Fork Settings and Rebound for a noob

[Rick Sanchez]

Hi guys

 

Quite new to cycling and have basically no knowledge on fork settings. I went on a ride yesterday and hit some very rocky descents, and I was bouncing all over the place and my hands started getting very sore from all the hits I was taking. I have a RockShox Reba 100mm on my bike, and was wondering how I can setup my fork to handle this type of terrain better. I am a newbie so I need my fork to be quite forgiving when hitting the hard stuff at speed. I weigh in at about 86kg and my fork is pumped to 125 psi (sticker on fork says 81-90kg should be pumped to 120-135psi). Is my fork pumped up too hard? And how does the rebound adjuster work/do?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

 

PS I do mostly cross country riding with interest in participating in races

 

 

[Vangar]

This should sort you out. Bikerumour's complete guide on how to set up your suspension. But before you even look at the fork, make sure your brakes are set up right for one or 2 finger braking, loosen up the grip on the bars. This is usually what aggravates things.

 

Bikerumor-Suspension-Setup-Guide.pdf

[Hairy]

Get to know your fork by starting here

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/116493-forks-all-the-jargon-you-need-to-know/

 

Setup as per Vangar .... was looking for that link when you sent the PDF

[Rick Sanchez]

This should sort you out. Bikerumour's complete guide on how to set up your suspension. But before you even look at the fork, make sure your brakes are set up right for one or 2 finger braking, loosen up the grip on the bars. This is usually what aggravates things.

 

Bikerumor-Suspension-Setup-Guide.pdf

Thanks a lot! Brakes are definitely setup correctly, as I can easily bring the bike to a stop using only single finger braking. I try to maintain a loose grip while riding, but am now definitely considering getting some ESI chunkies for better shock absorption!

[Raydek]

I had the same set of forks as you and it took some time and lots of fiddling to get the setting just right and a way that felt good for me... so ride a same section over and over each time adjusting settings, best way to feel what the settings change..

 

Just had the lowers replaced on mine and have started the process all over again..