250 xc aer forks psi by weight vs compression

[lalispeed sparse]

Hi , i have a 2018,  250 xc i put 35 hours in it and still can figure out my suspencion settings. I'm at 163 pounds with no gear. I don't do any mx. Just  cross country and trail rides. My biggest question or concern since I'm an amateur rider is  how to figure out if when i fell the forks to soft i need more compression or more psi on the fork?? Or if i need to soft them up less psi or less compression... in the manual says 136 to start 17 clicks 13 and 9 from comfort to sport. Any advise??

[Shhhh]

If the fork dives in the corner, too soft, if it pushes, too stiff.  Deflecting off roots, too stiff, etc. Try to keep the front and rear as balanced as possible.

 

Start with the comfort settings in the manual, and 125 psi in the fork, adjust from there.  Only a few psi at a time.   I landed at about 130psi, I weigh 165 without gear, and am close to the standard settings for the clickers. 

Edited March 27, 2019 by 74one

[lalispeed sparse]

4 hours ago, 74one said:

If the fork dives in the corner, too soft, if it pushes, too stiff.  Deflecting off roots, too stiff, etc. Try to keep the front and rear as balanced as possible.

 

Start with the comfort settings in the manual, and 125 psi in the fork, adjust from there.  Only a few psi at a time.   I landed at about 130psi, I weigh 165 without gear, and am close to the standard settings for the clickers. 

Thanks man!! I will try that psi. When you mean to standard its around 12, 13 clicks? 

[nahvkolaj]

For reference, I'm ~190 and I have mine set at 150psi and 10 clicks on compression. Really you need to get out and mess with settings. Try decreasing and increasing pressure. Set the clickers to the comfort then race settings and see how it feels.

[Hans Schmid]

Air pressure and clicker adjustments do two very different things, though they do cross over... 

In simplest terms, air pressure for weight, clicker adjustments for your speed...

[NVarra]

IMO - 74one and Hans nailed it.

I'm very close to the same weight (160), have the same bike and ride a large variety of terrain from rooty/rocky notrack stuff to fast open trail.

For what it's worth, I run 135-140 PSI depending on the terrain, and my clickers are Compression: 17 (ish) | Rebound: 15 (ish). I never really touch the clickers anymore and just adjust the fork pressure depending on where we're riding.

Pick an air pressure and stick with it until you get a feel for the clickers. If you keep changing your air pressure and clickers, you're chasing you're tail.

Also, check out the RaceTech Spring Rate Calculator. It's a good starting point.

[lalispeed sparse]

1 minute ago, NVarra said:

IMO - 74one and Hans nailed it.

I'm very close to the same weight (160), have the same bike and ride a large variety of terrain from rooty/rocky notrack stuff to fast open trail.

For what it's worth, I run 135-140 PSI depending on the terrain, and my clickers are Compression: 17 (ish) | Rebound: 15 (ish). I never really touch the clickers anymore and just adjust the fork pressure depending on where we're riding.

Pick an air pressure and stick with it until you get a feel for the clickers. If you keep changing your air pressure and clickers, you're chasing you're tail.

Also, check out the RaceTech Spring Rate Calculator. It's a good starting point.

Dully noted and i will stick to that!!! Thanks so much!

[shrub73]

142 pounds without gear. 

PSI at 119.

Edited March 27, 2019 by shrub73

[baconispower]

17 hours ago, 74one said:

If the fork dives in the corner, too soft, if it pushes, too stiff.  Deflecting off roots, too stiff, etc. Try to keep the front and rear as balanced as possible.

Start with the comfort settings in the manual, and 125 psi in the fork, adjust from there.  Only a few psi at a time.   I landed at about 130psi, I weigh 165 without gear, and am close to the standard settings for the clickers. 

^ DO THIS!!! 

[MathProf]

I read a post of a rider that uses Racetech to set the psi on the front forks to match his weight and uses clicker setting way out of book specs.

Turns out he was right.

I took the Racetech psi setting for my weight and started by setting my compression at 29 CCW clicks from all in CW.

I assumed the front was right and balanced the rear spring to match the front fork.

Best suspension my 19 KTM XC 250 ever had.

 

[HHey]

What do you ride? Fast flowy trails or lots of roots and technical stuff?

I’m 180 without gear, and ride mostly tight woods single track with lots of rocks, roots, and logs to hop over. I’m running comfort settings on the clickers and 120 PSI. That seems to work perfectly for the terrain. If I were to ride faster desert stuff I’d definitely go higher on PSI. I do get some front end dive on fast corners, but not much. Haven’t bottomed out with those settings yet.

[MathProf]

I ride very technical single-track with rocks of all sizes, logs, mostly dry.

I am an A level rider with a couple regional class championships.

I am at 150 psi in the front 30 compression 18 rebound.

I ran low pressures like you but the forks felt harsh. No more.

[HHey]

I ride very technical single-track with rocks of all sizes, logs, mostly dry.
I am an A level rider with a couple regional class championships.
I am at 150 psi in the front 30 compression 18 rebound.
I ran low pressures like you but the forks felt harsh. No more.

Interesting, I am going to try that. I don’t think the forks are harsh the way I’m running them now, but I am coming off the 4cs, which are not the gold standard.

[MathProf]

I was surprised at how well they worked.

Like I said, I was on the "low pressure" bandwagon myself.

Getting the front and rear balanced was the trick.

 

[Goatse]

I wish the weather wasn't cold here now. According to the Race Tech calc, I'm running 17 psi too low... I'd like to try that out. 

Edited October 29, 2019 by Goatse

[livefivetwofive]

Get your suspension tuner to add  12mm lowering spacers. Then add another air valve to the bottom of air leg. This offsets the aer leg seal, essentially giving control over two air chambers for ride height and initial plushness. Run recommended psi in the top and between 100-130 psi in bottom to taste.

Basically they should come similar to this setup from factory.