by JimDirt » Wed Jul 10, 2013 6:13 am
Again , as i mentioned , using the lower part of the travel , ESPECIALLY for trail riding will make you ride in the lower part of the stroke and make the ride harsh as well as not optimize the ride , i run 2 sizes too stiff of fork springs to keep the bike UP , but i re-valved it extremely soft , i get a cushy ride , but stay up in the stroke so i utilize the valving as it is designed to be used , the more you get near the bottom , the less of the PROPER part of the valving you are using , valving works by position of the fork in the stroke , and each part of the valving is designed to open at a certain part of the travel , if the bike is going to the bottom you have blown past the part of the valving designed to hit bumps , etc, etc
If you watch Endurocross , you will see bikes use quite a bit of the entire stroke , but they stay up at the top when not compressing , and when they do compress it is for very short periods of time , because the suspension was set up to stay UP where the suspension is plusher and will absorb everything that is hit
Like i mentioned before , if you hit near bottom more than 1 time on a ride from a extreme situation , your suspension is too soft (most likely too soft of springs for your weight) and you are not optimizing anything , and the more you try to soften the ride by making it go lower , the worse you are actually making the suspension work , and are actually getting counter productive results from what you are trying so hard to achieve
Believe me , i used to think the same way you do , till i started re-valving suspension and learned how suspension actually works , and it finally sunk in that i had been doing it all wrong , and wish i could have gotten back all those years of beating myself do death
2020 CRF450R
2006 CRF450X

Weiser , Idaho