ZEB pressure

Dave_B

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
Aug 29, 2020
1,420
1,536
Newquay
So what’s your riding weight and ZEB pressure and compression/rebound settings?

personally I think this fork is over damped and hence lower pressures are needed to get the setup correct.

ZEB Ultimate 2.1 damper
92 Kg riding weight
zero tokens
75psi ~ 28% sag
1 click HSC - from open
14 LSC - from open
5 rebound - from closed
 
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VWsurfbum

🤴King of Bling🌠
Jan 11, 2021
1,340
1,970
England
Setting mine up yesterday, first time on the Eeb from the analogue.
ZEB Ultimate 2.1 damper
100 ish Kg riding weight
2 tokens
95psi ~ 25% sag

Pretty dam happy so far.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,105
4,636
Weymouth
each bike probably has a different factory tune which is your starting point.............check out the spec using the code label on the forks.
 

BobMtnBkr

Member
Mar 17, 2022
55
21
Williamsburg VA
2021 ZEB Select + on a 2021 TREK Rail 9.8XT.
Charger 2.1 RC damper.
Vorsprung Luftcappe on Debonair air spring.
280 miles.
2 lower leg services.
OEM dust seals.
200 lb riding weight/62 years old.
Zero tokens.
80psi ~ 28% sag.
0 click LSC on tight single track.
3 clicks LSC at bike park.
6 rebound (from full slow/turtle).

Using ~95% of travel.

Not happy - Work in progress - Still playing with clickers & tokens.
 

Thumper33

New Member
Sep 29, 2022
35
6
Denver, CO
I'm jumping in on this because I just bought a turbo levo that the previous owner installed a zeb on. I'm trying to get it set up for myself and it seems weird to me. I'm about 205lbs and I'm sitting at only 60psi to get 22% sag. I was really surprised by that. The guy I bought it from was smaller than me and had 70 psi in there (though nothing else was set up right so that's not saying much. The rebound was also full slow). Anyway, here's how mine is currently set up...

205lb rider
tokens - ??? no idea
pressure - 60 psi = 22% sag
rebound - 7 clicks from slow
LSC - 0 clicks ( my understanding is: don't touch this one unless you're bottoming out on bigger hits and don't want more pressure)
HSC - 0 clicks (have yet to dial this in)

I only have commuting miles on it so far so this is not really tested other than tame trails.
 
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Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,105
4,636
Weymouth
that pressure with resultant SAG suggests you have either not equalised the fork or it needs servicing ( lower leg service will do). Of course you may also not be setting sag correctly. I suggest you start by completely de-pressurising the fork and setting all adjustments like rebound, LSC and HSC to full open. Reinflate the fork and cycle it a few times every 10 psi. (That should not be necessary with the post 2021 Debonair air spring but you may have some grease blocking the bypass so the cycling may help to shift it).
Set the SAG by standing on the pedals and depressing the fork a few times before pushing the ring down to the seal and then gently getting off the bike.
See if that procedure gives you different results. I would expect you need c80psi for 25% SAG at your weight.

Next, leave HSC and LSC fully open and put rebound to a middling setting and try a run on a short trail. Adjust up or down to get the best feel. When you are happy with rebound, leave HSC open and set LSC to a middling setting and repeat the test. In my experience something like a third to half from open is a good LSC setting ( ps LSC does not affect big hits/drops etc). For HSC I usually leave it open for trail riding and turn on 2 or 3 clicks for trails with more rough gravity descents/jumps/drops.
 

Thumper33

New Member
Sep 29, 2022
35
6
Denver, CO
Thanks to both of you.

The bike had 120ish miles on it, and only 2 months old, so I'm assuming it's a 2022 fork. I would think a good ride would have equalized the chambers no?

I didn't cycle the fork while on it before getting a reading. I'll try that. I was in a "ready stance" as I like to call it when getting my reading.
 

BobMtnBkr

Member
Mar 17, 2022
55
21
Williamsburg VA
Thanks to both of you.

The bike had 120ish miles on it, and only 2 months old, so I'm assuming it's a 2022 fork. I would think a good ride would have equalized the chambers no?

I didn't cycle the fork while on it before getting a reading. I'll try that. I was in a "ready stance" as I like to call it when getting my reading.
"I would think a good ride would have equalized the chambers no?"

Like mentioned above. Cycle the fork firmly after adding every 10-15 psi. Pumping it up from 0 to 60 without cycling it every 10-15 psi can sometimes put it out of balance.

