How does rebound damping work

That's just me though. Is that what the guys in the vids have clutch rear mech? Cause even with a tyre wrapped around my chain stay all I hear is clangabangaclang of my rear derailleuer no matter how fast or slow my rebound is.

Suspension is trial and error. Don't set your rear rebound super fast and compresss the bike as much as possible into the transition before a dirt jump or you will do half a front flip and land on your face like I did.

Now I slow that shit down. Thanks for me still having a face. I'm glad to see this its amazing how many people spend a fortune on forks and have no idea what they are for, and further still couldn't even imagine what a rebound damper looks like. Kanicula Jan 15, at For me, that was a Captain Obvious's article. But it's always good to repeat the basics for beginners and others. I try messing with the fork but by mid ride I just say F it and ride have fun and not care how it feels lol.

I love learning more about mountain bikes! More of these please!!! Old-Man-Eggy Jan 15, at Thanks very much. I don't have a mechanic that I can pass my bike to and say "It's just doesn't feel dialled". That's where articles like this come into their own. Camoguy1 Jan 15, at So now we get to read about what components do, but don't get to learn to work on them?

I want tech Tuesday back! Elegans Jan 15, at OldSkoolAK Jan 19, at More tech tuesdays please. I hope Fox hired this guy to eventually bring smart magnetorheological fluid filled shocks to the market.

Say good-bye to suspension tuning. It's the first article i've red that says its OK to have a faster rebound Really good write up!! SSeanS Jan 15, at I allways used to run my rebound pretty damned slow , sent my shocks for a service and ' tune ' and they come back way faster than i'm used to running , thought it was gonna be really bucky ride but the difference it made in traction is amazing!

Saidrick Jan 15, at Good read. I never knew about too fast rebound damping resulted in pothole bucking. I always figured that was supposed to happen: the more time your tires are on the ground , the more traction you have? Need to readjust. Also I would be curious to know what those three settings of rebound are that Fox thinks are good. They always say adjust to your preferences in their manuals.

It would be very helpful to know these. I love to read articles about damping, but didn't anybody else notice the plot holes in this one? For instance This would have the tire on the ground more, resulting in higher traction. More logic please. Also, not everybody wants their bike to skip over the top of everything world cup DH style though I happen to like it like that , lots of riders just don't have the nerve to go that fast over the rough stuff.

This is pretty standard suspension workings. At high lean angle if your rebound is too fast it is going to push your wheel away from your bike at the slightest loss of traction. The faster the rebound the further away your wheel will travel over the same bump changing your line. Slow the whole process down and your rear wheel will stay on your chosen line and still suck up the bump. Thanks, Fatboyslim, I could see how that would help hold your line at medium lean angles, where maximum traction is not an issue.

Having a hard time understanding how extra air time for the tire helps at high lean angles which are at the edge of available traction. Why would a mtb be different? Hey Foghorn. Who you calling fat? Its FASTboyslim! The above will have less effect on medium lean angles. Your suspension will be operating in a vertical axis. High lean and your suspension will now be working closer to a horizontal axis.

High lean angle and your slip angle can be changed loads but medium lean not so much. A car set up is a lot different so a bad comparison. A motorbike would be a bit better to compare but still not good as the motor has a huge influence over your suspension setting as to corner exit and entry. The extra air time he speaks of is pointed more to straight line than turning.

This stuff is harder to explain when you cant use your hands to explain the motions. Sorry, hope your self esteem didn't take a hit! I guess I need to go to Shaolin and meditate on this for a few decades. Hahaha, you will get it.

Search for some mx tuning sites and have a read. I am going to search for a wonder diet since you called me fat! That was low man. Great article. One thing I've noticed that wasn't mentioned was the huge effect that unsprung weight has on required dampening level.

I find that if my wheel or tire combo weight changes by more than gms that I have to alter the rebound setting by at least a click. Great info!! What about the rebound adjuster knob on the bottom of the fork leg , my got bent and I had to remove it to get adjustment again!! It's to exposed down there. It is good to know that Fox dampers being quieter than the competition is no accident. So - they make one damper unit fits all weights.

Since its is not linear in action you are stuck with 3 clicks for adjusting out of 18 clicks possible. Why not 3 different damper needle valve units for 3 weight groups and thus increasing the linear characteristics to 9 out of 18 - or better?

Still like my DHR 3. Thats a bad idea wakaba. This is where you will start your testing. Your manual will tell you whether clock wise or counter clock wise is the proper direction to check this and make adjustments.

Many shocks and forks have the plus and minus on the adjuster to help you. What should it feel like? Compression damping attempts to keep the wheel from leaving the road when going over a bump.

Too soft and the wheel moves too quickly and travels further up in the stroke causing it to leave the road surface. You will definitely be able to tell how this setting is changing as you test.

I will continue to hammer this point. Turn your adjuster IN , counting each click, until you reach the stop. So what should it feel like? You want to return the wheel to the road as quickly as possible without causing the chassis to feel unsettled.

Remember the goal is comfort, confidence, and control. The most common mistake made by people learning to tune suspension is to use too much rebound damping. With worn or old components, and limited adjustments on stock parts this can happen.

You can do your best to find a compromise that gives you the comfort, confidence, and control you can live with, or you can work with a suspension company to get new parts that will give you the feel you want.

The key is to get out there improve your bikes performance and allow you to ride longer with more comfort. On many suspension forks and shocks, compression damping takes the form of a dial and a lockout lever. Both Fox and RockShox use blue to denote compression adjustments on their forks and shocks.

When your suspension is open, the flow of oil through the compression damper is unrestricted and it will compress freely to absorb impacts. Think free flowing coffee. Having your suspension positioned in the open position is useful while descending, and when riding technical terrain, where traction is paramount. And what about the times where you want to be completely locked-out? Rebound damping regulates the speed at which your fork or shock recovers, or bounces back, from an impact and returns to its full travel.

Much like a compression circuit, rebound damping relies on oil moving through a circuit to regulate the speed at which the suspension extends after being compressed. The coffee-as-oil analogy holds true here as well. When the flow of oil is restricted, your fork or shock will slowly return to its full travel.

Both Fox and RockShox use red to denote rebound adjustments, although they take different approaches to understanding how to increase or decrease rebound damping. RockShox takes the very user-friendly approach of using a tortoise and a jackalope to tell the rider which way to turn the rebound knob in order to increase or decrease the speed with which their suspension extends after being compressed.

Turning the knob all the way counter-clockwise as indicated by the jackalope will open up the rebound circuit, allowing oil to circulate freely. With Fox, plus means more rebound damping slower return and minus means less rebound damping faster return.

Got it? A number of factors influence how fast you want your suspension to rebound: rider weight, speed, riding style and the terrain will all play a role.