New Jet 9 RDO and a question about shock setup

[Earthpig]

Finally was able to get out on a ride on my new Jet 9 RDO frame yesterday. Built it up with used parts (except the chain, rear brake line, bottom bracket and front derailleur.) Reba at 120, Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro wheels, all XT drivetrain and brakes. 2.3 Purgatory front and 2.1 Ground Control rear tires. Somewhere around 27 - 28 lbs. I'm not a racer, so I built it on the heavier side for more all-around riding. Fun bike. I've had a bunch of bikes - I honestly cannot remember how many - in my 21 years of biking, but this is my first carbon FS frame. (I had an '11 Jet 9 alloy and a '12 RIP 9 and many other alloy FS frames.) I love the CVA suspension - it pedals great - almost "negative feedback" in that it almost feels like pedaling springs you forward instead of bobbing. My first ride impression is that this thing "corners on rails" - it seems effortless to take tight, twisty lines and tight, linked turns, and you never feel like the bike is going to lose traction. The CVA isn't the plushest suspension design, but for the kind of riding I do, that's the least of my worries.

Speaking of suspension, it is my understanding that the rear shock is to be set generally at 25% sag (on the 2" stroke shock.) Is there a good rule of thumb as to body weight or a good starting PSI? I'm at about 140 psi right now and I weigh about 205 geared up. My two prior Niner FS frames (see above) worked best in that 135 psi range. (I'm a little heavier now, hence the added pressure.) Does 140 psi sound about right? I prefer a firmer rather than softer shock.

[ozynigma]

I just set my Jet 9 carbon up at 100psi and had no bottoming, used most of the travel during its first two hour ride today and felt compliant but not soggy. I suggest you do something similar, use sag as a starting point and then soften the suspension to use as much travel as you paid for in your normal riding conditions. But keep a bit of travel in reserve and don't go softer than you like the feel of. My point is if you are never close to using all your travel then why buy a 100mm rear travel bike?

Edit: Another hint is that if you stand on the pedals and bounce on your suspension the compression and rebound should feel similar front and rear. So you should set your shock up to match your fork (or vice versa).

[Earthpig]

And you weight what? 100psi seems way too low for my beer belly.

[PeopleForScience]

Dont focus on psi. Focus on sag. All pumps are different and most dont even read correctly anyways.

[kev84]

I love the CVA suspension - it pedals great - almost "negative feedback" in that it almost feels like pedaling springs you forward instead of bobbing.


I am glad someone else said this. I thought I was crazy. I leave mine set to "descend" all the time. It seems like when I am climbing it is almost helping me. I used to reach down and flip it between trail and descend all the time but I left it in descend one time and it felt like it was springing me forward when climbing.

[ozynigma]

And you weight what? 100psi seems way too low for my beer belly.

Dont focus on psi. Focus on sag. All pumps are different and most dont even read correctly anyways.

I weight about the same as you (but I am convinced mine is all muscle).

As PforS said don't concentrate on the numbers, that was my point too, use the principles to get the suspension feeling right for you and generally speaking using all your travel.

Mine is two days old and maybe not broken in yet. I just did a push test in the garage and the rear suspension feels to me to have the right amount of compression. So I am leaving it like that and maybe experimenting out on the trail with a shock pump in the next few weeks.

[RPG]

Don't mean to hijack, when you are setting sag, should it be in trail mode or descend? I ride mine in trail mode 2 all of the time and wasn't sure which mode to have it in when setting sag.

[brightsky]

Don't mean to hijack, when you are setting sag, should it be in trail mode or descend? I ride mine in trail mode 2 all of the time and wasn't sure which mode to have it in when setting sag.

It should not matter. You are setting preload with sag and the compression/platform settings (trail/descend) should have no impact on sag with a static load.

[ejreyes6]

Sag is to be set in decent mode. Check with Fox


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[ejreyes6]

Per fox website,
New FOX suspension products typically have an o-ring on the rear shock body or forkupper tube, but if there is no o-ring, you can temporarily use a zip tie to aid your sag measurement.
Turn off Propedal, compression damping, or lockout on the shock or fork before proceeding.
Make sure your CTD fork, shock, or both are in descend mode.




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[brightsky]

The most open setting would be best practice, but it should eventually settle to the same spot in all settings besides a lockout. Easy to test.

The bigger issue on setting sag is how you should weight the bike. Getting on and off several times will usually yield different readings depending on how you put your weight on/off it (when doing it by yourself and reading an o-ring).

It is best to have a helper measure/read it for you while sitting in normal riding position after giving it a little bounce.

[ozynigma]

Don't mean to hijack, when you are setting sag, should it be in trail mode or descend? I ride mine in trail mode 2 all of the time and wasn't sure which mode to have it in when setting sag.

I am leaving mine in trail for all my riding at the moment. I have read the CVA is so good you can leave it in descend all the time instead. I have set my shock pressure by feel and test riding. I have added 10psi from my original setup. If I was setting up for sag I would set it in trail but as brightsky said it probably makes no difference.