Others might feel as though they have the same compression force from the beginning to the end of the stroke. Some forks may have a more progressive feel by design and ramp up more in the end stroke. In other words, a mountain bike frame does not influence how a fork uses travel, but it does make a difference in how a rear shock uses its travel. Rear travel can become progressive with considerably more ramp up, whereas the fork’s travel remains linear. Forks versus rear shocksĪlthough both forks and shocks work by compressing linearly, or in a straight line, rear shocks are influenced by the frame design. That means by inserting a volume spacer in a fork or rear shock, it will “ramp up” more toward the end of the travel, taking more force to compress, and resisting bottom outs more. A stack of volume spacers for a Fox 34 fork. “As the positive air chamber becomes smaller, you are altering the amount of force it takes to compress the shock at the very last bit of travel,” says Harris. “Volume spacers, or reducers, are pieces of plastic that take up literal space in the positive air chamber,” says Chris Harris, from Dirt Labs, a Longmont, Colorado company that specializes in suspension tuning. That sweet sag spot usually needs to be between 25-35% to get enough small bump compliance, but if it’s also feeling way too plush and hitting the end stroke a little too often, then a volume spacer just might be the answer.
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