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I have a Cane Creek DB CS - on a FlareMax. I believe the droplink is seen as quite progressive linkage set up.
I have the shock set at 30% sag - around 175 psi. I weigh 104 kg.
When I ride, i very rarely get more that 60% of the shock travel - I have never bottomed the rear shock out, I have never had it "blow" etc. In reality it seems overly progressive!
It does seem that I am wasting rear suspension travel.
The obvious solution is reduce the PSI - but then I will have too much sag so:
i) If I put volume spacers in, will it mean I can run less PSI and retain 30% sag ( i guess what I am asking is will volume spacers affect sag?)
ii) Does it have to be specifically tuned so that I can use the travel?
I run high speed and low speed compression at nearly fully open, so that should not re restricting the initial shock travel. Rebound on both high and ow sped are somewhere in the middle.
I am sort of following Cy's Cane Creek baseline - but still getting not full travel.
Or am I just not pushing the bike hard enough and it is doing what it should already?
Thoughts?
Any spacers in there now? I'd be looking to remove spacers rather than add them. If the linkage is really progressive, you're looking for the shock to be as linear as possible.
How are you measuring shock sag? Seated pedalling position, standing attack position or an average of the two?
It sounds like you need to take volume spacers out. But there’s nothing stopping you from running more sag if it feels good.
Volume spacers make the spring more progressive, so it gets stiffer the further you go in to the travel. It might change (reduce) the pressure you need to achieve a given sag, but it will also make it harder to achieve full travel.
Check if there are any spacers in the shock, because it sounds like you need less progression and not more.
As above, it sounds like you need to remove spacers to make the shock more linear. I'm not familiar with the Cane Creek, but on the Fox shocks, it just takes a couple of minutes to open it up and add/remove spacers.
Might be worth checking how much compression damping you are running and reducing it, especially if it's quite high.
Are you sure you’ve got the compression damping fully open and not fully closed?
Just trying to work out how at 104kg you’re only using about 40mm of actual travel (beyond the sag)?! Are you ever leaving the ground?
Chances are your base compression tune is too light if you're 104kg. Id get that altered first.
Not familiar with the Flaremax but I have seen the mistake being made by someone claiming not to use full travel(measured by looking at the little rubber o-ring on the shock shaft) when the stroke of the rear shock has been reduced. The stroke is the distance the rear shaft can travel into the shock body.
Before you open up the shock to look for volume spacers I would highly recommend you deflate the shock and push the bike down as far as it will go into its travel. This should then verify where full travel(shock stroke) is. You might find that full travel isn't necessarily the full distance of the shaft hence you might be using full travel(or close to it) already.
As above, check what the actual stroke length looks like with it deflated.
Also try opening the compression up - sounds like you have too much damping doing on.
Sag should ideally be set with everything fully open - then add compression.
Thanks fro the replies. I am measuring sag as seated , rather than attack position. Attack position will tend to suggest more psi for the correct sag, , and in this case, less travel movement.
There are no volume reducers in there at the moment, so thanks for confirming that - my assumptions were correct. More volume spacers will make it more linear ( but actually, since you mention it, I haven't checked, I was just told it came with none fitted).
Both HSC and LSC are more or less on minimum. My rational was that any damping is designed to "slow" the impact - so it will have an effect on travel. If I had too much travel I would up the compression, assuming it will have an effect the distance the shock will travel for a given force. But as you are questioning whether I have done it the right way round , I will also check...
I am measuring sag on the basis of having deflated the shock and measured - and taking the minimum and max ( so deflated and inflated). And also what the manual has said ( Off my head I thing stroke length is 45mm, so 30% sag is around 11/12 mm)
Sag should be done in the attack position too 👍
Attack position will tend to suggest more psi for the correct sag
No not usually. Usually in 'attack position' your weight is slightly further forwards compared to seated. So this will mean you need less psi for a given sag %, compared with a seated estimate (fork would be the opposite).
More volume spacers will make it more linear
No, more progressive.
Off my head I thing stroke length is 45mm
Maybe look it up. I don't know which FlareMax version you have but I googled and it should be 200x 50 or 51mm.
^
Gen 2
Seatpost diameter: 31.6mm (get 380mm long minimum)
Front Mech: Not applicable - 1x drivetrains only.
Fork: Minimum 120mm. Maximum 140mm travel, 551mm axle-crown (without sag)
Bottom Bracket width: 73mm
Bottom Bracket thread: Conventional English/BSA
Chainring: Single only, boost chainline
Chainguide Mounting: ISCG05 bottom 2 tabs. Integrated Cotic x OneUp Components Top Guide (included with frame or bike)
Headset: 44mm for Taper Steerer forks: Hope 2H, Cane Creek ZS44 Top/EC44 Bottom, Chris King Inset I7
Rear Hub: Boost148 x 12 bolt through
Rear Axle: Syntace X-12
Rear Mech Hanger: Syntace X-12 Type 1 (Conventional or Shimano Direct Mount)
Shock: 190 x 45 Metric
Shock Fittings: 15.75 x M8 Down Tube End, 24.0 x M8 Seatstay End
Dropper Post Routing: Stealth via the down tube
Rear Brake Mounting: I.S. Compatible with up to 203mm diameter rotors