# Can't correctly adjust Rhythm 34



## Amt0571 (May 22, 2014)

Hello,

I have a 120mm Rhythm 34 fork. I started by setting it up at the low end of the recommended pressure for my weight (75psi).

With that adjustment I barely used 3/5 of the travel and the fork felt harsh, so I removed all volume spacers. It felt much better, but was still unable to use all travel during normal riding. I then gradually lowered pressure to 60psi. It felt too soft, but it still didn't use all travel on normal riding. I could bottom it out easily jumping on top of the bike pedals though.

What am I doing wrong? I don't get how it's possible to make it bottom out easily when juming on the bike, but still leaving 2.5cm of travel without use when riding, even when jumping or hitting bumps at high speed.

On my previous bike I had a 100mm Axon and it was really easy to tune it so that I used all travel without feeling too soft and bottoming out constantly.


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## TwiceHorn (Jun 18, 2014)

It's unclear to me what "normal riding" is. In one spot, you say jumping uses all the travel, in another you imply that it doesn't.

If normal riding doesn't include big hits or jumps, I don't know that you should expect to use all the travel. And, I'm not sure using a 100mm fork as a benchmark for a 120mm fork is the right thing to do. Part of the reason you have a longer-travel fork is to avoid premature bottoms.


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## eshew (Jan 30, 2004)

How old is the fork? When was it serviced last?


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## chiefsilverback (Dec 20, 2019)

Some suggest tuning to use 85-90% of travel consistently leaving you some in reserve for bigger hits. You also don't say what % sag you're getting when you set the pressure at 75psi and/or what pressure you need to set the fork at to get 20% sag.


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## louiesquared (6 mo ago)

If you can bottom it out jumping up and down on the bike then you are using all of the travel that your normal ride requires. I would set it to the appropriate sag and not worry about how much travel you are using unless it feels super harsh.


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## Amt0571 (May 22, 2014)

eshew said:


> How old is the fork? When was it serviced last?


2 years old. Serviced 3 months ago. I service it twice a year. 



chiefsilverback said:


> Some suggest tuning to use 85-90% of travel consistently leaving you some in reserve for bigger hits. You also don't say what % sag you're getting when you set the pressure at 75psi and/or what pressure you need to set the fork at to get 20% sag.


At 75 psi I have 2cm of sag. At 60psi I have almost 3cm. 



louiesquared said:


> If you can bottom it out jumping up and down on the bike then you are using all of the travel that your normal ride requires. I would set it to the appropriate sag and not worry about how much travel you are using unless it feels super harsh.


I set it at the appropriate sag, but even with the fork really soft, I don't seem to use much more than 9cm

It seems pointless to have a 120mm fork that only uses 9cm unless I bounce like a monkey on top of the bike. My previous fork was 100mm and I regularly used 95cm.


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