Every fork and shock on the market hides the same handful of controls behind different names and different-looking dials. This page explains what each one actually does, in plain words, the way a tuner would in the parking lot. One rule before you touch anything: almost nothing on a suspension unit is free. Turn one way and you gain support, turn the other and you gain grip. Good setup is choosing your trade-offs on purpose.
Most, but not all, brands follow the convention that clockwise means more: more damping, more pressure, more firmness. Check the arrows and markings on your own fork or shock before you trust the direction. A small number of dampers, especially older or coil-sprung units, run the other way.
Front fork
No adjustments match your search.
What does it do?
Air pressure is your fork's spring. It sets how hard the fork pushes back, and together with sag it decides how high the fork rides in its travel. Too little and the fork blows through its travel and wallows. Too much and it sits dead at the top, skipping across small bumps instead of absorbing them.
Turning clockwise
- Adds pressure: a firmer spring
- Less sag, so the fork rides higher in its travel
- More support and more resistance to bottoming out
- Push it too far and small bumps start hammering your hands
Turning counter-clockwise
- Releases pressure: a softer spring
- More sag, so the fork sits deeper at rest
- Better small-bump feel and more front grip
- Go too far and the fork dives, wallows and bottoms out hard
Turning this dial clockwise adds pressure; counter-clockwise releases it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Trusting the pressure chart on the fork leg and never measuring sag
Symptom: Sag sits nowhere near the 15-20% target even though the chart says you are spot on
-
Dropping pressure to soften a harsh fork when the real culprit is compression damping
Symptom: The fork dives under braking and wallows mid-stroke, and your hands still cramp on long descents
Set pressure to hit sag, then leave it alone. Fine-tune the feel with damping: pressure is the spring, damping is the control.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Sag is how far the suspension settles under nothing but you: body weight, riding kit, normal position on the bike. It is measured as a percentage of total travel, and it is the reference point every other setting builds on. There is no sag dial; you set it with air pressure or coil preload. Aim for roughly 15-20% on the fork and 25-30% on the shock, a touch more for gravity riding.
Turning clockwise
- Not a dial: less sag comes from adding pressure or preload
- Less sag means a firmer bike that rides higher in its travel
- Too little sag and the wheels hang light, chattering over roots instead of tracking them
- The bike feels tall, nervous, and perched on top of the trail
Turning counter-clockwise
- Not a dial: more sag comes from releasing pressure or preload
- More sag means a plusher bike that sits lower in its travel
- Too much sag burns travel before the trail has even hit you
- Expect wallow, pedal strikes and sudden harsh bottom-outs
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Measuring sag while standing next to the bike
Symptom: Sag reads shallower than what the bike actually uses out on the trail
-
Setting fork and shock sag in isolation instead of balancing the bike
Symptom: The bike pitches forward on flat ground, or sits low at the back like a loaded mule
Measure in full riding kit, in your normal attack position, with a mate reading the o-ring. Sag measured leaning on a wall in jeans is not sag on the trail.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Rebound damping controls how fast the fork or shock extends back after a hit. Too fast and the bike springs back at you: bouncy, nervous, hard to hold on a line. Too slow and it cannot recover between hits, so it packs down: each bump starts deeper in the travel than the last, until there is nothing left to absorb with.
Turning clockwise
- More rebound damping: a slower, calmer return
- The wheel stays settled after a hit instead of springing back
- Less kickback through the bars and pedals on jumps and drops
- Too slow and the suspension packs down through braking bumps and rock gardens
Turning counter-clockwise
- Less rebound damping: a faster return
- The suspension recovers its travel between rapid hits
- More grip through fast, repeated chatter
- Too fast and the bike bucks and pogos off every bump
Turning this dial clockwise adds damping; counter-clockwise removes it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Running rebound fully fast because "fast rebound means grip"
Symptom: The bike feels like a pogo stick and pings off line in every rough section
-
Slowing rebound to calm a harshness that is really a pressure or compression problem
Symptom: The rear packs down and sits low through braking bumps, and the harshness is still there
The kerb test: ride off a kerb sitting normally and watch the fork. It should compress, return once, and settle. More than one bounce means too fast: add a click of rebound damping. If it has not come back up before the next kerb, it is too slow: take one out.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Low-speed compression damping resists the slow movements: braking, cornering load, pedalling, pumping, your own weight shifting around. It is what the suspension leans on when you load the bike, and it is the main tool for adding support without touching the spring.