I don't worry about SAG too much. Never seem to get a consistent reading. Look at balance, feel and bottoming.

FYI - We're same weight and I bottom out frequently on today's ride in g-outs and over medium jumps at 70psi, 1 token, 1 LSC, reb 5 from full open & vorsprung luftkappe on my select +.

I change things about every ride because I can't seem to get the ZEB dialed in yet... Was 76 psi and no tokens on pervious ride and it was too harsh low & mid. Will try 73 psi next ride.
 
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irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
1,943
1,874
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
ZEB Ultimate Charger 3 (MY23) 29" 160mm

Weight ready to ride: 85kg
Tokens: 0
Pressure: 70psi
Rebound: middle
LSC: 5 clicks from fully open
HSC: 1 click from fully open
Sag: about 25%

Only fitted it few weeks ago, haven't done any tuning, too cold, but feels good so far.


Edit: Now LSC 8 clicks, HSC 3 clicks.
 
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irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
1,943
1,874
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
Download the Rock Shox app, gives you a base setting for air and rebound.
If you use Rockshox Trailhead, stick in your forks serial number then go to tuning, the recommended base air pressure setting for eMTB for your weight is so high that you end up with ridiculously stiff forks!
 
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2stroked

Member
Dec 15, 2022
38
8
Nanaimo
If you use Rockshox Trailhead, stick in your forks serial number then go to tuning, the recommended base air pressure setting for eMTB for your weight is so high that you end up with ridiculously stiff forks!
Weird, I didn’t find this with mine, they felt really plush, 180mm, 0 HSC and 2 LSC and 4-6 Rebound. I’m 240 ran the recommended 85ish pressure.
I lowered the pressure to about 75 to see if it would turn quicker since it would sit lower in the travel and they felt harsher but I also had a click of HSC I thought would help bottoming but it actually caused the fork to use less travel with the lower air pressure.
This is all mainly single track riding with no big drops but lots of rocks and roots mainly.
From my dirt bike days I always ran stiffer spring rates as it kept the fork up in the travel and would actually work really well on the smaller chop since the travel wouldn’t go into the travel and get harsh from the air space, also lowered the oil level, compression was was usually turned up as well.
But it’s whatever works for the rider.
 

irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
1,943
1,874
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
Weird, I didn’t find this with mine, they felt really plush, 180mm, 0 HSC and 2 LSC and 4-6 Rebound. I’m 240 ran the recommended 85ish pressure.
I lowered the pressure to about 75 to see if it would turn quicker since it would sit lower in the travel and they felt harsher but I also had a click of HSC I thought would help bottoming but it actually caused the fork to use less travel with the lower air pressure.
This is all mainly single track riding with no big drops but lots of rocks and roots mainly.
From my dirt bike days I always ran stiffer spring rates as it kept the fork up in the travel and would actually work really well on the smaller chop since the travel wouldn’t go into the travel and get harsh from the air space, also lowered the oil level, compression was was usually turned up as well.
But it’s whatever works for the rider.
I am 85kg/187lb ready to ride (you are 109kg). As you can see for me Rockshox Trailhead recommended 73psi with MTB and 83 psi with eMTB. Same result for online and the App.

ZEB Ultimate tuning recommendation - MTB.jpg ZEB Ultimate tuning recommendation - eMTB.jpg
 
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Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,105
4,636
Weymouth
I think the big variable in fork set ups is rider+bike weight distribution. The bike weight distribution is static when the bike is static ( when you do the SAG setting) but can vary dynamically with different shock settings. Rider weight distribution is of course completely dynamic and where you move that weight, fore or aft on the bike, depends on the trail angle .....uphill/downhill.... but can also be impacted by the overall geo and weight balance fore/aft of the bike. So as in most aspects of set up on the bike everything is a compromise!!

(Just standing on the pedals in the ready position, you can quite radically increase weight over the front wheel just by rotating the pedals forward ....... and the reverse of that also applies) .
 

2stroked

Member
Dec 15, 2022
38
8
Nanaimo
One thing I just noticed is Dave who started the post has the Charger 2.1, mine has the 3, I wonder if that makes a difference?
 

RM.SGO

Member
Apr 25, 2020
61
57
Danville, CA
I found the recommended EMTB pressures on trailhead app was too high... couldn't get full use of the shock. Ended up splitting the difference between the EMTB and non-EMTB pressures for my weight and seems to be working well
 

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