16
HP
Velotechnik
You should always set the damping as low as
possible to give the tricycle the possibility to
quickly react even to several bumps in a row.
You can ride the Scorpion with a considerably
lower damping than for example a MTB: due
to the relaxed and steady position of the body
the recumbent does not experience extreme
variations in the load as it is known from
dancing on the pedals while riding uphill on a
mountain bike.
In addition to this, varying pedaling forces have
very little influence on the suspension of the
tricycle due to the No Squat design of the sus-
pension system of the Scorpion. So when you
adjust the damping, always start with a low
damping rate.
It is necessary to choose the correct spring
stiffness to have a well operating suspension
system.The spring stiffness is a measure for
the compression of a spring at a certain load.
It is either given in "N/mm" (Newton per
Millimeters) or "lbs./inch" (Pounds per Inch).
Sometimes you only find "lbs." printed on the
springs.
The spring stiffness of the optional air shock
DT-S
WISS
XM180 is set by adjusting the air
pressure.
The suspension is designed in a way that the
spring is compressed partly when you sit
down on your tricycle.This is called negative
suspension travel (or "sag") and it enables the
spring to expand on bumpy roads. (Which is in
fact a definitely positive feature.) You should
choose a spring stiffness with which this nega-
tive suspension travel takes up around 30% of
the overall suspension travel.This value usually
provides a very comfortable ride on your sus-
pended recumbent trike.
Adjusting to load
The luggage carrier of the Scorpion is
mounted to the suspended part of the frame.
That way your luggage is also fully suspended
and it spares the material. Most notably, even
under heavy load the suspension will
compensate an uneven road much better and
quicker compared to a design where the
luggage carrier is mounted to the unsuspended
parts, e.g. the rear swing arm.
Additional luggage changes the load on the
wheels and their suspension.The springs are
further compressed initially through the load
and there is less suspension travel for bumps
while riding.Your suspension will bottom out
more often.
The suspension of the front wheel is less
affected since luggage at the rear rack almost
only puts weight on the rear wheel. Only in
case of heavy luggage on the lowrider under
the seat there is an influence on the front
wheel.
In order to compensate the variations in the
load you can change the pre-load. For details
see the following chapter.
Theoretically adjusting the preload can
compensate for a load change of approx. 10 kg
(23 lbs) at the rear wheel. In case of higher
variations in the load you will have to
exchange the spring with a spring with
different spring rate. In practice you can often
do without it: the Scorpion offers a lot of
suspension travel for a touring trike (80 mm).
When you choose the spring rate to have the
full 80 mm at your disposal when your
recumbent is under maximum load, you will
have a somewhat smaller but still very
comfortable suspension travel when you ride
without luggage.The optional air shock DT-
S
WISS
XM180 can be easily pumped up to
compensate load increases.
Adjusting the suspension