full-sus help needed

[ultraviolet]

i've just recently sold my light-weight fully rigid MTB and brought a full suspension bike, i've never rode a full-sus before and i'm having a hard time getting used to the change, mainly i think because i've been riding fully rigid since the early 80's

any help full tips on riding a full-sus?

 

[Muddyfox]

what bike have you bought and what type of riding do you do ?

Simon

 

[02GF74]

what exactly are the problems you are having?

 

[ultraviolet]

normaly with a fully rigid bike i would be standing up most of the ride, fighting the trail trying to get the smoothest/flatest line, although its only a XC full-sus the bike is heavyer and moves while i try and weave around the trail, i think i realy need the bike to do the work now rather than me, i'm fighting the bike to much i think

 

[Shady]

Most of the time your technique has to be adjusted as standing up and pounding the pedals can waste your energy as you can just fight against the rear suspension.

I do most of my riding in the saddle, especially climbing, and only tend to stand when coasting most of the time.

 

[lukesdad]

Have you got rear sus. hard enough. I ride both and there isn t that much difference have you got lockout on rear shock ?

 

[02GF74]

normaly with a fully rigid bike i would be standing up most of the ride, fighting the trail trying to get the smoothest/flatest line, although its only a XC full-sus the bike is heavyer and moves while i try and weave around the trail, i think i realy need the bike to do the work now rather than me, i'm fighting the bike to much i think

just need more practise and getting used to the bike.

the bike wil be heavier so you will find it harder to throw around plus the geometry will be constantly changing due to F+R suspension.

Steering willl be heavier so slower but that is life.

What you lose in quick changes you'll gain by being able to ride over lump terrain.

Unless the bumps are huge, then you can, and in fact I think should, take them sitting down and let the suspension do the work. Some bike work better with weigh on the saddle but I tend to be off the saddle on decents.

You could try playing around with the stiffness of both front and rear - more air or stiffer springs - and see how that goes.

Bear in mind that some of your energy, especially when climbing, will be wasted into compresing the shocks but generally you gain more from FS than you lose.

BTW what bike is it, photos?!

 

[mr Mag00]

you will need to ride much smoother uphill i found when i made the same move a couple of years ago! esp if you do not have lock out, which i do have the luxury of.
get the pressures checked in the shocks this too makes a huge difference i have now firmed up my rear so it almost rides like a hardtail some may say a waste but it does take the sting out of the largest bumps.
it allows for a much more direct route and a huge grin too

 

[Tim Bennet.]

A lot of it is technique. When I changed over to full suss, I thought having lock-outs front and rear was going to be essential. But after a while I found that developing a smooth, seated, pedalling style meant that I now haven't locked either end out for years!

 

[ultraviolet]

the bike i went from:

the bike i have now:

 

[mickle]

Refer to the (bike, rear shock and fork) manufacturers instructions. It's the best source of info, there are simply too many variables for anyone here to give you 100% accurate advice unless they know the bike, your weight, riding style and the trails you ride on intimately. The bike should have come with a shock pump and instructions whether you bought it new or used.

Firming up the spring rate may well be the solution but you haven't provided enough information for anyone to know for sure.

 

[marzjennings]

Suspension bikes don't like it when you mash on the pedals and will tend to bob as you ride. You may need to smooth out your pedal stroke, maybe even pedal a bit faster as slower cadences can cause the bike to bob.

On rigid frame I can stand and lean forward and sprint hard on the pedals, concentrating on putting all my power down through the pedals. On a full sus, unless you have lock out, this isn't going to work and hard sprinting out of the saddle is going to have the bike bouncing all over the place. When I sprint on a full sus, I don't lean forward, in fact I pull back on the bars counter acting my down push on the pedals, almost unweighting the front end.

In corners the bike will give and compress into the bend. You can learn to maximise this and really push into the corners where on the exit the suspension will uncompress and give you a small 'pump' forward.

Let the suspension work, don't over pressurize the shocks to make the bike stiffer. I usually aim for about 25% sag in the suspension when I'm just sitting stationary, yet still allow for enough movement in the shock to bottom out on really big hits.

Get spds and chuck the flats. Nothing to do with suspension, just a personal preference of mine.

 

[ultraviolet]

Get spds and chuck the flats. Nothing to do with suspension, just a personal preference of mine.

i prefer SPD's on my road bikes only :-)