Ebike Setup Tips

[quadzilla411]

I have, actually both me and my wife have 2020 Orbea Wild Team bikes that we finally got in mid March as it took 5 1/2 months to get as they were custom order from the factory in Spain. Since we got the bikes we have put over 300 miles of trail riding on them mainly blue level and some dark blue trail. So, rocky and sandy singletrack but no drops bigger than 2'. As far as the bikes box stock except for seat and removal of tubes. Tires are 2.6 DHF DHR 11. Shocks are Fox 36 Factory Ebike and X2. 160 travel. For me this is similar to my pedal bike which is a 2018 HighTower 29 150 Fox 36 front 135 float rear and tires are 2.5 DHF and 2.5 Aggressor rear.

OK, initially I set up the shocks according to Fox website and tire pressure like my Hightower which was 18 front and 22 rear. First ride first rock blew threw tires and kissed the both rims Fortunately didn't ding up the rims. So change tire pressure to 22 front and 26 rear. As far as the shocks 75 front and 200 rear. I weigh 195. Bike felt overly stiff and only using maybe 2/3 shock travel at best. Downhill stutter bumps teeth ratters. I reduced the air to 60 front and 190 rear and it was better but not what I thought it should be. It still was stiff in the bottom half of the travel. I then opened up my front shock and it had 4 spacers and I removed two. That's where I am at right now. I need advise on how to work the Grip adjustment from bottom to top. As far as rear shock, it is way more complicated than my hightower and basically afraid to take it apart and check spacers. it feels soft and weak first part of travel and ramps up quickly.

As far as my wife's bike her setup now is tires 18 front and 20 rear, front shock I removed all spacers as she had 4 too and 50 psi. Rear has 140 psi. She weighs 135. She likes the way it feels.

Anyway, sorry for the wordy inquiry, we are new to Ebikes but are experienced MTB pedalers. Any advise or experience would be appreciated especially setting up the rear with all the fine tuning and how riders use the Grip 2 front.

 

[quadzilla411]

I guess this is the wrong forum to ask questions on suspension setup for 50# bikes, so any advise or links on where to go Thanks

 

[mtbbiker]

Probably the suspension forum.
Your suspension tune should already take into account the 20lbs extra from your bike.
I’m about 210, my front is at 95lbs and 2 spacers.
LSC 2 clicks from least compression
HSC 4 clicks from least compression
I prefer rebound fast

Rear I have a coil.
what do you have your sag set up at? For going fast 25% or comfort 30 to 35%
You need to check for tokens in there.

 

[careyj1]

I would pull the product codes from the fork and shock and go to Ridefox.com. I put the codes in and follow the manual for adjusting the fork and shock. It takes some trial and error before you get a great end result. I just purchased a digital fork and shock pump to exact numbers. I would start over with setting the sag for plush, for your weight both the fork and shock need more pressure. Is the 195 with your riding gear? If not use weight with all riding gear. I have noticed my fork seems a little stiffer on the ebike but on the shock I have zero petal bob which is nice. I hope this helps.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

Rule of thumb: add 20 pounds to rider weight for suspension setup, but you may need to tweak for each specific eMTB due to inconsistent front/rear weight distribution. Thus, you may need to set up fork 30 pounds over and shock 15 pounds over for a nose heavy bike.

Also, for tires, easy baseline is to add 10% vs a regular MTB. I also recommend staying away from tires with thin sidewalls on an eMTB.

 

[Suns_PSD]

A Shockwiz is very useful in setting up air suspension.
That's what I'd recommend.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

A Shockwiz can help, but the problem is that SW only recommends behaviors on individual components, and not the bike as a whole. A properly tuned bike depends on balance between the front and rear suspension components, and that's hard to achieve on its own with a Shockwiz. There's still an element of "feel" and experience involved.

No doubt it can help, particularly on more advanced components with separate high and low speed circuits, adjustable spring rates, and so on. But definitely helps to still go with your gut on tweaks after SW has made its recommendations.

