CLOSED
(FULL CLOCKWISE)
18
CLICKS
OUT
HSC
(HIGH-SPEED COMPRESSION)
CLOSED
(FULL CLOCKWISE)
13
CLICKS
OUT
LSC
(LOW-SPEED COMPRESSION)
CLOSED
(FULL CLOCKWISE)
13
CLICKS
OUT
REBOUND
OPEN
OPEN
26 CLICKS
OPEN
18 CLICKS
22 CLICKS
28
29
FoRk SETuP
FoRk SETuP
Fork Setup Information
Read this first for a general understanding
of fork set-up or skip straight to the air
pressure charts
(page 32)
if you just want
to go ride.
Important Note
about Ripley Forks:
For the best possible performance, be sure
you are using a 51mm offset fork on the
Ripley. All the Ripley forks we supply have
51mm offsets, so if you (or your retailer) got
the fork from Ibis, it’s got the right offset.
Positive Pressure
This is the main air spring that supports
your weight. Adjust the air pressure so that
you come close to using all the travel on
a typical ride. Usually you can mimic your
maximum impacts by grabbing the front
brake and pushing down
HARD
on the
bars. If you are getting 80–90% of the
fork’s travel doing this, your positive air
spring is in the right range. Actual riding
will often push the fork a little further than
this test.
Low Speed compression damping
Low speed compression damping is used
to reduced unwanted movement and over
travel due to low speed changes like out of
the saddle pedaling and subtle variations
in the trail that can cause wallowing etc.
Adjust to your preference.
Lockout
As the name implies this turns the fork rigid
(or close to it) for out of the saddle efforts
or riding on the road. Most forks have a
“blowoff” so that the fork will move if a
large enough impact is felt. The threshold
or “blowoff” when the lockout lets the fork
start to move is often adjustable. It’s called
Gate in Rock Shox parlance and Blowoff
Threshold in Fox’s language. Usually the
goal is to have the lockout at the minimum
setting needed to stop the fork movement
while pedaling out of the saddle, but
allowing it to still move fairly easily when an
impact is felt.
high Speed
compression damping
If your fork has a high speed compression
damping control, this would usually be used
to slow things down during big hits to avoid
bottoming. It would usually be set at the
lowest level needed to avoid bottoming out.
Rebound
Adjust the rebound so that the front end
does not bounce off the ground after a
drop off or large bump. If adjusted too
slow, the fork may “pack down” and feel
sluggish. In order to conserve momentum and
remain compliant the suspension needs to
recover fairly quickly and push off the back
side of bumps and holes. If the rebound is
adjusted too slow, rolling energy is lost to
damping and vibration. If it is adjusted too
fast the bike will bounce after bumps and
drops. Adjust to your preference.
Fox Float cTd
On their Float forks and shocks, Fox has a
feature that makes it easier for the user to
adjust to changing trail conditions. It’s called
CTD (Climb Trail Descend) and is changed
by the lever at the top of the right fork leg.
As with prior Fox forks, cranking the blue
lever clockwise increases the amount of force
it takes to make the fork move. Just think of
‘Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosie’ (same goes for
the shock).
Rock Shox Pike
Because it’s buttery smooth, robust and
reliable, the standard fork on the HD3 is
the 160mm travel Pike RCT3. Over the past
couple of years, the Pike has become the
default fork on all mountain and enduro
bikes. The air pressure chart can be found
on
page 32.
Fox Float 36
RockShox firmly kicked Fox in the you-
know-what’s when they came out with the
Pike. Fox needed to respond, and they
came back swinging with the new 36. The
36 does everything better than the prior
incarnations, it’s lighter, incredibly smooth
and supple right out of the box (prior
versions needed to be broken in), stiffer and
it makes your coffee for you in the morning.
OK we might be exaggerating that last bit
but not the rest. For those wanting just a little
more robustness up front, or simply more
partial to Fox, the 160mm travel 36 with
the RC2 damper will deliver.
Special Blend
Special Blend bikes come with SLX
drivetrains and X-Fusion suspension.
X-Fusion RL2 Forks
X-Fusion RL2 trail forks offer an efficient and
high quality damping system in a simple
package. The RL2 sealed cartridge damper
systems offers external rebound and lockout
adjustment. The Mojo HD3 Special Blend
features the 34mm chassis Sweep RL2 with
140mm of travel and the Ripley Special
Blend features the 34mm chassis Trace RL2
with 120mm of travel.
Pressure charts can be found on
page 32.
Fox Rc2 Base Settings
Use this diagram as a starting point for
your compression and rebound adjusters.
Turn your adjusters all the way in (full
clockwise) until they stop. Then back
them out (counter-clockwise)
to the number of clicks
shown below.