Turning clockwise
- More LSC: a firmer platform to push against
- Less brake dive, less wallow in corners and compressions
- Better support when you pump, pedal and load the bike
- Too much and small chatter starts coming straight through to your hands
Turning counter-clockwise
- Less LSC: a softer, freer-moving platform
- Better small-bump feel at low shaft speeds
- The bike settles into its travel more willingly
- Too little and the bike dives under braking and wallows mid-corner
Turning this dial clockwise adds damping; counter-clockwise removes it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Adding LSC to fix small-bump harshness (that is a spring or HSC job)
Symptom: Corner support improves but the trail buzz through your hands gets worse
-
Maxing out LSC as a substitute for the climb lever
Symptom: The suspension barely moves anywhere, descents included, until you back it out again
Tune LSC on a flowy trail with corners and braking zones, not in the rocks. Big hits are an HSC question; LSC is about what the bike does when you lean on it.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
High-speed compression damping resists fast shaft movement: square-edged rocks, drops, landings, rock gardens taken at speed. High speed means the damper shaft, not the bike; a slow rider can still generate very fast shaft speeds off a sharp edge. It works separately from LSC, so a bike can be firm to pedal yet plush on big hits, or the other way round.
Turning clockwise
- More HSC: harder resistance to fast, sharp impacts
- More bottom-out control on drops and landings
- The bike stays higher in its travel through repeated big hits
- Too much and square edges start feeling like hammer blows
Turning counter-clockwise
- Less HSC: the suspension gives way faster on sharp hits
- Big impacts get swallowed instead of transmitted
- Less harshness in rock gardens and over square edges
- Too little and hard landings blow straight through to a harsh bottom-out
Turning this dial clockwise adds damping; counter-clockwise removes it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Cranking HSC to stop bottom-outs instead of adding a volume spacer or pressure
Symptom: Big hits feel harsh everywhere on the trail, not just at full travel
-
Never moving HSC off the factory setting on fast, rough trails
Symptom: The bike bottoms hard on square edges even though sag is spot on
Tune HSC on the roughest section you regularly ride, not the smoothest. It only does anything once the shaft is genuinely moving fast.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
The lockout is a lever, not a dial. It closes the low-speed compression circuit to near-solid so the bike stops bobbing on smooth climbs and tarmac transfers. Most modern levers give you a middle pedal position instead of a hard lock. It is a climbing tool, full stop: it has no business being on while you descend.
Turning clockwise
- Moves the lever toward the firm or locked mode
- Kills pedal bob on smooth climbs and transfers
- Almost all small-bump compliance goes with it while engaged
- Flip it open again before the trail points down
Turning counter-clockwise
- Moves the lever back toward fully open
- Full grip and small-bump compliance return
- The climbing platform is gone until you flip it again
- Open is the default: everything except smooth, sustained climbing
Moving this lever clockwise selects a firmer mode; counter-clockwise opens it back up.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Dropping into a descent with the lever still on
Symptom: The bike skips and hammers over roots and rocks with next to no grip
-
Using the full lock instead of the middle pedal position on technical climbs
Symptom: The rear wheel spins and skips over roots instead of biting under power
Make the lever part of your routine: flip it at the bottom of the climb, flip it back at the top. If you keep forgetting, ride with it open; a bit of bob costs less than a locked-out descent.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Threshold is RockShox's firm pedalling platform: flip it on and the fork holds firm against pedalling and body movement, but a hard enough hit blows off through the platform, gets absorbed, and the firmness returns straight after. Think of it as a lockout with an escape valve rather than a hard on/off switch.
