Very newbee question on shocks

[Warren]

Hi everyone,
Today i went to thetford forest and did the black cycle route, great fun and really enjoyed it especialy the bomb hole. Anyways when i got back home and inspected the bike i saw that the front shocks have gone right up while i have been cycling, when i bought the bike off the internet they said it was suntour shocks with 50mm travel and no preload, but these are SRS shocks with preload and they have gone over 10cm in travel so im just asking is this a bad thing and should they be checked, also there are grease marks where the forks have travelled. I have posted a pic any advice will be apreciated and please remember i am a newbie to all this so i realise that this may be a dumb question but i dont want to end up having major problems.

Thanks
Warren

PS that is dirt at the bottom not grease coming out of the shocks.

 

[Globalti]

Hi Warren, welcome to MTBing. Those marks look normal to me. Trail centre riding is hard on bikes so your forks going to full travel is normal. As long as the forks weren't bottoming out with a bang they should be fine. At least you gave the bike a check over after its hammering; some people would just throw it in the shed and expect it to work next time out.

Just wipe the stanchions clean and dribble a small amount of chain lube onto the seals, pump the forks a couple of times to distribute the lube and you'll get good service out of them.

The best maintenance advice I can give you is: don't wash the bike upside-down, as water will run into the head bearings and ruin them. Amazing how many seemingly experienced riders you see making this silly mistake.

 

[02GF74]

Hi everyone,
when i inspected the bike i saw that the front shocks have gone right up while i have been cycling.,

these are SRS shocks with preload and they have gone over 10cm in travel so im just asking is this a bad thing and should they be checked, also there are grease marks where the forks have travelled.
PS that is dirt at the bottom not grease coming out of the shocks.

I am not familiar with this model but how are they sprung: coil, elastomer/other or air?

It is unusual for shocks to reach full travel, I have never achieved it, but then I don't do huge jumps.

If they use coil springs, then you can buy stiffer ones, avaialble for heavier riders and jumpers. If they are air, you can pump them up, in effect increasing stiffness - there would be a guide for the forks.

Seeing grease marks like that is not unusual as long as you can not losing a lot of it.

As ^^^ say, wipe it away with cloth and you are good to go.

 

[spence]

It is unusual for shocks to reach full travel,

er, no. Your fork and rear shock, if you have one should reach full travel at least once during any given ride - off road with some technical sections - otherwise you have them set up wrong. ie too stiff.

The oil marks on the stanchions, as mentioned are normal. There should be some lubrication just below the wiper seals, usually held in a foam ring and this will give the marks shown.

As for getting 100mm forks instead of the 50mm as advertised, well a bonus.

Once you've ridden the "black" route once you'll be looking for something with a bit more interest. Try the Brandon side - no car park charge - look up Mutts Nutts on Yahoo groups, they ride a lot there.

 

[Mr Pig]

Your fork should reach full travel at least once during any given ride otherwise you have them set up wrong. ie too stiff.

I like my fork stiff. I basically want a ridged fork with enough give to bail me out if I hit something really hard. I don't like a lot of fork-dive under braking and cornering. I also think that cheaper forks work better set stiff.

I've not bottomed out my fork for a long time. Too old and scared these days ;0)

 

[spence]

Fair enough, each to their own and all that.......

..... but if it's set up correctly that won't happen.

I also tend to have my forks set up slightly harder then most of the group, then being the OFB I need it. If the adjustment's there, use it to get the full benefit of the equipment. Riding with the fork locked out and relying on the Floodgate (r) or similar system, seems a bit daft to me. My opinion only...........

 

[Warren]

Hi again everyone,
Thanks for the replies. Well it looks like my front shocks are fine then, thanks.

@ 02GF74 they are coil sprung with preload thing where you turn it to adjust the preload and they are on both sides of the shocks. If i post a pic of them in full would you be able to identify them, cuase like i said they are not the ones advertised with the bike so i have no idea what model they are. It would be nice to find out as i like to know what things i have on my bike, thanks.


@ spence you know when you say that there is oil held below the wiper seals, when and how would i service them and put more oil in. I also have rear shocks and when i was at the bomb holes the back one went right in so i made the spring harder.
Also im quite sure i never bottomed out my front shocks as i never heard them bang or anything but i might of done that to my back shocks, does that mean that i could of damaged it?

