Specialized Epic Suspension Setup

[AllAboutRides]

Can anyone please help or point me in the right direction.....

I’m looking for someone in Cape Town (Northern Suburbs) to help me fine tune my S-Works Epic’s suspension.

No sorry .....I had no luck at local Specialized dealers.

I don’t want the normal “whats your weight” / “where do you normally ride” / ect ect

 

[thebob]

Out of curiosity, what are you unhappy about with the advice you received and your current setup?

[Riaan H]

My question exactly.

Weight, favorite trail and riding style are good starting points on doing setup. Your weight will determine a starting point for air pressure, while your favorite trail and riding style will determine whether to add or potentially remove air from that starting point before you start playing with the fork and shock's rebound settings, plus the Brain Fade comes into play as well. No shop or person will be able to just tune the setup for you, there's lots of fiddling involved which you will need to do over time while riding with a shock pump at hand.

What is your goal with setting up your bike, and how does it currently feel to you? Is it too harsh, or does it buttom-out? Have you played around with any of the settings yet?

 

[Super Sywurm]

I have a hardtail with a RS Reba. After about a year, I still trying to find the sweet spot.

Go check the videos on YouTube, start with the basics and do the setup over a couple of rides (or a lot of rides in my case).

[Butterbean]

I'm sure Andrew @ Stoke in Woodstock will sort you out right. 

[AllAboutRides]

3 hours ago, Riaan H said:

My question exactly.

Weight, favorite trail and riding style are good starting points on doing setup. Your weight will determine a starting point for air pressure, while your favorite trail and riding style will determine whether to add or potentially remove air from that starting point before you start playing with the fork and shock's rebound settings, plus the Brain Fade comes into play as well. No shop or person will be able to just tune the setup for you, there's lots of fiddling involved which you will need to do over time while riding with a shock pump at hand.

What is your goal with setting up your bike, and how does it currently feel to you? Is it too harsh, or does it buttom-out? Have you played around with any of the settings yet?

 

For me it is to hard, looking for a more “plush” feeling if it make any sense?

Played around with the brain settings but still it doesn’t feel right to me.

Maybe need to go that route with hand pump

[Grease_Monkey]

7 hours ago, AllAboutRides said:

For me it is to hard, looking for a more “plush” feeling if it make any sense?

Played around with the brain settings but still it doesn’t feel right to me.

Maybe need to go that route with hand pump

I hate to be the one to break it you, but brain and plush are not really used in the same sentence. That’s the main criticism against any suspension with brain. It’s essentially a inertia valve that requires a knock before “giving”. 
 

if you want plush, get rid of the brain ???? 

[dewaldsss]

Howzit

What works for me..

Weight x 2,7 for pressure (leave the autosag alone)

brain set to one or 2 clicks from firm.

[thebob]

Some other things to consider. When last was the suspension serviced. Try seals and foam rings and nasty oil will add stiction which leads to harshness. How much sag do you typically run? Maybe try a couple of % more front and rear. This should give a plusher ride, but may need an extra volume spacer if you constantly bottom the suspension after that change. You can also try a click or two less of rebound, which leads to a plusher feeling in my experience.

 

But as Grease_Monkey said, an Epic is not meant to be plush. It is meant to be efficient, so to get the feeling you are after might mean some big changes or some big school fees

[Stefan Cremer]

8 hours ago, AllAboutRides said:

For me it is to hard, looking for a more “plush” feeling if it make any sense?

Played around with the brain settings but still it doesn’t feel right to me.

Maybe need to go that route with hand pump

What you're describing is exactly the reason why I sold my Spez.

For a plusher ride, you'd be best advised to dial the brain down. Pressure may be in line with the manufacturer's suggested pressure for your weight (taking cognisance of terrain targeted), best to then also try different rebound settings.

Good luck.

[ChrisF]

Just in case you decide to go test ride a SCOTT ....

 

Standard trim it is still a "firm" suspension.  Removing one or two volume spacers helps for a more "plush" feeling.  I tried the different options, and settled on -1 volume spacer.

 

[Cylon]

As others have mentioned, there’s very little adjustability with Brain suspension.

The Specialized Suspension Calculator has worked pretty well for me though:

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/suspension-calculator/app

[renay@tablemountainbiker.com]

I jumped on an Epic for the first time last year after 20 years of riding and really struggled to tune it. I've since upgrade the fork to a Fox Float 34. For the rear I've resorted to the following, which seems to work well: Turn the brain off and ride the bike down your favourite trails. Find the pressure that works best for you and enables you to use all your travel without bottoming out every time. Then add 5-10psi. Once you have this pressure, turn the brain one click away from "off".

This still gives a firm enough feeling when climbing, without too much sag, and also allows the suspension to work nicely without too much interference from the Brain when riding techy trails.

[bolt67]

13 minutes ago, renay@tablemountainbiker.com said:

I jumped on an Epic for the first time last year after 20 years of riding and really struggled to tune it. I've since upgrade the fork to a Fox Float 34. For the rear I've resorted to the following, which seems to work well: Turn the brain off and ride the bike down your favourite trails. Find the pressure that works best for you and enables you to use all your travel without bottoming out every time. Then add 5-10psi. Once you have this pressure, turn the brain one click away from "off".

This still gives a firm enough feeling when climbing, without too much sag, and also allows the suspension to work nicely without too much interference from the Brain when riding techy trails.

Ditto, Fox 34 120mm on the front changes the ride substantially, much plusher and more comfortable on rocky or rutted terrain, more control when descending rocky rutted tracks. BUT if you like going fast

and climbing a bit better stick with the brain but be prepared to sacrifice a bit of comfort ! Horses for courses !

[thebob]

Wonder what warranty implications of the 20mm extra travel on the Epic is? Maybe get that checked out if your bike is new. I know manufacturers give you a window to add a bit of travel. The downside of the extra travel is a higher BB (which could make the handling vague) and a slacker seat tube angle. That has a big effect on climbing. I added 10mm to the front of a Scott Spark (120mm to 130mm) and I could feel it was not as happy going uphill as it was with less travel. So maybe 110mm would be a good compromise

[Grease_Monkey]

23 minutes ago, thebob said:

Wonder what warranty implications of the 20mm extra travel on the Epic is? Maybe get that checked out if your bike is new. I know manufacturers give you a window to add a bit of travel. The downside of the extra travel is a higher BB (which could make the handling vague) and a slacker seat tube angle. That has a big effect on climbing. I added 10mm to the front of a Scott Spark (120mm to 130mm) and I could feel it was not as happy going uphill as it was with less travel. So maybe 110mm would be a good compromise

Should be fine. The previous gen Epic evo was just an epic with a 20mm longer fork.