Discussion
Bear with me, i've never had a bike with discs and i've never had suspension from new, but am I right in thinking the discs/pads will take some time to bed in? Also, does the suspension get 'better' with use?
If so, what sort of mileage is a decent indicator? I realise it'll vary, but what's a good expectation on average use.
If so, what sort of mileage is a decent indicator? I realise it'll vary, but what's a good expectation on average use.
My LBS told me to do several high speeds runs, braking as hard as I could each run. Seemed to work for me!
With the suspension, depending on what brand you have, they do take some time to bed in. After the first time I bottomed out they seemed to change dramatically, and were from that point on a lot plusher.
With the suspension, depending on what brand you have, they do take some time to bed in. After the first time I bottomed out they seemed to change dramatically, and were from that point on a lot plusher.
The brakes are Formula Oro K18's, the forks are Fox F100 RL's and the shock a Fox RP2. I went out last night and managed to do 10 or 12 miles before it was too dark, I also covered 5 miles on Tuesday night and 17 on Sunday.
The front brake feels good, but the rear is garbage, no bite whatsover. The forks are ok if little tight I think this will improve with use, but something weird happened with the shock. It came with 120psi, which I increased to 150psi because I felt it sagged too much, this made it quite hard obviously, but after a very bumpy descent down a hard pack field last night it gave way and was soft again, like when it had 120psi, I didn't check it though. It still performed well afterwards and felt more comfortable if i'm honest, but is this right? does it mean I may have a faulty shock or just that I had too much air in it?
Thoughts.
The front brake feels good, but the rear is garbage, no bite whatsover. The forks are ok if little tight I think this will improve with use, but something weird happened with the shock. It came with 120psi, which I increased to 150psi because I felt it sagged too much, this made it quite hard obviously, but after a very bumpy descent down a hard pack field last night it gave way and was soft again, like when it had 120psi, I didn't check it though. It still performed well afterwards and felt more comfortable if i'm honest, but is this right? does it mean I may have a faulty shock or just that I had too much air in it?
Thoughts.
sounds like you had too much air in it, you need to check your weight with the shock pressure recemdations, does not sound faulty, suspensuon will get smoother as you bed it in, i found fox forks not to be to smooth untill you use them, your brakes will/should get better too, bed the back one in on a long road down hill pedaling with brake applied not locked up to get them hot, then pour clean water on them at the bottom, to cool.
this has always worked for me.
good luck, and enjoy your new bike.
this has always worked for me.
good luck, and enjoy your new bike.
Shiny Side Up said:
New toy mate, what you got?
I bought a Meta 4.1 last week, mainly on recommendations from the chaps here. There's a thread a few down I think, 'twin spring suggestions' if you fancy a look.ETA: Ahh, I know who you are now, hows things mate, surely Jon's mentioned the bike? After our ride the other week I pretty much convinced myself the Klein was holding me back despite all the new parts, thankfully I was right as everytime i've been out on the Meta so far i've felt great. Just this setup thing that's doing my swede in.
Edited by WildCards on Thursday 27th September 19:02
I bed my brake pads exactly the same way as I bed my Mintex M1144 on my car and they work really well.
Do a few gentle stops to shape the pad the the disc.
Find a big long hill and pedal down it with a brake dragging until you can smell the pad burning. The disc will also look black. Now keep rolling without the brake on to let it cool. This burning procedure burns off the chemical bonding agent.
Repeat with the other brake.
I often repeat this bedding in procedure every few months especially if i have been riding in the wet or cold.
Do a few gentle stops to shape the pad the the disc.
Find a big long hill and pedal down it with a brake dragging until you can smell the pad burning. The disc will also look black. Now keep rolling without the brake on to let it cool. This burning procedure burns off the chemical bonding agent.
Repeat with the other brake.
I often repeat this bedding in procedure every few months especially if i have been riding in the wet or cold.
WildCards said:
but something weird happened with the shock. It came with 120psi, which I increased to 150psi because I felt it sagged too much, this made it quite hard obviously, but after a very bumpy descent down a hard pack field last night it gave way and was soft again, like when it had 120psi, I didn't check it though. It still performed well afterwards and felt more comfortable if i'm honest, but is this right? does it mean I may have a faulty shock or just that I had too much air in it?
Thoughts.
Welcome to the world of Air Shocks. Thoughts.
You will need to check the pressures pretty much every time you ride it. They just leak a bit with use.
A friend ran a DHX Air for 18 months with no problems other than it used to lose a bit of air from time to time and on long DH runs it used to get a bit too hot and would be a bit softer at the end of the run than at the start!
I cant remember if it was in the instructions that came with my bike, or forum advise from somewhere, but it basically said ride down a hill dragging the brake to heat the pad/disk, then quench with cold water, repeat as necessary to achieve decent feel/braking force.
It sounds a bit dodgy at first but worked for me with nno adverse effects.
It sounds a bit dodgy at first but worked for me with nno adverse effects.
A buddy has Avid stuff which took ages to get a good feel on but my Shimano stuff worked great right out of the box with no special treatment. A lot of people overlook caliper adjustment when setting up brakes, its important to have a well adjusted caliper so you get maximum pad contact.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff