# Picked up my new bike today and have no clue with forks



## jack smith (6 Sep 2016)

just picked this up today a Scott scale with fox 32 forks but they seem bery soft and I loose most of my travel just sitting on it also they don't seem to lock out at sll, can someone tell me what I need to do please. Also can someone recommend a budget dropper post that will work.
First impressions though it feels FAST! Shop said it couldn't handle the black route though at hamsterley forest which I used to take my rock hopper on and the hire bikes there do you think it would be okay?


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## Roadrider48 (6 Sep 2016)

As an aside, Jack.
Did you get your Spesh back yet?


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## Spiderweb (6 Sep 2016)

Take it back to the shop and get them to set the shocks up as you prefer. I presume they are air forks so the shop needs to put more air in to stiffen them up. They should explain how to set them up, show you how to use a shock pump, and maybe you should buy one.
The forks should have lockout and rebound adjust so you can customise the rate at which the forks rebound after compression. This should all be explained to you and you'll soon get the hang of it.
Very nice bike by the way.


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## MarquisMatsugae (6 Sep 2016)

Very nice mate,I do like the Scott bikes.
If you are planning to do a lot of Hamsterley,then change the Rocket Rons.
And....that's it really.
Enjoy !!!!! 

Oh,and what @Spiderweb said for the forks


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## S-Express (6 Sep 2016)

jack smith said:


> Shop said it couldn't handle the black route though at hamsterley forest which I used to take my rock hopper on and the hire bikes there do you think it would be okay?



I've got no knowledge of that route, but if you have previously ridden it on a rockhopper, then there would appear to be no earthly reason why you couldn't do it on that.


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## jack smith (7 Sep 2016)

Roadrider48 said:


> As an aside, Jack.
> Did you get your Spesh back yet?


I did mate yeah paint was worse than first thought so getting it booked in at the sprayers


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## jack smith (7 Sep 2016)

MarquisMatsugae said:


> Very nice mate,I do like the Scott bikes.
> If you are planning to do a lot of Hamsterley,then change the Rocket Rons.
> And....that's it really.
> Enjoy !!!!!
> ...


Cheers mate can you recommend some other tyre for a starting point then to work around?


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## screenman (7 Sep 2016)

Some shop assistants do talk tosh, why should the bike not ride any route that you want it too.

As the others have said about the forks.


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## MarquisMatsugae (7 Sep 2016)

Well,tyres are a personal choice and something I obsess over 
I use Vittoria tyres,and I (mostly ) use the Geax (Vittoria made) Barro Mountain.
The newer version of this tyre is called the Barzo ,and has the new Graphene compound .But to be honest ,the BM's are ample grip and you can still pick them up for pennies from Wiggle or PX.
But I also use the Jafaki tyre,if the trails have a lot of muddy downhills.These have a larger more aggressive tread,and grip like hell.They also shed the mud very well.
I use the BM's almost all the time as my trails have changed to gravelly and stoney ones,so the smaller more compact tread grips the trails a lot better than the larger tread of the Jafaki.
So,that's my recommendations ,long winded I know 
Remember to check your maximum tyre widths ,because bigger is better


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## Levo-Lon (7 Sep 2016)

As above on everything..
tyres will eithe be ok or not..i hate Rocket Rons with a passion..

get the fork sag set 'buy a shock pump" and then Rag that bad boy..enjoy


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## Yellow Saddle (7 Sep 2016)

You have some new knowledge to gain. Now that you own air forks you should learn how to:

1) Set the fork pressure according to the sag method.
2) Understand what the pop lock (blow off valve) does and how t adjust it to get the type of lockout you'e after.
3) Understand what the red, rebound damper adjustment does.
4) Understand the difference between compression damping and rebound damping.


Also, buy a shock pump. Like you can't take your bike back to the shop each time you want to pump the tyres, you can't take it back to the shop each time you have to adjust the fork pressure.


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## Jody (7 Sep 2016)

jack smith said:


> can someone tell me what I need to do please.



There should be a little rubber ring on the stancion so you can see how much travel has been used (sag). Slide it to the bottom, carefully get on the bike and stand in an attack kind of position and then get back off the bike carefully. If set up correctly the ring will have moved approximately 25% of the overall travel. If its more than 25% you need more air in them and less than 25% needs some air letting out of them. Most people run between 20-30% depending on preference.

PS Nice bike.


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## jack smith (7 Sep 2016)

Cheers guys according to the website it needs about 90 psi In them my normal pump goes up to 130 do I deffo need a specialist pump or will I get away with my road bike one? 
Also I fancy making a lightweight project of this so I'm going to have some fun with it, either going to go 1x or get myself some xtr I can't decide! Also need to get my head around new wheels and what the average weight ect is it's a whole new kettle of fish this mtb stuff!


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## Levo-Lon (7 Sep 2016)

You need a suspension pump, A must...they are different to a tyre pump as you can isolate the valve when removing.

Dont go over a 100 psi with foxes.. try 80psi as a start point, then adjust higher or lower to get the 25% sag.
Ideally remove 5psi at a time until the sag is right.

always isolate the valve when checking as you need the air to be in the fork only..
if you have the pump open it acts as a chamber so the readings will be wrong when you disconnect.

also be aware when you fit the pump you will lose about 10-20 psi so ignore thar reading.

hope that makes sense, theres loads of How Too's on you tube for Fork set up..its not that hard but understanding how thety work is key to a good handling bike..

have fun


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## mrbikerboy73 (8 Sep 2016)

Great bike @jack smith, got an older Scott Scale myself. 
Best budget dropper post IMHO is probably a Giant Contact SL Switch. I've got one on my Trance and it works very well.


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## raleighnut (8 Sep 2016)

jack smith said:


> Cheers guys according to the website it needs about 90 psi In them my normal pump goes up to 130 do I deffo need a specialist pump or will I get away with my road bike one?
> Also I fancy making a lightweight project of this so I'm going to have some fun with it, either going to go 1x or get myself some xtr I can't decide! Also need to get my head around new wheels and what the average weight ect is it's a whole new kettle of fish this mtb stuff!


You need a proper suspension pump, the air chamber is quite small and the correct pump is very precise although there are 2 versions of the Marzocchi one I've got

300 psi - Used more for rear spring as they need high pressure but hard to read guage
100psi - Used for front forks with greater resolution on the guage.
I'd go for the 100psi version (well I did) as a couple of pounds can make the bike 'feel' different at the front.


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## agmtb (10 Sep 2016)

Shocks DO need to be rebuilt, rather often, more if you ride a lot and hard. Not cheap but not really difficult to learn either. Try to find out if the shop rebuilt them before you bought it. Also if you are a big guy the 32mm stanchions won't work well for you. May need a firmer 34, 35 or 36mm shock, much more $. If you do need a bigger shock keep the amount of travel similar or you'll mess up the geometry/handling.


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## fossyant (11 Sep 2016)

Shock pump is a must. They aren't expensive. You usually need to set sag according to your weight. Somewhere between 20 and 30% sag. Not sure about Fox, but Rockshox have sag markings on the shock, so you set it to that when sat on the bike.


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## jack smith (12 Sep 2016)

Thanks for the help I got a shock pump and it it loads better now, just picked up a full sus now from Evans too and have been playing about with both shocks on that to good effect, thanks a lot guys!


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