Turning clockwise
- Moves toward the firm Threshold mode
- A solid platform against pedal bob on smooth climbs
- Bigger hits still blow off through the platform and get absorbed
- Small chatter below the blow-off force stays harsh while engaged
Turning counter-clockwise
- Moves back toward fully open
- Full small-bump compliance returns
- The pedalling platform is gone until you flip it again
- Open remains the default for anything rough or pointing downhill
Moving this lever clockwise selects a firmer mode; counter-clockwise opens it back up.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Expecting Threshold to feel plush on chattery climbs because it has a blow-off
Symptom: Small repeated hits never reach the blow-off force, so the fork stays harsh over them
-
Treating the blow-off as a licence to descend with the platform on
Symptom: Only the big hits get through; everything smaller batters your hands the whole way down
Use Threshold for the climbs and transfers where you would use a lockout, and open it for everything else. The blow-off is a safety net for the hit you did not see coming, not a descending mode.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Volume spacers, or tokens, are plastic inserts that shrink the air chamber. A smaller chamber ramps up harder at the end of the stroke, so the last part of the travel gets more progressive while sag and the initial feel stay exactly the same. They are how you fight bottom-outs without making the whole bike firmer.
Turning clockwise
- Not a dial: you add or remove them by opening the air spring
- Each spacer makes the end of the stroke ramp up harder
- More bottom-out resistance on drops, landings and deep compressions
- Too many and you never reach full travel, however big the hit
Turning counter-clockwise
- Not a dial: spacers come out the same way they went in
- Fewer spacers give a more linear end-stroke
- Full travel becomes usable again
- Too few and big hits slam to the end of the travel
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Adding spacers to fix early- or mid-stroke harshness
Symptom: Nothing changes, because spacers only touch the last part of the travel
-
Stacking in spacers instead of adding a few psi
Symptom: The bike still wallows mid-travel but the last third of the stroke feels like a wall
Change one spacer at a time and check the o-ring after a proper ride: you want full travel once or twice on the biggest hits, not on every run. One or two spacers solves most bottom-out complaints.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Travel adjust changes how much total travel the fork has, usually with an internal spacer or a different air shaft, on a few older designs with an external collar. It is really a geometry tool: shorter travel steepens the head angle and drops the front end, longer travel slackens it and raises the front. Change the front and you change how the whole bike handles.
Turning clockwise
- No universal dial: on most forks this is a workshop job
- Shorter travel steepens the head angle and quickens the steering
- The front sits lower: better on climbs, less reserve on big hits
- Less travel in the bank when the trail gets rowdy
Turning counter-clockwise
- No universal dial: on most forks this is a workshop job
- Longer travel slackens the head angle and calms the steering
- The front sits higher: more confidence on steep descents
- Slightly slower steering and more front-end weight on the climbs
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Changing travel and not redoing sag and rebound afterwards
Symptom: The fork feels wrong everywhere: sag percentage and return speed both shifted with the new travel
-
Expecting an external clicker to do it
Symptom: On most modern forks the lowers have to come off; it is a bench job, not a trailside tweak
Treat a travel change as a geometry decision, not a suspension tweak. Decide what you want the bike to become, change it once, then set sag and rebound again from scratch.
Related adjustments
Rear shock
No adjustments match your search.
What does it do?
Same job as fork pressure: it is the rear spring rate, and with sag it sets how deep the back of the bike sits. The difference is the frame. The linkage multiplies every input, so a small pressure change moves rear sag further than the same change moves the fork.
