Plushbucket
Measured in the lab, tested on the trail.
Set up your suspension
Pick your fork or shock to get a starting pressure and dial settings.
Choose your coil spring
The right rate depends on your frame as much as your weight. If your frame maker publishes a spring chart, start there. If not, estimate it here, then confirm with sag.
Check your sag
What fits your shock
How to pump it up
Click numbers count from fully closed: turn the dial clockwise until it stops, then count clicks counterclockwise. Compression that starts "fully open" is turned counterclockwise until it stops.
See what the spring does
How to read this graph
Adjust the spring The picture stays pinned at the top while you slide.
Sets overall firmness, and with it your sag.
More ramp-up at the end of the travel.
More pressure gives more support at the end of the travel. Öhlins uses this chamber in place of tokens.
A firmer, more supportive start of the travel.
See what each dial does
Adjust the damping The rider stays pinned at the top while you slide.
How quickly it extends after a hit.
The return from deep in the travel back to about halfway, after a landing or G-out. Too fast and it bucks you.
Slow movements anywhere in the travel: braking, pedaling, cornering, steep rolls.
Sharp, fast hits, mostly in the first half of the travel: square edges, landings.
Check rebound on the bike
Tune it on the trail
Something feels wrong?
Simplified physics, anchored to the manufacturer's starting point for your fork or shock. The direction of each change is the lesson, not the exact numbers.
Intervals come from each maker's own service schedule. DVO shocks borrow DVO's fork interval, since we couldn't find one for them.