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Dual Air

Spring Tuning Guide2001 - 2012

Copyright 2011 SRAMGEN.0000000004160 Rev A

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SAFETY FIRST!We care about YOU. Please, always wear your safety glasses

and protective gloves when servicing RockShox products.

Protect yourself! Wear your safety gear!

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INTRODUCTION

Dual Air technology provides the rider with a tremendous range o setup and tuning possibilities or their

suspension ork, using air positive and air negative springs.

Positive springs support the weight o the bike and the rider.

Negative springs counteracts riction and breakaway.

This guide will show you how to:

Determine the amount o ork travel.

Perorm initial spring setup or your approximate rider weight.

Use sag to perorm a more detailed spring setup or your exact rider weight.

Use perormance tuning to set the ork to be XC (Cross Country) ast and ecient, or All Mountain

smooth and supple.

ITEMS YOU WILL NEED FOR TUNING

Shock pump

Small hex wrench

Clean, lint-ree rag

A wall or a strong, trustworthy riend

SHOCK PUMP USE

When the suspension pump is attached to the ork, a small amount o air will move rom the ork into thepump. This is why you can pump the ork up to a certain pressure, then remove the pump, re-attach it, and

nd a lower reading. This is normal and does not indicate that the ork is leaking air.

In addition, when you remove the pump rom the ork, you will hear a hissing sound. This is pressurized air

escaping rom the pump, not the ork. This is also normal.

NOTICE

Do not use an air compressor to adjust the air spring pressure in your ork. Air compressors may cause

damage to the ork.

SAG

Sag is the amount the ork compresses when you are sitting on your bike while wearing your normal ridinggear (hydration pack, helmet, clothing, etc.). It is important to tune the sag measurement o your ork

because proper sag enhances the ability o the ront wheel to ollow the changing contours o the terrainas you ride.

LOCKOUT

I the ork is equipped with a lockout, turn the lockout,

located at the top o the drive side ork leg, to theUnlocked position.

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DETERMINE FORK TRAVEL

Some RockShox orks have travel gradients printed

on the upper tubes o the ork. I your ork has travelgradients, compare the top o the dust wiper to the

travel gradients to determine the amount o travel theork has, then move on to the next section, Initial Setup.

I your ork does not have travel gradients, use theollowing steps to determine how much travel your ork

has.

1Remove the caps rom the air valves located at thetop and bottom o the non-drive side ork leg.

2While holding a rag over the ront brake rotor (iapplicable), use a small hex wrench to depress the

Schrader valve at the bottom o the ork leg to

release all o the pressure rom the negative spring.

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3Use the small hex wrench to depress the Schradervalve at the top o the ork leg to release all o the

air pressure rom the positive air spring.

4Some RockShox orks are equipped with a sag

indicator o-ring. I your ork does not have an o-ring,asten a zip tie around one o the upper tubes.Tighten the zip tie so that it stays in place but can

slide along the upper tube easily. Slide the o-ring orzip tie down against the wiper seal.

You will use this zip tie later when setting sag.

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5Compress the ork until it bottoms out.

Be careul when compressing the ork; a ork

without air pressure will compress very easily.

6Thread a shock pump onto the air valve at the top othe non-driveside ork leg. Pressurize the ork to

20 psi. This is just enough pressure extend the orkto its ull length).

7Measure the distance rom the top o the dust wiper

to the bottom o the o-ring or zip tie. Add 5-15 mmto this measurement. This is your approximate orktravel.

Once youve determined the ork travel, cut the zip

tie and remove it rom the ork

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QUICK SETUP

Some RockShox orks have an air pressure chart printed on the back o the non-driveside ork leg, or in

the ork User Manual. I this inormation is not available, skip to the next section, Setup Using Sag. Theollowing steps will show you how to perorm a quick spring setup using the air pressure chart.

1Remove the caps rom the air valves located at the

top and bottom o the non-drive side ork leg.

2While holding a rag over the ront brake rotor (iapplicable), use a small hex wrench to depress the

Schrader valve at the bottom o the ork leg torelease all o the air pressure rom the negative

spring.