Once agian thanks for the help everyone

 

[spence]

Warren, check the service regime in the manual. My experience of this is with Fox, where you carefully prise up the seal and drip a few drops of oil onto the foam ring beneath.

When you say made the spring harder I'm assuming it's an actual spring rather than an air shock. If so, highly unlikely to have damaged it but may indicate you need a heavier spring. Is it adjusted by a compression ring? Check that it's a rising rate spring otherwise that will be useless. ie as it is compressed be becomes progressively harder to continue.

 

[Warren]

Hi agian,
@spence
Well the bike was bought over the internet and was kind of cheap so i have no manual the only manual i got with it was for the disc brakes so thats why i want to find out what model shocks they are, so i can look up services manuals and stuff about it like its travel.
the back shocks are spring and have a compresion ring, once i made it harder it was fine but was slightly more bumpier for the rest of the track but i was really glad i had shocks though.
Here is a pic of bike and rear shock.

PS the seat was higher when i was at thetford as the bottom of the post would of hit the place where the back shocks are, im thinking of cutting the seat post shorter so i can put it down and not worry about that.

 

[RedBike]

Those grease rings look like there is a lot of stiction in the shock.

When you get on the bike the forks should sag about a 1/4 of their travel.

Put something small and square edged, (for example a hard back book/ plank of wood) on the garage floor and ride over it slowly. If the forks are set right the bike should smoothly roll over this object. The fork will move as you hit the edge of the book and then return back to their original position under control.

If you have to hit the book at speed before the forks move or they 'spring back' to full travel quickly then they're set wrongly. It's not always possible to set cheaper suspension forks correctly.

You should set the fork so that you use as much of their travel as possible but never use all the travel.

 

[spence]

Ok Warren, looking at the bike and shock I suspect there's not a lot you can do about the rear shock. You may be lucky to find a more suitable rising rate spring with the same dimensions, depends how much time and effort (and money) you want to put in.
As you have found increasing the compression threshold reduce the small hit compliance, again something of a compromise due the type/price point of the shock. Same probably goes for the forks unfortunately, built to ride until they bust with little scope for maintenance. - Said without seeing and little knowledge of them.

As for the seat post, reduce the length but be careful to still leave enough for safety. There should be a minimum insertion mark on it, measure that distance from the end of the post and when you've cut it mark the new minimum point. Not having enough post inserted can cause the seat tube welds to brake on that type of frame design. Seen it happen on an old Enduro, not good for the rider.

 

[Warren]

@spence

Thanks for the help, well i will cut the post only by about 5-6 cm it sould be fine. I wont be spending any more money on the bike as it was a cheepish bike and people on this site say it is not worth putting much money into it. I am currently saving for a new bike wich im hoping to be able to get some time next year. But im not to sure as what make to get and what type to get.
So far this is how i use my bike:
50% on road
30% on dirt paths
20% on mtb trails and doing things like the bomb hole.
Im hoping that when i get a new one it will be more like:
40% road
20% dirt
40% heavy mtb trails.

Do you have any ideas on bikes for this usage? Im trying to save about £1000 - £1500 for a bike. Im thinking of looking at mtb models this year and then when next year comes around they will be old models and cheaper so i can afford them.

Once agian thanks for help

 

[spence]

Very difficult to recommend as everyone's taste and perception are different. The bike of last year was the Trek EX, have a couple of mates with them and they've been very happy. You can't go far wrong with a Specialized, a Stumpy FSR or a Pitch for a bit of rough.

Other than that most mainstream manufactures at that price point are worth looking at.

 

[RedBike]

PS the seat was higher when i was at thetford as the bottom of the post would of hit the place where the back shocks are, im thinking of cutting the seat post shorter so i can put it down and not worry about that.

If this was a road bike I would recommend that you put your heal on the pedal then raise the seatpost until you leg is straight. This is the most efficient way to pedal.
For the 50% on road and the 30% on dirt paths you will want your saddle in this position.

However, dropping your saddle can be usefull on the MTB for descents / bomb holes.

I wouldn't go cutting your seat post off at the wrong height.