Fox 34 Adjustment

[skideeppow]

I picked up a new Stumpjumper. Having a hard time getting it adjusted. I have the pressure inflated to my weight and when I climb the shock is super spongy. Is there a way to lock it out or make it more rigid on the climb, I have the right side dialed all the way to the left.
Do I just need to adjust my riding style and stay in the saddle when I climb?
Thanks for any help.

[Dee Hubbs]

The Compression Damping knob (right side) is closed (fork locked out, or stiff) when it is turned towards your crank, and open (fork can compress) when turned towards the front of the bike.

[skideeppow]

The Compression Damping knob (right side) is closed (fork locked out, or stiff) when it is turned towards your crank, and open (fork can compress) when turned towards the front of the bike.

Yeah, I'll put more air in it.

[whyturn]

Shock has number on fork giving more specifics on fox site


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[mntlion]

New? IF so see your dealer? maybe something wrong with the fork from box

Or new to you? Might need overhaul, or at least oil replacement/ seals

[Dantheman]

Something seems way off here. "Bodyweight" air pressure, which I assume means 150-200 psi, is super high for a fork so it's really weird that it would still feel too soft.

[Gunder]

Something seems way off here. "Bodyweight" air pressure, which I assume means 150-200 psi, is super high for a fork so it's really weird that it would still feel too soft.

This. If this is the case I’d start with a new air spring asembly. They are cheap. While at it change the oil on both sides.

[east or bust]

I took that statement as, he inflated to the recommended air pressure for his body weight… pumping a fork to 150-200 sounds scary.


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[adrenalated]

I took that statement as, he inflated to the recommended air pressure for his body weight… pumping a fork to 150-200 sounds scary.

That's how I interpreted it too.

[Dantheman]

That would make a lot more sense.

[skaredshtles]

Is the OP talking about the fork or the rear shock? Seems to be some ambiguity in his initial query...

[g_man80]

If you haven’t already, I’d suggest starting with the Specialized suspension calculator.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/su...calculator/app

This will provide good baseline pressure and clicker settings for the fork and shock.

[Falcon3]

Is the OP talking about the fork or the rear shock? Seems to be some ambiguity in his initial query...

Title of the thread is “Fox 34 adjustment” and photo is of the fork. I think it’s the fork.

[skaredshtles]

Title of the thread is “Fox 34 adjustment” and photo is of the fork. I think it’s the fork.

I'm not a smart man...

[Dee Hubbs]

I hear a lot of people say "the front shock", but I don't hear very many say "the rear fork"

[skideeppow]

Front fork, and it’s brand new. I used the fork specs which are printed on the fork. I put more air in and did a ride then took backed off the air..I’m at about 110 psi. Shock feels super spungy on the climb

[Gunder]

Front fork, and it’s brand new. I used the fork specs which are printed on the fork. I put more air in and did a ride then took backed off the air..I’m at about 110 psi. Shock feels super spungy on the climb

110 psi still seems like a lot of air…. What dampner do you have on it? Regardless if it’s new I’d take it back to the shop and have them deal with it under warranty.

[adrenalated]

How does it feel descending?

[XtrPickels]

Front fork, and it’s brand new. I used the fork specs which are printed on the fork. I put more air in and did a ride then took backed off the air..I’m at about 110 psi. Shock feels super spungy on the climb

Have you ridden a new fork with this amount of travel recently? If not, you just might not be used to the feeling of how modern forks feel while climbing.
For climbing on a longer travel full suspension bike, you really want to focus your weight over your feet - avoid weighting the bars like you might on a road bike.

I remember when I went from the Brain fork on my Epic to a 120mm Fox. It felt completely foreign and too soft. I soon got used to it and realized how much better it was.

If you're on smooth climbs, close off the compression, that should firm the fork up. Open it back up to where you want it for the descent.

Start with setting sag and making sure that's appropriate- don't go by air-pressure to solve the spongy feeling. That's a low-speed compression issue.

For an Initial Set up
1. Air up the fork, compress it a few times, then push the O-ring down to the dust wiper.
2. Open up all the adjustments (Toward the "-")
3. Gently sit on the bike in riding position, with riding gear. Gently get off bike
4. Measure O-ring position relative to the dust wiper. Because you seem to like a stiffer fork, this should be ~15% of the total fork travel (for a 120mm fork it should be ~18mm).
5. Set Rebound and compression at the recommended by Fox / Specialized based on air-pressure
6. Go ride trails that you would normally ride - not the most extreme and not the ones that are just convenient to where you are at the moment: the ones that are most representative.

7. How does the fork feel?

How much travel does it use?
All of it - Add a volume spacer.
Most of it - You're good
Half of it - Remove a spacer

Does it feel too squishy?
Turn the compression knob toward (+) (more compression damping).

Does it feel too harsh?
Open the compression damping (toward "-") so that the damping has less effect.

Bouncy?
Turn the rebound toward "+"

Slow / packing up during repeated hits
Turn the rebound toward "-".

[toast2266]

Just as a very quick test, while on the bike, roll forward a few feet and then bounce on the fork (hard!) while grabbing the front brake. Basically slam on the fork as hard as you can. Does the fork bottom out? Does it clunk?

If it bottoms softly, or if there's maybe 10-20mm travel left, you're in the right ballpark. If it bottoms out and clunks, you're too soft. If there's 30-40mm travel left, you're too firm.

[SJG]

I have run into this problem on several Fox forks. The equalization port is clogged with excessive grease from the factory. What winds up happening is you add pressure and it squeezes past and fills the negative chamber, then when you lower the pressure it can't get out. You have too much pressure in the negative, and it pulls the fork down (super soft).

It's a problem with Fox, I have fixed several on friend's bikes. And mine. And the bike shops don't talk about it, maybe they are trying to downplay it, or they don't know. But it's a very common problem from what I've seen, I've fixed lots for my friends. New bike, Fox fork, sucks down. "OK, here we go again".

You have to pull the lowers, and clean out the grease from the port channel, then re-assemble, and it will work properly.

FWIW, I typically run much lower pressure than Fox recommends in my forks. I'm 200 kitted and run 60psi on a Fox 36/170mm. High Speed Bros can run what's on the label, but that makes no sense for Joes.

Body weight in lbs is typically close to what's needed for the rear (shock), but 1/3-1/2 for fork.

[adrenalated]

High Speed Bros can run what's on the label, but that makes no sense for Joes.

Just another data point, I'm a medium speed bro with a penchant for poor line choices and am pretty happy running pressure on the label. I'm 155-160ish kitted and run 67psi on a 170mm Fox 36 Grip 2 - which is exactly what Fox recommends. I tried dropping it one time and the mid-stroke wasn't supportive enough.

[SJG]

I do run 2 volume spacers with the lower pressure, and a couple clicks more high and low speed compression. Rebound almost wide open. I run too much chunk to run label-pressure. I don't like half-stroking stuff, I use all the travel, and can hit 6-8' drops without clunking.

I do admit the lower pressure runs less than optimally on high speed braking bumps, but I rarely hit that stuff, and am rarely over 20mph. So works for me.

[adrenalated]

I can see that setup working! I run no volume spacers, slowed high speed rebound down a few clicks and backed off high speed compression slightly. Low speed rebound and compression I left right at recommended. I usually don't use the last ~10mm of travel unless I do something really, really dumb. Trying a setup like yours could be an interesting experiment - I have not played with volume spacers in the fork at all.

[SJG]

FWIW I ran 0, 1, 2, 3, then back to 2 volume spacers in fork. I run 2 in shock. Lets fork be really soft on the top. I dig the traction.