I generally found SW recommended too much air pressure in the front and too much compression damping on both ends. This was true for both my Santa Cruz Hightower and my Pivot Shuttle eMTB.

 

[quadzilla411]

Thanks especially the first two replies from yesterday. So, I spent about 40 minutes looking at Fox website again and info from first responder. I found that I didn't understand how to adjust the lower compression setting on front shock and made some adjustments there. I boosted my front shock to 80psi and I boosted my rear shock to 200. I weigh around 195 dressed. I did readjust my wife's shock but left the psi to 50. I didn't add any air to her rear shock as sag was around 20. I did boost her tire pressure up to 20f 22r.

So, went for a ride yesterday, blue level ride with a fair amount of embedded rocks but mainly rollable. Did same ride a few days ago. Biggest difference for me was way less pedal strikes and bike felt way less squishy, However DH was more chattery, my call was because of tire pressure. Wife's bike, she didn't like tire pressure so had to dump some air mid ride. Me, kinda afraid to dump tire PSI.

Outcome, better, might look into Cush Core but being a long time pedaller, hard to swallow adding ## to any wheel. thans again, this was useful.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

Try going with much less compression damping. If your fork/shock has both HSC and LSC circuits, go nearly open (1-2 clicks in) on LSC and 3-4 clicks of HSC. Let us know how that feels.

 

[quadzilla411]

Went to 4 HSC and 2 LSC , Wife 5 and 2. I think if I can soften the tires up a bit but not destroy them or the rims and of course handling then, Nirvana..........

 

[2wls4ever]

Hi, happy to help. Let's start with understanding your experience as a rider. 1st have you ever competed in a mtb race? 2nd what discipline? 3rd at what level or class?

I would start with ignoring the pressure numbers and focus on getting sag correct. 15-20% front and 25-30% rear.

 

[quadzilla411]

Well experienced MTB rider got my first MTB bike in 1986, have been at it ever since. Winter time backcountry skier. So fitness orientated but not in any form of racing. Older now but still consider myself a good climber both with skis on my feet or uphill on a bike. Never interested in road riding. OK DH but ride at about 60-70%. Been hurt, broken bones and plenty of stitches. Anyway, not that geeky re latest setup and gear. Ebike setup is different as the weight is more of a factor than my current pedal bikes.

 

[2wls4ever]

Thank You. If I understand you have not competed. One more question before we dig in, if you are to ride a bike park, do you ride green, blue or back diamond trails?

 

[quadzilla411]

Well trail rider around Tahoe, never bike parks or lift riding. So, no green, no jeep trails no walking paths. I guess Tahoe and mainly East side and East side of Carson range like Reno and Carson City. Also ride a fair amount around Truckee and day trips to Downieville. Done trips some guided to Moab, Grand Canyon Hurricane, Bend. I ride a lot. mainly what I consider Blue and trails that were at one time considered Black but have been buffed out over time. One thing, I can't ride my Hightower with 30% rear sag and I have found that my Ebike can't ride 30% either or I will get a collection of pedal strikes. thats the main purpose of asking here for setup tips. Thanks for your time.

 

[2wls4ever]

I took a look at the bikes. Very nice choice and congrats. That is a very high performance bike capable of being pushed by a professional Enduro athlete. Here is the process for eliminating variables so we can focus on the issue one at a time.
1. Measure and set the sag. We need a number.
2. Select the trail that is or will replicate the issue.
3. Complete two laps and on this trail and measure front and rear travel achieved. We need a number.
4. Report back what you are feeling (bike and you) and what you would like to correct.
5. All adjustments and corrective tuning must first be done on this trail only.

Before advising a direction, we need to understand if the front and rear suspension are balanced for you specifically. A bike at this level, will have spring progression most likely balanced and set up to be pushed hard (remember you bought a high performance sports car). If the suspension travel measurement is uneven it. right have to do with your individual riding position and style (rearward biased for example).
PM me if you would like some further help working through the process.