Turning clockwise
- Adds pressure: a firmer rear spring
- Less sag, so the rear rides higher
- More support and more bottom-out resistance
- Too much and the rear loses grip and pings off square edges
Turning counter-clockwise
- Releases pressure: a softer rear spring
- More sag, so the rear settles deeper
- More rear grip and a calmer ride over chatter
- Too little and the bike wallows and slams through its travel
Turning this dial clockwise adds pressure; counter-clockwise releases it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Copying the fork PSI straight onto the shock
Symptom: Front and rear sag end up wildly different even on a balanced bike
-
Softening the shock to fix harshness without checking volume spacers first
Symptom: The rear wallows mid-stroke yet still spikes hard right at the end of the travel
Work in 5-10 psi steps and remeasure sag every time. The linkage makes the shock far more sensitive to small pressure changes than the fork.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Sag is how far the suspension settles under nothing but you: body weight, riding kit, normal position on the bike. It is measured as a percentage of total travel, and it is the reference point every other setting builds on. There is no sag dial; you set it with air pressure or coil preload. Aim for roughly 15-20% on the fork and 25-30% on the shock, a touch more for gravity riding.
Turning clockwise
- Not a dial: less sag comes from adding pressure or preload
- Less sag means a firmer bike that rides higher in its travel
- Too little sag and the wheels hang light, chattering over roots instead of tracking them
- The bike feels tall, nervous, and perched on top of the trail
Turning counter-clockwise
- Not a dial: more sag comes from releasing pressure or preload
- More sag means a plusher bike that sits lower in its travel
- Too much sag burns travel before the trail has even hit you
- Expect wallow, pedal strikes and sudden harsh bottom-outs
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Measuring sag while standing next to the bike
Symptom: Sag reads shallower than what the bike actually uses out on the trail
-
Setting fork and shock sag in isolation instead of balancing the bike
Symptom: The bike pitches forward on flat ground, or sits low at the back like a loaded mule
Measure in full riding kit, in your normal attack position, with a mate reading the o-ring. Sag measured leaning on a wall in jeans is not sag on the trail.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Rebound on the shock does the same job for the rear wheel: it controls how fast the shock re-extends after compressing. The linkage multiplies everything, so each clicker step is more noticeable out back, and a packing rear end is the classic sign you have gone too slow.
Turning clockwise
- More rebound damping: a slower, calmer return
- The wheel stays settled after a hit instead of springing back
- Less kickback through the bars and pedals on jumps and drops
- Too slow and the suspension packs down through braking bumps and rock gardens
Turning counter-clockwise
- Less rebound damping: a faster return
- The suspension recovers its travel between rapid hits
- More grip through fast, repeated chatter
- Too fast and the bike bucks and pogos off every bump
Turning this dial clockwise adds damping; counter-clockwise removes it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Running rebound fully fast because "fast rebound means grip"
Symptom: The bike feels like a pogo stick and pings off line in every rough section
-
Slowing rebound to calm a harshness that is really a pressure or compression problem
Symptom: The rear packs down and sits low through braking bumps, and the harshness is still there
The kerb test: ride off a kerb sitting normally and watch the fork. It should compress, return once, and settle. More than one bounce means too fast: add a click of rebound damping. If it has not come back up before the next kerb, it is too slow: take one out.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
On the shock, LSC is your support and anti-wallow tool. It resists the slow shaft speeds of pedalling and weight shifts, so the rear holds you up in corners and under power without feeling locked out.
Turning clockwise
- More LSC: a firmer platform to push against
- Less brake dive, less wallow in corners and compressions
- Better support when you pump, pedal and load the bike
- Too much and small chatter starts coming straight through to your hands
Turning counter-clockwise
- Less LSC: a softer, freer-moving platform
- Better small-bump feel at low shaft speeds
- The bike settles into its travel more willingly
- Too little and the bike dives under braking and wallows mid-corner
Turning this dial clockwise adds damping; counter-clockwise removes it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Adding LSC to fix small-bump harshness (that is a spring or HSC job)
Symptom: Corner support improves but the trail buzz through your hands gets worse
-
Maxing out LSC as a substitute for the climb lever
Symptom: The suspension barely moves anywhere, descents included, until you back it out again
Tune LSC on a flowy trail with corners and braking zones, not in the rocks. Big hits are an HSC question; LSC is about what the bike does when you lean on it.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
High-speed compression damping resists fast shaft movement: square-edged rocks, drops, landings, rock gardens taken at speed. High speed means the damper shaft, not the bike; a slow rider can still generate very fast shaft speeds off a sharp edge. It works separately from LSC, so a bike can be firm to pedal yet plush on big hits, or the other way round.
