[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by jimwildman

so the rider sag should be a third of the total travel regardless how much sag the bike has under its own weight?

I sould measure the total travel and the sag at the shock, since I can see the travel there without having to exercising it. probly use millimeters.

would I account for the bump stop?

There is room to loosen the spring preload some without the spring becomming loose in the perches. I have not touched the preload setting as of yet. it is probly just some random amount by feel during assembly of the shock.


It explains alot about the way this bike handled with the stock shock and virtually zero sag. and perhaps why I'm so satisfied with it even if its not Ideal.

I'll try and make the recomended changes Tommorow Night as I'm taking it to Limestone again Saturday.

I have some footage of me riding/falling there with the stock shock, Ill take some more with the tuned replacement and we can compare.

I also added a bead lock to the rear tire and lowered the tire pressure to 23 psi for the trails, where the first ride it had like 35 psi to prevent tearing the stem off the tube. so that makes a big difference as well. Ill try to get the stock ride footage up on youtube tonight. and post a like here.

The difference should be obvious.

On the subject of the rubber bump stops, these are really part of the spring effect. The add a lot of "spring" rate at the end of the stroke to prevent sudden bottoming (or topping) out. So they are part of the suspension. Great job, adding a bead lock. If you have a bicycle pump, you can try even lower tire pressure on your Saturday ride. If you are still running stock inner tubes, front and rear, I wouldn't lower the rear below about 20 psi. What are you running the front at? If you are riding the bike to Livingston, be careful about lowering tire pressure. Long walk home, pushing a bike. But if you like the way it handles with lower tire pressures, buy Michelin heavy duty natural rubber tubes. They are a lot tougher. You are keeping you spokes nice and snug, right?