# Dials on top of my shocks?



## gofastgt (Feb 17, 2010)

There are dials on top of each tube of my shock (front). I've owned motorcycles before, and know that the dials should both be set exactly the same so you don't have more strain on one side than the other.

Does this hold true for mountain bikes too? If so, is there a simple process for setting them?


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## cobba (Apr 5, 2007)

Depends on the fork. 

The internals in the left leg of some forks can be completely different to the internals in the right leg, if this is the case then they will need to be setup accordingly. 

Depending on what fork you have, one dial could be for compression and the other dial could be for rebound.


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## gofastgt (Feb 17, 2010)

Oh very interesting. It doesn't look they are connected, so I think each dial is for each tube.

Should have mentioned I have a Specialized Hardrock Sport. I think the fork is the stock fork, it says RST GILA PLUS-T7. 

Looking again, the dials say "Preload" on them.


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## cobba (Apr 5, 2007)

The internals of your fork are the same on both legs, the legs contain springs and elastomers (rubbery cushions).
The preload is the only thing you can adjust on your fork, it's basically how hard the springs are.
Set the preload so the fork has about 20mm of sag. 
Sag is how much the fork will compress when you're sitting on the bike. 
If you find the fork bottoms out or fully compresses too easy then you'll have to adjust the spring preload some more.

Exploded Diagram: http://www.paul-lange.de/fileadmin/paullange/downloads/RST/explosionszeichungen/2007/GILA%20PLUS%20T7%20100.pdf

Your fork is what would be classified as cheap, very basic and low end.
Don't expect too much from it.


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## gofastgt (Feb 17, 2010)

Ha ha! Very good to know that the fork is cheap. I guess for a noob it will do. If it doesn't blow out on me I'll be happy.

Great description on the sag, thank you! I'll be sure to check that soon. The link you provided did not work, but I'm on my work PC. I'll try on my home computer soon.

Thank you again!


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

gofastgt said:


> Oh very interesting. It doesn't look they are connected, so I think each dial is for each tube.
> 
> Should have mentioned I have a Specialized Hardrock Sport. I think the fork is the stock fork, it says RST GILA PLUS-T7.
> 
> Looking again, the dials say "Preload" on them.


I had that fork.

I didn't feel like the dials did anything.


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## JonathanGennick (Sep 15, 2006)

gofastgt said:


> Oh very interesting. It doesn't look they are connected, so I think each dial is for each tube.


What cobba says is correct for your fork. But whether the two sides are connected isn't a factor.

Once you get into mid-range forks and higher, a common scenario is to have the spring on the left and the damping mechanism on the right. That is how my Fox F100 is configured: the left leg is the air spring and the right leg holds a damping mechanism to control rebound.


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## gofastgt (Feb 17, 2010)

cobba said:


> Set the preload so the fork has about 20mm of sag.
> Sag is how much the fork will compress when you're sitting on the bike.
> If you find the fork bottoms out or fully compresses too easy then you'll have to adjust the spring preload some more.


So I checked out my sag tonight, and found that when I totally undo the tension, I don't even get 20mm of sag... I get between 10 and 15. I weight about 170 so don't see how this can be right. I haven't ridden yet, but turned the preload a few turns just so it's not totally soft. Any thoughts on this?



AndrwSwitch said:


> I had that fork.
> 
> I didn't feel like the dials did anything.


They actually did... I had them turned about 4-5 times from loose and they would hardly move when I sat on the bike. Even pushing down on them I can tell a difference... when I made them all the way loose I could push them much easier. Just worth a mention.


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

Does the fork bottom out withe preload backed out?

I have a feeling this is somewhat of rhetorical question. My son's friend had one of the Gila forks, and I don't think I could bottom it out and I weigh a hundred more pounds than the OP.

If you are not bottoming out the fork, you can keep baking the preload out until you can bottom it out, then go in just far enough so it doesn't quite bottom out.


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## gofastgt (Feb 17, 2010)

I haven't had a chance to ride yet, but should know later this week if it bottoms out... My guess is no. It seems too stiff to even get close to bottoming out just from pushing on it in the garage, but riding will tell for sure.


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## tcc13 (Mar 25, 2012)

Great info here about this shock for a noob


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## xenon (Apr 16, 2007)

I owned RST Launch - an elastomer fork with springs in both legs, hence dual preload. I guess, it is same, as Gila, just with thicker (32mm) stanchions. Never felt, that the preload adjustment made any difference. But still, if you don't have an experience with the fork, you'd better in the beginning make it stiffer rather than softer. Fork too soft may become unpredictable and throw you OTB, a stiff fork is the lesser evil.


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## bean. (Mar 19, 2012)

This may be a stupid question, but I'll ask nonetheless. I can't find the Fork Instruction Manual that was supposed to come with my bike. It's a Suntour XCT (cheapie). If I want the suspension to be stiffer/less rebound, do I turn the dials toward the + or the - sign?


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## xenon (Apr 16, 2007)

"+" for faster rebound (feels stiffer)," - " for slower (softer).


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