Turning clockwise
- More HSC: harder resistance to fast, sharp impacts
- More bottom-out control on drops and landings
- The bike stays higher in its travel through repeated big hits
- Too much and square edges start feeling like hammer blows
Turning counter-clockwise
- Less HSC: the suspension gives way faster on sharp hits
- Big impacts get swallowed instead of transmitted
- Less harshness in rock gardens and over square edges
- Too little and hard landings blow straight through to a harsh bottom-out
Turning this dial clockwise adds damping; counter-clockwise removes it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Cranking HSC to stop bottom-outs instead of adding a volume spacer or pressure
Symptom: Big hits feel harsh everywhere on the trail, not just at full travel
-
Never moving HSC off the factory setting on fast, rough trails
Symptom: The bike bottoms hard on square edges even though sag is spot on
Tune HSC on the roughest section you regularly ride, not the smoothest. It only does anything once the shaft is genuinely moving fast.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
The climb switch is the shock's version of the lockout lever. It firms the low-speed compression circuit so the rear end stops bobbing on long climbs, usually with a middle position that keeps a little compliance for technical climbing. Same rule as the fork lever: it is a climbing tool only, open it before the descent.
Turning clockwise
- Moves toward the climb or fully firm position
- Kills pedal bob and keeps the rear high on steep climbs
- Rear-wheel compliance over roots and rocks mostly disappears while on
- Flip it open before the trail points down
Turning counter-clockwise
- Moves back toward fully open
- Full rear grip and small-bump compliance return
- The climbing platform is gone until you flip it again
- Open is the default for everything except sustained climbing
Moving this lever clockwise selects a firmer mode; counter-clockwise opens it back up.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Forgetting to open the switch at the top of the climb
Symptom: The rear skips over roots and rocks and braking traction disappears
-
Using full firm on rooty, technical climbs
Symptom: The rear wheel spins and hops over roots instead of tracking them under power
On a technical climb the middle position usually beats the full lock: it keeps just enough movement for the rear tyre to keep biting.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
The lockout is a lever, not a dial. It closes the low-speed compression circuit to near-solid so the bike stops bobbing on smooth climbs and tarmac transfers. Most modern levers give you a middle pedal position instead of a hard lock. It is a climbing tool, full stop: it has no business being on while you descend.
Turning clockwise
- Moves the lever toward the firm or locked mode
- Kills pedal bob on smooth climbs and transfers
- Almost all small-bump compliance goes with it while engaged
- Flip it open again before the trail points down
Turning counter-clockwise
- Moves the lever back toward fully open
- Full grip and small-bump compliance return
- The climbing platform is gone until you flip it again
- Open is the default: everything except smooth, sustained climbing
Moving this lever clockwise selects a firmer mode; counter-clockwise opens it back up.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Dropping into a descent with the lever still on
Symptom: The bike skips and hammers over roots and rocks with next to no grip
-
Using the full lock instead of the middle pedal position on technical climbs
Symptom: The rear wheel spins and skips over roots instead of biting under power
Make the lever part of your routine: flip it at the bottom of the climb, flip it back at the top. If you keep forgetting, ride with it open; a bit of bob costs less than a locked-out descent.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
Volume spacers, or tokens, are plastic inserts that shrink the air chamber. A smaller chamber ramps up harder at the end of the stroke, so the last part of the travel gets more progressive while sag and the initial feel stay exactly the same. They are how you fight bottom-outs without making the whole bike firmer.
