# Clyde friendly leverage ratios?



## askibum02 (Jul 7, 2005)

After riding my '17 Bronson for about a year life happened and I sold it. I'm in the market again, and I want to do a bit more research this time around and get a bike with a lower leverage ratio. When I bought my Bronson it was an impulse purchase, and found out after the fact, that it wasn't an ideal bike for my size. I am 6' and about 265-270 geared up. I'm looking for a similar bike this time around, 150-160mm rear travel, 150-170mm front travel. Budget is in the $3500-$4000 range. I prefer to buy new just because of my size and semi-aggresive riding style, I want to have a frame warranty. Is there a list of bikes and leverage ratios anywhere? I spent about two hours tonight looking up specs, and barely scratched the surface of bikes that are available.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

Stated leverage ratios are an average. Some bikes start at 4:1 and end under 2:1, but still average 3:1. 

That tells you very little overall though. You could likely ride a higher leverage frame, but definitely not with a debonair style can. Shock selection is more important than the average ratio.

But anyway. Look at a Canfield balance. It does have a lower ratio, it pedals great, it's big guy strong and it's not likely to bottom out too easily.


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## johnD (Mar 31, 2010)

Pretty good site here for studying leverage ratios.

Linkage Design


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## Guy.Ford (Oct 28, 2009)

...


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## Cerberus75 (Oct 20, 2015)

Gorrila gravity has a nice progression that is big guy friendly. But if you like the plushness of the Bronson you'll love the balance and at your weight your better off with a custom tune on your suspention.


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## Sasquatch1413 (Nov 6, 2008)

johnD said:


> Pretty good site here for studying leverage ratios.
> 
> Linkage Design


Can't recomend this more, great site. At 330 lbs there are bikes I literally can't ride as I can't get enough pressure in the shock to get sag. Rather than looking at rear suspension travel vs shock stroke, look at the curves on this site. Leverage ratio changes as you move through the rear travel stroke.

Bikes I've found with low ratios are Niner RIP, Transition Sentinel, Guerilla Gravity Smash, Santa Cruz.


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## IceBuerg (Apr 7, 2015)

When I spent a year shopping for my first full suspension bike, I tripped out on leverage ratios like many clydes do. Guerilla Gravity was high on my list but I just couldn't pull the trigger without riding one first, which I had no way of doing (not for lack of trying). Even though it had a higher ratio than others I was looking at, I demo'd the Hightower LT and fell in love with it, and the lifetime warranty that comes with it. At 300lbs, I don't think I've ever bottomed it out and I've never felt it do anything weird like buck me or something. It works just fine, and I'm sure it could be much better with a custom tune. Obviously, it's not as plush as it could be for a 150lb rider, but whatever. Us big dudes are gonna have to pump a crap load of air into our shocks, low leverage ratio or not. 

tldr; getting the absolute lowest ratio might not be as important as getting a "lowish" ratio. fwiw, ymmv

Good luck!


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## sapva (Feb 20, 2017)

Guy.Ford said:


> Older DB bikes with RS Debonair didn't fair so well past 240-250lbs.


RS Debonair didn't fair so well for me at 210. It did have a plush ride. Replaced with a Fox DPS and it's like I got brand new bike that actually moves forward when you pedal. The DPS does tend to get hot on descents though, but hasn't failed so far, so all good.


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## rcracer2 (Nov 12, 2014)

Check out this site
Linkage Design
The final charts show the force at the wheel. 
If you look at the x axis it shows the total travel, take 30% of this and look at the load which is usually around 500N. This is 1G of rider weight.
What matters in terms of bottoming is how many G's the suspension generates by the end of tavel. Notice the XC style is about 3G and Enduro is 5-6G


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

Sasquatch1413 said:


> Can't recomend this more, great site. At 330 lbs there are bikes I literally can't ride as I can't get enough pressure in the shock to get sag. Rather than looking at rear suspension travel vs shock stroke, look at the curves on this site. Leverage ratio changes as you move through the rear travel stroke.
> 
> Bikes I've found with low ratios are Niner RIP, Transition Sentinel, Guerilla Gravity Smash, Santa Cruz.


DiamondBack is a good one too. I am riding my Release at 300# and it's great. Not with the stock Rockshox shock but with a Manitou McLeod.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

IceBuerg said:


> When I spent a year shopping for my first full suspension bike, I tripped out on leverage ratios like many clydes do. Guerilla Gravity was high on my list but I just couldn't pull the trigger without riding one first, which I had no way of doing (not for lack of trying). Even though it had a higher ratio than others I was looking at, I demo'd the Hightower LT and fell in love with it, and the lifetime warranty that comes with it. At 300lbs, I don't think I've ever bottomed it out and I've never felt it do anything weird like buck me or something. It works just fine, and I'm sure it could be much better with a custom tune. Obviously, it's not as plush as it could be for a 150lb rider, but whatever. Us big dudes are gonna have to pump a crap load of air into our shocks, low leverage ratio or not.
> 
> tldr; getting the absolute lowest ratio might not be as important as getting a "lowish" ratio. fwiw, ymmv
> 
> Good luck!


The Manitou McLeod is a heavy rider's answer for rear shocks.


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## sml-2727 (Nov 16, 2013)

I read somewhere that the kona 134 has good leverage ratio


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## johnD (Mar 31, 2010)

Orbea bikes have a decent LR also. I'm pretty happy with my fuel ex , riding @ 250 lbs with a orange volume spacer in the fox dps.


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## BigJZ74 (Jul 18, 2010)

johnD said:


> Orbea bikes have a decent LR also. I'm pretty happy with my fuel ex , riding @ 250 lbs with a orange volume spacer in the fox dps.


I have a 2018 Orbea Rallon, Phenomenal bike for clydes. M10 version is a GX eagle build, you can find deals in the 4K range, 2019's are being discounted as 2020's just released. I'm 320 and ran Fox DPX2 w/ 338psi, just upgraded to their new 2020 Linkage with a DHX2 Coil w/ 700lb SLS spring. Climbs great, Beast of a bike. Speaking of leverage ratios here it is, and a pic of the bike if ur unfamiliar


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## Alias530 (Apr 1, 2013)

I was under the impression lower leverage ratios work better for heavier riders.


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