Realized my suspension setup was backwards after 4 years of riding

I always cranked my rear shock stiffness way up, thinking it made me faster on rough trails around Kamloops. Turns out I had it backwards, the front fork needed the extra damping for the rocky descents out there, and my rear was bouncing me off line constantly. What tipped me off was a guy at the bike shop in Vernon watching me struggle on a log crossing and he just said "you're riding the rear brake, not the front." Has anyone else had a setup revelation that made them feel like a total rookie?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

elizabethf857d ago

Wait, FOUR YEARS and not one person said anything sooner? That shop guy in Vernon must have watched you for like five minutes and figured it out, that's wild. I felt dumb when I realized I had my rebound dialed all the way closed for months because I thought it would make my bike more stable, but it actually made it feel like a pogo stick over braking bumps. Honestly the whole shock tuning thing is so backwards from what you'd expect, you think stiffer just means faster but it's way more about matching the terrain. At least you found out before you blew a seal or something from running it so harsh all the time. Did you go back and redo those rocky descents after you fixed it, or was it already too demoralizing for the season?

8