Suspension setup – Adjust and tune your front fork

The right suspension setup helps your fork deliver better traction, control, and damping performance. The same principles apply whether you're setting up a lightweight XC fork or a long-travel dual-crown fork for downhill and freeride. In this guide, you'll learn how to establish a solid baseline setup and fine-tune it for your riding style and terrain.

The available adjustments depend on the suspension fork on your bike. Higher-end forks typically offer more tuning options.

Basic adjustments

• Air pressure or coil spring rate
• Rebound
• Compression

Advanced adjustments

• High-speed / low-speed rebound (HSR, LSR)
• High-speed / low-speed compression (HSC, LSC)

A few recommendations before you begin:

• Make sure your suspension fork is working properly and has been serviced.
• Change only one setting at a time and test it immediately afterward.
• Ask someone to help with the initial setup.
• Setup tools such as the QUARQ ShockWiz can speed up the adjustment process.
• Wear the same gear you normally ride in, including your usual hydration pack or backpack.
• Adopt a neutral riding position on the bike during setup.

Expert tip: Suspension forks from leading manufacturers such as RockShox and FOX often include recommended pressure and setup charts. Many brands also offer online setup tools that provide baseline settings when you enter your fork's serial number, usually found on the fork crown.

Follow these four steps to dial in your suspension setup.

If your fork offers a full range of adjustment options, the following tips will help you get the most out of it. Fine-tuning takes time and patience, but the reward is a setup tailored to your riding style and terrain. The best part? You'll get to spend plenty of time testing your setup on the trail.

As the name suggests, high-speed damping only comes into play on fast impacts. If your fork rebounds too slowly or too quickly when riding deep in its travel, adjust the high-speed rebound setting. If the fork compresses too quickly on drops and jumps, close the high-speed compression damping by 1-2 clicks. Test the change on the trail and adjust further if needed.

Expert tips: 

• Start with high-speed rebound (HSR) before moving on to high-speed compression (HSC).
• Test both extremes – fully open and fully closed – on a familiar downhill trail. Then work your way toward your preferred setting one click at a time

Almost all modern air suspension forks let you adjust the air spring volume and, with it, the spring progression. This is done using volume spacers, also known as tokens. The illustration below shows how changing the air spring volume affects suspension performance.

With the same starting pressure, a smaller air chamber builds pressure more quickly as the fork compresses. This increases spring progression, meaning more force is required to use the full travel. In practice, reducing the air spring volume results in a firmer end stroke and greater bottom-out resistance.

Adjusting the air spring volume can help solve the following setup issues:

Problem: Sag is set correctly, but you can't use the full travel.

Solution: Remove one or more volume spacers to increase the air spring volume.

Problem: Sag is set correctly, but your fork keeps bottoming out.

Solution: Install additional volume spacers to reduce the air spring volume and increase bottom-out resistance.

You've dialed in your suspension setup and want even better responsiveness, lower weight, or more precise tuning? The following upgrades can help you get even more from your fork.

Regular cleaning and maintenance help keep your fork performing at its best. Water and a sponge or soft cloth are all you need for routine cleaning. For basic maintenance, treat the stanchions, bushings, and wiper seals with a suspension spray. Apply a drop to each fork leg and compress the fork a few times. Then wipe away any excess with a soft cloth.