Sag

[GazzerT]

just bought a full suss carbon cube........love it but!!!!!!!!
this is my first bike with suspension of any kind and I bought it online because all local bike shops were sold out. I'd never heard of "Sag" and on my first proper ride had a pedal strike, crashed and broke my collarbone in two places, this was last week. now can only look at the bike for the next 8 weeks whilst in rehab argh!!
There was nothing in the blurb with the bike about sag and buying online meant no shop set up. Painful lesson.
Please be sure you don't make the same rookie error!

GazzerT

 

[simonk]

Ouch! That’s an unfortunate outcome to your first ride. There’s lots of great content on YouTube and the like that covers bike setup, handling and technique.
Hope the rehab goes well and welcome to the forum.

 

[GazzerT]

thanks Simon, have already ordered the shock pump and will have at least 8 weeks to get the set up dialled.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Suspension set-up guides and info - EMTB Forums

 

[Motoride]

Sorry to hear about your first ride,...Dislike reading all that user manual junk When buying anything but setup is important, it’s so easy to get hurt anyways. Every time I hear of another crash I buy more Body protection , I’m now covered head to toe with Every piece of available body armor, takes me 20-30 min to put on all of the gear,... sort of looking like a fitted Michelin bubble man, nevertheless hoping it will help for injury free riding when I crash and avoid Those expensive ER doctor visits.

 

[urastus]

emtb and pedal strike seem to be a common thing; it was an insight for me. On my acoustic bikes I rarely had pedal strike and they have longer cranks. In my experience, suspension always comes too hard. I wouldn't be surprised if sag wasn't your problem! I have never been able to even get ball park figures using manufacturer's guides for weight / pressure / correct sag etc. I usually end up gradually dropping pressure till I nearly use all the suspension on a ride, or bottom out once in a while. Lately I've had about 5mm spare on the rear, 5mm to a cm spare on the fork after a ride. It is a bit wet now though, so I'm probably not riding as fast as I do through the warmer months. My pressures are always way below manufacturer's figures. I'm not a hard rider, don't do jumps, do ride drops, and it is rough, steep and rocky where I ride.

 

[GazzerT]

so why am I getting pedal strikes on the the full suss cube as apposed to my old rigid bike?

 

[steve_sordy]

so why am I getting pedal strikes on the the full suss cube as apposed to my old rigid bike?

It could be very high sag% that has the effect of lowering the bike under your weight, even more so when you G out.
Also....
Riding sat down and still pedalling when you should be stood up and floating over. I know, its easy to do on a full suss. But you shouldn't!! If you would have stood up to ride over an obstacle on your old bike, then do so on this one.