RUST magazine: RUST#39

technical
w
clicks. This will give you an instant
indication if the previous setting was
too firm. Continue to go softer until
the fork is obviously hanging down
in the stroke, and has become mushy
feeling. Go back stiffer two clicks at a
time until you arrive at a best setting.
Now do the same on your rebound.
This is where you will notice big
changes in how the bike will drive
through successive rock impacts. In
general, the faster your rebound the
quicker the fork will ‘reset’. When you
have gone too soft/fast on rebound
the sensation you will feel is one of
the bars ‘springing back’ at you. This is
the indication that you have reached
the end of the adjustment range, now
go back stiffer a couple clicks at a time
until the overall feeling of the forks is
one of smooth, controlled movements
that keep the bike feeling balanced,
under control and not diving or
bucking.
Much like the forks, tuning the shock
is very similar, with one exception.
In rocks, you will make most of your
shock compression adjustments with
the high-speed adjuster. The HS is the
circuit that responds to sharp, quick
impacts. As with the fork, when this
adjustment begins to feel mushy, and
the shock hangs down in the stroke
it’s time to go back stiffer until you
are in the sweet spot. I would suggest
adjustments of no more than ¼ turn
either way; most HS adjusters are
sensitive and have a limited effective
range.
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