Turning clockwise
- Not a dial: you add or remove them by opening the air spring
- Each spacer makes the end of the stroke ramp up harder
- More bottom-out resistance on drops, landings and deep compressions
- Too many and you never reach full travel, however big the hit
Turning counter-clockwise
- Not a dial: spacers come out the same way they went in
- Fewer spacers give a more linear end-stroke
- Full travel becomes usable again
- Too few and big hits slam to the end of the travel
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Adding spacers to fix early- or mid-stroke harshness
Symptom: Nothing changes, because spacers only touch the last part of the travel
-
Stacking in spacers instead of adding a few psi
Symptom: The bike still wallows mid-travel but the last third of the stroke feels like a wall
Change one spacer at a time and check the o-ring after a proper ride: you want full travel once or twice on the biggest hits, not on every run. One or two spacers solves most bottom-out complaints.
Related adjustments
What does it do?
On a coil shock, preload is the threaded collar that squeezes the spring slightly before the shock even moves. It fine-tunes sag for the spring you have; it does not meaningfully stiffen the spring. If you need more than two or three turns to hit sag, you do not need more preload, you need a different spring rate.
Turning clockwise
- More preload: the collar compresses the spring at rest
- Slightly less sag with the same spring
- Too much and the shock turns harsh right off the top
- It never adds real spring rate, it only shifts the starting point
Turning counter-clockwise
- Less preload: the spring relaxes toward its free length
- Slightly more sag with the same spring
- A suppler, more sensitive feel off the top
- Back it off too far and the spring rattles loose on its perch
Turning this dial clockwise adds preload; counter-clockwise relaxes it.
Ride feel
- Comfort
- Grip
- Cornering
- Braking
- Climbing
- Descending
- Jumping
Common mistakes
-
Winding on preload to rescue a spring that is too soft
Symptom: Sag reads on target but the shock feels harsh and dead over small bumps
-
Running the collar fully loose for maximum sensitivity
Symptom: The spring clunks and rattles against its perch on rough ground
Preload lives between snug and about two turns. Past three, stop and order the next spring rate: it is cheaper than ruining how the shock rides.
Related adjustments
What happens if…
The fork dives too deep under braking
- Too little air pressure: the spring is too soft for your weight, so braking load pushes the fork deep into its travel. Recheck sag before anything else.
- Too little low-speed compression: the fork has nothing to lean on when you grab the brakes. Add LSC a click or two at a time.
- Sag set past the 15-20% target: the fork starts too deep, so there is little travel left by the time the braking load arrives.
Small bumps feel harsh, big hits feel fine
- Fork pressure too high: the spring barely moves over small chatter. Drop a few psi and recheck sag.
- Shock pressure too high: trail buzz goes straight into the frame instead of into the shock. Release a little and remeasure sag.
- Too much low-speed compression: the damper is resisting exactly the slow, small movements that chatter creates. Open LSC a click or two.
The suspension bottoms out hard on big hits
- Fork pressure too low: the fork spends its travel before the hit is over. Add pressure until sag is back on target.
- Shock pressure too low: the rear runs out of travel on hits the fork shrugs off. Add pressure and remeasure sag.
- Too few volume spacers: the spring stays linear all the way down, with no ramp-up to catch the hit. Add one token and retest.
- Too little high-speed compression: nothing slows the shaft down before it reaches the end. Add HSC once pressure and spacers are right.
The bike bobs and wastes energy on climbs
- The lockout is sitting open on a smooth, sustained climb: exactly where the firm mode earns its keep. Flip it on.
- The climb switch is open on a long climb: the shock is soaking up your pedal stroke instead of resisting it. Use the middle or firm position.
- Too much rear sag: every pedal stroke works the suspension through its softest range. Set sag back to target first.
