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ROAD-RACE TECH
- CLICKER SETTINGS
Most settings are designed to work within a
window of clicker positions. If you find you have to change the position
dramatically to improve performance, and are still not happy with the
results, it is generally a cry for help from your valving. Stock valving has
to cater to a wide range of riders and ability levels, and can't be expected
to be right for everyone. A revalve should be able to get you in a range
where we can fine tune for conditions with the clickers.
Compression:
The compression clicker is
a low speed adjustment that affects how quickly or freely the suspension
compresses. By low speed, we mean low shaft speed, or slower movements of
the suspension. Faster movements will quickly overcome the clicker, and be
controlled mainly by the reaction of the valving shim stack. This is what we
tune when we revalve. The stack also has influence on low speed movements,
but the clicker is fairly exclusively low speed. With this in mind it is
important to remember that it is really easy to make an off road bike overly
harsh with the clickers in to tight, and a road race bike lose grip with the
compression clickers in too tight. So proceed carefully, and realize that if
you need to deviate from the standard clicker setting by a great deal, the
shock or fork spec is probably not as good as it could be for you.
If we have done your suspension you should have received it back with a
rubber o-ring on the fork leg. This is meant to show you the maximum stroke
used. Keep an eye on it when trying to perfect your fork settings.
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Fork: Too much compression damping will prevent adequate weight
transfer to the front, and make the front push, feel vague and want to run
wide. Small bumps will be harsh as well. Too little and you will bottom it
too easily, and you may find it gets low on the brakes, moving towards a
tuck the front sensation.
Shock : Again, too much brings harshness over the bumps, but also
prevents adequate weight transfer to the rear, reducing available grip. And
as we know, in road racing it's all about grip. On the street we may have
grip to spare, but who wants to ride a harsh bike around all day. Too little
compression control will bring a sloppy wallowy feeling especially when
trying to quickly flick the bike on its side, or change direction.
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Rebound: The same is true for the
rebound clicker, and in fact it is just as easy to make a real mess of the
suspension function by running the clicker in too tight. The rebound
controls how quickly the suspension returns from being compressed. Slowing
the rebound with the clicker will hold the suspension down; this can allow
it to
abuse the tire overly. Conversely too little rebound will give the bike a wallowy feeling and diminish a rider's confidence at speed.
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Fork: The front rebound setting is most
noticeable in the transition between the entry and middle phase of the
corner. Insufficient rebound makes it difficult to get off the brake lever
when trail braking as the front will feel like it wants to unload and push
off wide. Conversely, too much rebound can leave too much weight on the
front, and make the bike feel nervous, and even leading to a tuck.
Shock: Road bikes suffer from the same difficulty with packing over a
series of bumps that off road bikes do, though the bumps are usually less
intense. One of the biggest drawbacks to excessive rebound in a road race
bike is accelerated tire wear as the rebound holds excess weight over the
rear.
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