Forks bottoming out - a problem?

[jimmy156]

Hi all,

I’ve noticed my forks will bottom out at some point on nearly every ride (little red band pushed all the way to the the top.) forks are a 140mm RS pike. Pumped up to the correct pressure according to RS (I may have been a little optimistic with rider weight, but only by a few kg…)

My question is, is this a problem I should be looking to correct or is it just one of those things? I never feel the fork bottoming out, just notice the band at the top of the stanchion at the end of a ride.

[TheLurker]

I think a lot of people say it's OK to be bottoming out a couple of times each ride as it means you're using the whole travel of your fork. Personally, I don't like it as it feels like it's going to cause damage. You could add a volume token which should help whilst keeping the small bump sensitivity.

[LRDefender]

What kind of riding are you doing? Are you a 'wheels on the ground' type of rider or do you like getting 'big air'?

I would be thinking there's a problem with my forks if they indicated I'd used full travel after every ride. Is your fork pump accurate? Are your forks losing air? Maybe try getting more air into your folks might help identify whether your forks are losing pressure.

[jimmy156]

Thanks both.

The volume tokens, is that a bike shop job (I.e does the fork need to come apart?)

Pretty sure the pump should be okay and accurate enough. Came with the forks and they (and the bike) were new in the summer. Like I’d say, I may have been a few kgs optimistic when remembering my weight.

I’m not getting ‘big air” but plenty of little jumps and drops. That doesn't seem to be what bottoms them out though, more likely to happen smashing down a techy rooty/rocky section.

[BlindedByTheLights]

If you aren’t feeling it I wouldn’t worry too much. Add a token or two which is easy (youtube) or try adding a little more air, say 5-10psi.

[President Merkin]

jimmy156 said:

Thanks both.

The volume tokens, is that a bike shop job (I.e does the fork need to come apart?)

Pretty sure the pump should be okay and accurate enough. Came with the forks and they (and the bike) were new in the summer. Like I’d say, I may have been a few kgs optimistic when remembering my weight.

I’m not getting ‘big air” but plenty of little jumps and drops. That doesn't seem to be what bottoms them out though, more likely to happen smashing down a techy rooty/rocky section.

Tokens are really easy to install. You need to let the air out of the air chamber - left side of the fork as you look at it from the saddle & handily says air on the cap, then unscrew the cap itself which I think is a 22mm socket but if I'm wrong someone will be along to correct me. Then the tokens themselves screw onto the underside of the cap & you just screw it back on & reinflate the fork. So 22mm socket, tokens, shock pump & about 10 minutes.

Don't unscrew the air cap until you've let the air out or you'll have someone's eye out. Probably yours!

Have a look on Youtube, it's Narnia for suspension tuning stuff.

[peew]

jimmy156 said:

I’m not getting ‘big air” but plenty of little jumps and drops. That doesn't seem to be what bottoms them out though, more likely to happen smashing down a techy rooty/rocky section.

If that's the case then speed up the rebound. It's called "packing down"

[bobbo89]

jimmy156 said:

I never feel the fork bottoming out, just notice the band at the top of the stanchion at the end of a ride.

To me this suggests you've got things set-up pretty much bang on, that band is just for setting up sag and so if it wasn't there you wouldn't have noticed anything.

If the fork feels good just leave it and don't worry about blowing through all the travel every now and then, it's not a problem.

[Court_S]

bobbo89 said:

To me this suggests you've got things set-up pretty much bang on, that band is just for setting up sag and so if it wasn't there you wouldn't have noticed anything.

If the fork feels good just leave it and don't worry about blowing through all the travel every now and then, it's not a problem.

This.

If you talk to any of the suspension tuning places they’ll say that bottoming out a few times is fine because you’re using the travel. The fact that you’re not feeling it suggests that you’re not bottoming out harshly.

[President Merkin]

Hmm. Not convinced by that. Sooner or later you're going to hit a bigger drop than you reckoned on & wallop the internals. A little spare travel is desirable imo for that reason & also to avoid diving the front end every time it compresses. Either way, any suspension tuner will tell you to do threee things in order: Set the sag, dial in the compression & then the rebound.

After that you're into secondary stuff like high & low speed compression, tokens etc but start with the basics. Worth remembering shocks & forks are mass produced for a specimen average rider. They're meant to be tuned, the only question is how far you go. Air, tokens or upgrade dampers, have custom shim stacks assembled. On & on it goes.

[peew]

Do you have some steps nearby? If so, ride down them and see if you use all the travel. If you do, then you need to speed up the rebound.

If you are in a rock garden and then have a drop off, you won't have much travel left