Suspension school · Tuning by Riding Style

Enduro and Self-Uplift Laps

Support and consistency for the bike that made every hill an uplift

The motor turned every riding spot into an uplift venue. An evening of self-uplift laps can rack up 1,000m of descending and a big day can double it, mileage an unpowered rider would need a chairlift for. Enduro setup on an eMTB is therefore less about one perfect run and more about run five feeling like run one.

Support Over Plushness

A plush setup feels wonderful for a run and a half. Then your hands take over the damping. For repeated descents, move both ends toward the supportive end of the sag windows: fork at 15 to 17%, shock at 25 to 27%. The bike sits higher in its travel, holds its geometry through compressions and keeps travel in reserve for the mistakes tired arms make.

• Fork: add 2 to 3psi over your trail pressure, moving sag from around 18% toward 15 to 17%
• Shock: aim for 25 to 27% sag rather than 28 to 30%
• Low-speed compression: two clicks firmer, meaning two fewer out from fully closed
• High-speed compression: one click firmer for repeated big compressions
• Rebound: unchanged, or one click slower if the bike feels busy at speed
• Bottoming more than once a run: add one volume spacer before adding more air

Heat Is the Hidden Variable

Damper oil thins as it heats, and a shock at the bottom of a ten-minute descent can be too hot to hold comfortably. As the oil thins, rebound quickens and compression fades, so the setup you dialled in cold literally changes underneath you. Air springs also gain a little pressure as they warm.

• Set up and judge settings on a cold shock at the top of a run, not halfway down
• Do not chase adjustments mid-descent, what you are feeling may be temperature rather than your last click
• Piggyback and larger-volume shocks carry more oil and fade later, one reason they are standard fit on enduro eMTBs
• A coil shock sidesteps air-spring heat rise entirely, which is much of its appeal for repeated laps
• On very long descents a 30-second pause halfway costs little and resets the brakes as well as the dampers

Inserts and Casings

This is where a rear tyre insert earns its 150 to 300g. On repeated rocky descents it protects the rim on the hits you stop noticing when tired, stabilises the sidewall in corners, and lets you run 1 to 2psi less for grip without folding the casing.

• Maxxis: DoubleDown rear as the minimum, EXO+ is acceptable up front
• Schwalbe: Super Gravity, or Radial Gravity where offered
• Specialized: GRID Gravity
• Continental: Enduro casing
• Destroying rims or slicing casings anyway: step the rear up to the DH casing and stop donating money to your wheel builder

Between-Run Checks

• Squeeze both tyres at the top of each run, a slow leak is obvious by lap three
• Glance at the shock O-ring, sag creeping deeper means air escaping
• Check the rebound dial has not been knocked, they snag on tailgates and other people's bikes
• Every few laps, wiggle the rear axle, then drop the bike from 10cm and listen for anything loose

If you race, the same logic tightens further. A race bias typically adds one more volume spacer and another click of compression support, because you will ride the course faster and hit everything harder than you did in practice. Walk the stages, and if there are two or three genuinely big hits, set up for those rather than the average.

One honest warning: this setup feels firm, even harsh, at car park speed and on mellow trails. Judge it at pace on the third run, not while rolling around the trailhead, and keep your trail tune written down for the rides that do not need any of this.