Re: Ohlins shocks ... nightmare!

[Bob Hadden <kbhadden@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

In reply to Davis Eichelbergers post:
<snip>
> No the remote works well if you have the proper spring installed.  If 
> the spring
> rate is too low then the remote doesn't have enough adjustment range 
> to properly
> set the sag.  You could move the adjuster as you were trying to do, 
> but you're
> sacrificing travel to compensate for a too soft spring
There is no loss of travel unless the spring were to bind up.  As a 
practical matter, this doesn't happen on this shock.  But you are right 
that increasing preload is of limited value if the spring rate is 
wrong.

>
> No, this is a failure by the shock seller.  One of the advantages of 
> after-market
> shocks is the ability to order the proper spring rate for your riding 
> weight and
> style, rather than accept the one size fits all spring that is stock.  
> The
> counter is that it is possible to buy a shock with a worse spring rate 
> for your
> weight than the stock.
Agreed about the advantage of being able to size the spring properly.  
Unfortunately, Wim Kroon or Parts Unlimited basically don't offer this 
service.  They sell you what they think you need.  You have no way of 
knowing if it will work until you install the shock and try it out.  At 
that point, it's an up hill battle to get the vendor help to zero in on 
the correct spring. (You don't even know what spring they gave you!).  
This issue is compounded by our won effort to get the shock at the 
lowest price, instead of seeking the expert service at what ever the 
appropriate cost is for that service.  I got caught with this just like 
Doug.  Don't know if a different spring selection would be better, and 
I'm not going to ship the shock back to Germany to find out.

Doug,  Your last post on this suggests that you are unclear on spring 
rate vs preload.  Let's make an example.  Say it takes 100 pounds force 
to hold up the bike at the proper sag.  You could get a spring rated at 
1 lb/inch (this means it takes one pound force to compress the spring 
one inch) and compress it 100 inches to achieve this force.  Or, you 
could get a spring rated 100 lb/inch and compress is one inch.  They 
both would hold the bike at the proper sag.  But, when you hit a bump, 
the two springs would have a very different response, wouldn't they?  
Also, the preload adjuster, with a travel of about 1/4 inch, would have 
very different affect.  So there are a very large number of springs you 
could use to achieve your goal here.  A knowledgeable vendor can pick 
this spring for you, but non of us have the experience needed to make 
the pick for ourselves.

End rant mode.

Bob Hadden '98RS

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