# adjusting rear shock



## JellyLegs (May 15, 2011)

i'm trying to adjust my rear shock because my bike is too bouncy when i pedal on tarmac which is about 90 percent of what i ride on. however i'm very new to rear suspensions and i don't know what to do.

as far as i can tell the only thing i can move is the big lugnut that i guess compresses the spring if turn it towards the rear of the bike, or lower my bike a bit if i go the other way.

if i compress the spring would that give me a stiffer ride? thus eliminating pedal bob? how would that affect damping?

thanks for the help


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## mullen119 (Aug 30, 2009)

Compressing the spring with the nut will make the ride stiffer. Dont worry about how it will affect the damping, there is a 95% chance that the shock doesnt even have a damper.


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## JellyLegs (May 15, 2011)

all right, will do. 
thanks M


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## WalleyesAndTNT (May 8, 2011)

*Same Question*

How do you adjust the compression ring? Just use a wrench? tx


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

You can normally just turn it with the coil by hand.

Doesn't make the bike stiffer though, it'll make the fork sit less into it's travel and prop the rear end up shifting weight forward slightly which might feel like it's stiffer though


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

Spring collar on the rear shock itself will adjust the preload setting. It also says you can get a heavier spring like you can for forks. I don't know much about the second one I haven't had experience swapping out suspension coils.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

It's easy to replace the rear coil, you just unwind the preload until the coil pretty much falls off, getting the right coil for the job is ofcourse the issue.


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

Turveyd said:


> It's easy to replace the rear coil, you just unwind the preload until the coil pretty much falls off, getting the right coil for the job is ofcourse the issue.


Correct, I don't have experience with getting coils that will work. That job is probably best left to a bike shop to do.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

It's not that hard, measure the length of the 1 you've got, and the width then work out the stroke ( how much the shock moves ).

Slap some of that into :-

http://www.tftunedshox.com/info/spring_calculator.aspx

Then find that weight of coil, the right width and weight!!

Simple version :-

If you can see the Coil Weight ( strength ) on the shock say 400lb's and want it stiffer then maybe just try a 500lb if you can find 1. ( or 600 if you want a lot stiffer )


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