Did you buy the fork and fit it yourself ? if so, it should have a booklet which describes how to set it. If not (and you got it from a bike shop), then the shop should have set it up for you as part of thier customer service. Regardsless... You are right in your reasoning that the valve on the top of the left leg is to increase/decrease the air pressure. The correct pressure is determined by you weight. The booklet (or a table on the back of the fork leg) should give you a guideline as to what your air pressure should be, according to your weight. This is a guideline though..its not a definite. The air pressure is changed using a shock pump..you simpley remove the valve cap on the fork, screw on the pump valve and then the pressure guage on the shock pump should give you a reading of what the current pressure is. Pump the fork then harder (or release pressure to make it softer) as per the guideline. PS : If you ordered a new fork through a LBS, make sure you get the shock pump aswell..its included in the box! The rebound setting (you have found it..its the red knob on the bottom of the right hand leg of the fork) sets how fast (or slow) the fork compresses/recovers from its movement. Turning the dial towards the Hare makes the rebound faster...turning it towards the Tortoise makes it slower. The correct speed is determined by the type of riding you are doing, as well as personal preferance. The only way to get this right is to ride and adjust as you go along. As for the fork not moving when its locked out..thats the whole point. The lockout is there to stop the fork compressing/releasing at all. This is normally used when riding flat terrain, so that you avoid the "bob" and can tranfer all your pedal power into turning the pedals instead of bouncing like a bunny on crack. Are you sure its compressed though ? The fork should be locked out in the uncompressed state...