Holding a rag over the rotor will prevent any fuid

that escapes rom the ork leg rom contaminating

the rotor.

3

Thread a shock pump onto the air valve at the top o

the non-drive side ork leg. Use the air pressure chartto determine the appropriate positive pressure oryour weight (including riding gear). Use the pump to

adjust the positive spring to this pressure.

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4Once you have adjusted the positive spring pressure,remove the pump rom the ork, then thread it onto

the negative spring air valve, located at the bottomo the ork leg. Inate the negative spring to the

same pressure as the positive spring. Remove thepump rom the negative spring air valve.

At this point, the ork is set up to your rider weightrange. You can reinstall the air valve caps and go or

a ride. However, i you want to dial the ork in to yourexact rider weight, continue on to the next section,

Setup Using Sag.

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SETUP USING SAG

The ollowing steps will show you how to set up the ork to your rider weight using sag.

1Remove the caps rom the air valves located at the

top and bottom o the non-drive side ork leg.

2I the ork has an external travel adjust eature, adjust

the ork to its maximum travel setting.

3Put on all o your normal riding gear. Sit on the bikeand brace yoursel upright, or have a riend securely

hold the bike upright while you sit on it.

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4Compress the ork a couple o times, then gently sitdown on the saddle.

5While remaining seated, slide the indicator o-ring orzip tie down against the wiper seal. Avoid

compressing the suspension ater the o-ring/zip tieis in place.

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6Careully step of the bike.

I your ork has sag gradients, compare the locationo the sag indicator o-ring or zip tie against the sag

gradients. This is your sag.

I the ork does not have sag gradients, measure the

distance rom the top o the wiper seal to the sago-ring or zip tie. Use this measurement and the travel

o the ork to calculate sag. The ideal amount o sag

is between 10-40% o the travel o the ork.

Sag percentage

10% 20% 30% 40%

F

orktravel(mm)

60 6 12 18 24

80 8 16 24 32

100 10 20 30 40

120 12 24 36 48

140 14 28 42 56

160 16 32 48 64170 17 34 51 68

7I the ork does not sag the desired amount, you willneed to adjust the air pressure settings.

To increase the amount o sag:1. Release 5-10 psi rom the negative spring

2. Release 5-10 psi rom the positive spring3. Recheck sag

To decrease the amount o sag:1. Add 5-10 psi to the positive spring

2. Add 5-10 psi to the negative spring3. Recheck sag

Repeat this process until the desired sag is achieved, then record the air pressure settings or uture

reerence.

At this point, the ork is set up or your rider weight. You can reinstall the air valve caps and go or a

ride. However, i you want to tune your ork or specic perormance characteristics, continue on to thenext section, Performance Tuning.

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PERFORMANCE TUNING

Now that youve adjusted the positive and negative air springs in your ork to achieve proper sag or your

weight, you can ne tune the springs or specic perormance characteristics.

For a more supple ride with better small bump absorption:

Pressurize the negative spring 5 to 15 psi more than the positive. Reerence the positive air pressure

setting you recorded during sag setup.

Do not reerence the pressure indicated on the pump ater reattaching it to the ork, as this pressure will

be lower than the recorded pressure.

Do not pressurize the negative spring more than 15 psi higher than the positive spring, as this will

increase sag beyond the recommended amount.

For a rmer, more efcient ride:

Pressurize the negative spring 5 to 15 psi less than the positive. Reerence the positive air pressure setting

you recorded during sag setup.

Do not reerence the pressure indicated on the pump ater reattaching it to the ork, as this pressure will

be lower than the recorded pressure.

Once you have achieved desired sag and spring perormance, record your settings, reinstall the air valve

caps, and go or a ride!

CONCLUSION

We would like to thank you again or choosing RockShox or your bicycle suspension. RockShox iscommitted to the quality o your ride experience. We hope that this tuning guide has helped you

explore the ull tuning capability o your suspension ork and opened your world to greater perormancepossibilities.

Please check back to www.rockshox.com requently or more quick tips, tuning, and service inormation.

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