Bike Suspension Setup – How to Adjust Your Front Fork

You may be wondering why the front suspension of your bike needs to be adjusted at all. This is a good question, but you can only get the full performance from your suspension fork by performing fine adjustments. Whether you have a lightweight XC/marathon fork or a long-travel triple-crown fork for downhill and freeride, we will show you how to find your perfect basic setup with the right tools and where you can do some fine-tuning if necessary. Get the most out of your suspension travel for maximum traction and perfect shock absorption.

This depends on which suspension fork is mounted on your bike. The higher the quality of the components, the more adjustment options there usually are.

Basic adjustments:

• Air pressure or spring rate for steel springs
• Rebound
• Compression

Advanced adjustments:

• "High-/Low-Speed" Rebound (HSR, LSR)
• "High-/Low-Speed" Compression (HSC, LSC)

Our Tips for Preparation

Firstly, a few basic recommendations for successful suspension setup.

• Your suspension fork should be fully functional and serviced.
• Only make one change at a time and test immediately afterward.
• Ask another person for assistance with the basic adjustment on the spot.
• Setup tools such as QUARQ ShockWiz speed up the adjustment process.
• Wear your usual bike gear, e.g. your typical touring backpack, during tests.
• Take a very central riding position on the bike for adjustments

Our expert tip: Forks from leading manufacturers such as RockShox and FOX Factory usually come with a table of recommended pressures and settings. There are also often special websites where you can find all the basic values by entering the serial number (located at the crown) of you fork.

Learn how to boost your ride in just a few steps.

You have an "all-in" fork, that features all kinds of adjustments options and you want to get the most out of it? Then we can give you a few valuable tips. However, you will need to spend some time and be sensitive. Best of all: you get to do a few test laps off-road. 

As the name suggests, the "high-speed" damping setting only comes into play on fast impacts. You won't notice any difference on a test ride in the parking lot or over a curb.
It feels that your fork rebounds too slowly or too quickly when it is ridden with a lot of sag. Then check your high-speed rebound setting.
If your fork compresses too quickly on drops and jumps, then close the high-speed compression damping by 1-2 clicks. Then do a test ride and adjust further if necessary. 

Our expert tips: 

• Start with the "high-speed" rebound setting (HSR) first. Once you have completed this setting, continue with the "high-speed" compression damping (HSC). 
• Test both maximum settings (fully closed/fully open) and ride down your favorite downhill in quick succession. Then, click by click, get closer to your preferred setting. 

Almost all current air suspension forks offer the option of changing the air spring volume and therefore the spring progression. The change is made using so-called volume spacers (also known as tokens). The difference can be clearly seen in the illustration: 

While the initial pressure is identical, the pressure in the smaller chamber increases more with the same stroke due to the smaller space requirement. More force is therefore required (at the same initial pressure) to utilize the spring travel (positive air chamber volume reduction = higher spring rate and end progression).

Changing the volume of the air chamber can be useful in the following problem cases: 

Problem: The SAG is set correctly, but you can't use the full travel.
Solution: Remove already installed spacers to increase the volume.

Problem: The SAG is set correctly, but your fork keeps bottoming out.
Solution: Install additional volume spacers on your air spring to reduce the volume.

You have set up your front suspension with our how-to and would like even better responsiveness, less weight on the bike or an even more precise setting? With the following parts you can get even more out of your "damping iron".

Your fork can only have smooth suspension if it is optimally cleaned and maintained. Water and a sponge or soft cloth are perfect for cleaning. As a minimum service, you can treat the stanchions, bushings and wiper rings with a suspension spray. Simply apply a drop to each fork leg and compress a few times. We recommend that you remove any excesses afterward with a soft cloth.