve recently upgraded my bike to a Saracen myst and it’s been amazing so much more supple than my enduro.
However I bucked off on the step up on old train line at Dyfi last week and it’s knocked my confidence a fair chunk. I suspect it was one of two things:
1-too much rebound on the rear.
2- leant back too far.
I’m 95 kg running a 500lbs spring, no compression and 11 clicks of rebound for coil (setting that delivers no reverb on a bounce) and 180psi and 5 clicks rebound on the front.
It was a big adjustment stepping up to down hill bike and I just want to make sure I’m set up right before I get back there next week and any advice or guidance would be appreciated on suspension setup or technique if the video helps.
Thanks
Guidance on downhill coil setup
byu/NoNeighborhood4506 inMTB
by NoNeighborhood4506
17 Comments
were you sitting on the seat? looks like a seated camera angle
I’m not an expert but this seems to be more of a skill issue than a shock issue. I don’t know how much you can jump etc. but if youbwant to rule out the shock then try smaller jumps with fast and slow rebound and see how it feels.
But afaik the unintentional front flips happen usually when you squash the steep lip with your legs
Looks like you were seated for the jump. Which you should not be.
Beautiful eject !
>setting that delivers no reverb on a bounce
Are you referring to that whole “drop your bike without you on it” bullshit that people post videos of all the time? I’m no expert but fairly certain that’s a dumb meme and should not be your goal. Maybe reduce the rebound then, since that’s already your hunch.
That was a sweet trajectory regardless!
You north east mateeee??
Also you crouched right down into your bike up the lip, looks like your arse was over the back wheel instead of central, which would compress the rear. Could slow rebound down a few clicks.
Can’t comment much on your jump technique really as you’re at dyfi and clearly can jump.
try recording the jump from the side, nobody cant tell jack shit about what went wrong from POV, but i can guess this was not a shock issue
500lb is a relatively heavy spring rate so I’d expect you to be maybe around a third to a quarter from max rebound damping. Coil shocks are easier to handle on big compressions than air shocks though. I doubt your setup was bad enough to cause that.
That was a savage buck on a big jump. Either you really messed up technique-wise or the shock bottomed on compression and sent the saddle into the back tyre.
Getting bucked – a few potential causes:
Weight too far back, rear with too much rebound, imbalance between front and rear rebound (F too little, R too much), and/or too stiff a spring in the rear. Go through a process of elimination to help identify… nice tuck and roll 😉
Having rode the step up a good few times now, I’d say this is more a you problem than a bike problem. Try keep your weight central rather than lent back, especially on steeper lips like this
Coil spring is analogous to setting the main air chamber on an air shock for sag.
You want the coil to sag and support your weight, but devoid of any compression or rebound damping, a coil spring alone would ride like a 1983 Cadillac, still bouncing around for about 15 seconds after you stop moving.
Once you get the right coil spring weight, then you can set compression damping and rebound damping.
In this specific instance, assuming your jump technique was good, it looks your back end rebounded way too fast, and the bike bucked you off the lip. I’d tighten the rebound up so that the shock expands slower, and won’t buck quite as fast.
I agree with other replies here: this looks entirely like a skill issue, and probably just one launch you got wrong, but can learn a ton from.
You want your suspension to be doing the work for you when the respective wheel (front or back) is at the top of the ramp/lip. If you’re still using your body to compress your rear suspension at or close to that point on the ramp, then it’s going to launch you ass over tea kettle every time like this.
At roughly the halfway point on the ramp, you should be compressed on both wheels and be transitioning your body upward, preferably into a 90 degree vertical position relative to flat ground. This transition is critical to both height and body/bike control such that the stored energy in the compressed suspension exerts that energy into your overall height and air distance, rather than being absorbed by your legs or arms.
Glad to hear you only have some minor aches though 👍👍
Should have just embraced the buck and gone for a front… /s
Sorry but this was operator error, not gear error. Learn how to properly jump. Don’t blame it on the bike.
You need to pop ahhhhh bunny hope. Don’t just roll over a jump like that. Lift your front end then pop the back. Attack it.
Bro… are you really blaming your coil shock for this? I mean you were sitting and pedaling down the trail. Bro.
Bro.