Brand terminology
| Brand | Terms | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| RockShox | Charger, Threshold, Open / Pedal / Lock | Charger is the damper family, Threshold the blow-off pedalling platform, and most levers run Open / Pedal / Lock. Different labels, same rebound and compression underneath. |
| Fox | FIT4, GRIP2, EVOL, Open / Medium / Firm | Open / Medium / Firm is the mode lever, GRIP2-class dampers add separate HSC and LSC clickers, FIT4 is the simpler three-position cartridge, and EVOL is the bigger negative air chamber. The names are Fox's, the principles are not. |
| Ohlins | TTX, ADS, Blue lever | TTX is the twin-tube damper shared by fork and shock, and the blue lever is the climb switch. Behind the racing pedigree sit the same circuits as everyone else. |
| Marzocchi | GRIP, VVC, Rail | GRIP is the shared Fox-family damper in a simpler, tougher package. Fewer clickers, same physics. |
| DVO | OTT (Off The Top), D-Loop, Diamond | OTT (Off The Top) tunes the negative spring for off-the-top suppleness without dropping your main pressure. A dial nobody else has, but it is still just spring-curve tuning. |
| EXT | V3, Storia, Arma | EXT coil shocks pair their twin dampers with a hydraulic bottom-out circuit that catches the last part of the stroke. Exotic hardware, familiar principles. |
| Cane Creek | Twin Tube, Climb Switch, HELM | Cane Creek gives you the full four-way: HSC, LSC, HSR and LSR each on its own dial, plus the Climb Switch. More knobs, not different physics. |
| Manitou | Dorado, IRT (Infinite Rate Tune), Absolute Air | HBO is hydraulic bottom-out control, IVA is the volume adjust for end-stroke ramp-up, and IRT splits the air spring into two chambers. Unusual names, the usual jobs. |
| Formula | CTS, MOD, Neopos | CTS is a swappable compression valve: you change the damper's character by swapping a small cartridge instead of counting clicks, and Neopos does volume-spacer duty in foam. Every brand names these things differently; the principles on this page stay the same. |
Effects at a glance
How much each adjustment weighs on the aspects that matter, on a scale of 0 to 3.
| Adjustment | Grip | Comfort | Support | Jumping | Climbing | Braking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air pressure (fork) | ||||||
| Air pressure (shock) | ||||||
| Sag | ||||||
| Rebound | ||||||
| Low-speed compression (LSC) | ||||||
| High-speed compression (HSC) | ||||||
| Lockout | ||||||
| Threshold (RockShox) | ||||||
| Climb switch (shock) | ||||||
| Volume spacers (tokens) | ||||||
| Travel adjust | ||||||
| Coil preload |
Before you touch anything
Never use compression damping to mask the wrong air pressure. Damping cannot fix a spring problem: you just lose small-bump feel and keep the original fault.
Set sag first, always. Every other adjustment is tuned around where the bike sits at rest; move sag and everything else moves with it.
One change at a time. Stack three changes in one go and you will never know which one helped and which one hurt.
Test on the same trail every time. A new trail changes ten variables at once; your test track should change none.
A beginner tuning sequence
Set baseline air pressure
Start with the manufacturer's chart for your weight, fork and shock both. It will not be perfect; it just needs to be close enough to measure sag from.
Measure and set sag
Full riding kit, normal attack position, someone reading the o-ring. Adjust pressure until you sit at roughly 15-20% on the fork and 25-30% on the shock.
Set a baseline rebound
Do the kerb test: ride off a kerb and watch the fork. One compression, one smooth return, done. More than one bounce, add a click; no return at all, take one out. Same idea at the shock.
Ride a familiar trail
Take your usual loop and pay attention: where does the bike feel harsh, vague, divey or wallowy? The trail tells you more in ten minutes than the car park does in an hour.
Tune low-speed compression
Bike wallows in corners, dives under braking, or bobs on climbs? Add LSC a click or two, then ride the same section again.
Retest before touching anything else
One change, one test lap. It is slower than twisting three dials at once, and it is the only way to know what actually worked.
Tune high-speed compression
If rock gardens and landings still feel harsh, or you bottom out with sag on target, adjust HSC on the roughest section you ride.
Add volume spacers last
Still slamming to the end of the travel with everything else dialled? Now add a token. One at a time, and retest: spacers shape the very end of the stroke, nothing more.