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12 Rides With ShockWiz Front and Rear – An Update

The ShockWiz Continues to Provide Great Insight For Proper Suspension Setup

ShockWiz Front Rear 12 Rides
Rides on the new bike have yielded improvements in time and performance, especially when descending. The ShockWiz is helping me set up air pressure, compression and rebound damping, as well as sag. It really is making a difference in my Competence, Confidence, and Cornering Capabilities.

The ShockWiz Front and Rear Suspension Tuning devices continue to provide me with great information as I learn more about my bike and its’ performance capabilities. I set the phone up on my handlebars, and change the settings on the phone so I can see the ShockWiz app the entire time. I always review the previous day’s ride score and suggestions. So far, I haven’t made too many changes to the air pressure. However, I continue to adjust the compression and rebound settings, based on those suggestions.

The Limits of a Cross-Country Rear Shock

On my old bike, a 2012 Trek Superfly 100, I eventually replaced the rear shock with a Fox DXP2. The DXP2 had a Nitrogen chamber and was infinitely adjustable. Going with the Fox Float DPS has left me with fewer options. For example; While the ShockWiz app continually recommends softening the dampening, on the Fox Float, there are just 3 settings for this. On rebound, there are a larger number of clicks, but they don’t seem to be showing much of a difference.

After 12 rides, the ShockWiz app suggests that I make the rear suspension SOFTER on Compression, and SLOWER on Rebound. The Compression is as soft as I can get with this setup. I’ll tweak Rebound a bit more, Suggested rebound is 8 Clicks, but I’m already at 5 clicks, and I’ll now go to 4. This will increase Damping on Rebound even more, so we’ll see what that does.

Shockwiz niper T Rear Suggestions 6 Rides
This is a GIF of the most recent 6 Rides on the rear suspension. The ShockWiz consistently suggests Softening up Compression, and I’ve done what I can with the dials as they exist right now.

I’m certain that I’ll need to do some revalving under the experienced eye of Mike Davis at MAD Racing in Reno, NV.

Front Fork Improvements via ShockWiz

The Front Fork has really impressed me. It’s a 34mm Fox Fit4, with 120mm of travel. The first 3 rides revealed a low score of 74 points. The suggestions were all over the place. But after about ride 5, the Fork began to break in and show improved scores.

The most consistent suggestion that the ShockWiz reveals is to slow down Rebound. About every third ride, if the suggestions are consistent, I will rotate the Rebound knob 1-Click Clockwise to increase and slow down Rebound. The scores continue to improve, and honestly, my descending times on this one segment continue to decline as a result.

The ShockWiz App DOES suggest that I soften up Compression as well, but that feature is as light and open as it can be right now. I have ordered 10cc volume spacers for the front fork, and I will blog about those over the next few weeks. On my previous bike, I purchased a 32mm, 120mm travel Fox Fork, and the addition of Spacers yielded multiple 96-100 point rides! I definitely felt the difference!

Shockwiz Sniper T Front Suggestions 6 Rides
On the front fork, ShockWiz consistently suggests that I SLOW DOWN (“+”) my Rebound settings. I’m doing this one click every 2-3 rides.

Optimizing Suspension Makes for More Confidence, Competence, and Cornering!

It does NOT turn me into an aerial specialist – I’m too old and too scared. That said – the ShockWiz devices and app with data collection is helping me make tuning decisions that I would otherwise be unable to make, given my status as a novice in the world of MODERN mountain biking. I started racing in 1993 with a RockShox Mag21, and I can only dream of what type of performance we would have enjoyed had we had these devices way back then.

Thanks for reading and use this hardware and app to ENJOY THE RIDE!

 

 

Intense MTB Ride Number 4 With the ShockWiz

ShockWiz Shows 84 Points on the Rear With Just 49% Confidence In the Values

Rear Suspension 84 Points
Not sure why the Confidence Interval was so low, but hey – it means I get to ride more!

One of the most important things to remember when you purchase a new, high end mountain bike, is that it can take 20 – 50 hours for a suspension system to ‘break in’. It’s like buying a new car – everything is tight. Over time and with terrain, the suspension seals settle in and the ShockWiz starts to reveal more consistent numbers.

That said – right now, I fully expect ShockWiz scores and recommendations to be a bit scattered. We’ll know more in two to four weeks.

Initial Values for Sag seem Really Close

I set the rear suspension for about 30% Sag, and for the front, I set it for about 10% sag. Generally speaking, most rear suspensions start around body + gear weight. I’m REALLY heavy right now, so I set the rear suspension at roughly 178 psi. Sitting on the suspension with the ShockWiz app open showed a sag of about 30%, and I’ll make changes based on this.

For the front, I followed the directions on the fork; 80psi or thereabouts. Sag was about 10% and the shock really performed poorly per the Shockwiz data.  I am almost certain that I will need to add spacers to the front fork. I have those on order, but I will not install them until after the 20 hour mark.

What Is “Pogo”?

Pogo is a term that means the suspension can’t keep up with the terrain.

The ShockWiz showed that my rear suspension is suffering from “Pogo”. This is a term that means the suspension is not keeping up with terrain on rebound, and is instead ‘bouncing’ off the rocks and ridges.

Ideally, a rear and a front suspension have no pogo. Instead, they react to the terrain, absorbing hits and rebounding for the next hit. To be honest – this is terrain and speed-specific. I may get more “Pogo” over the next several days as I ride, and I won’t worry about it unless it shows up consistently.

Ironically, the front fork is also showing some “Pogo” from this ride, though the ShockWiz score went up to 84, equal to the rear. Again, I’m not going to worry about this too much, unless it shows up consistently after 20 hours of use.

14% Sag on the Front

The Front Fork recommendations from ShockWiz asked that I take air out of the front fork. I lowered the front by about 3-5psi, and this is what led to the 10 point improvement over the previous ride.

Use of Segments

This may be a bit controversial, but I decided to put the suspension to the test on a new ‘segment’ that I created. I used Garmin Connect for this because I do not want to generate controversy over speed and safety with other, more popular segment programs. I AM BY NO MEANS A HOT DOG. In fact, I really am NOT FAST on descending. Why? Well, I have the world’s worst health insurance, and there’s no doubt that speed, in my case, might kill. That said – if I can measure Time and FLOW in Garmin Connect, this MIGHT give me some better ideas about how the suspension is helping or hurting.

Here’s the segment; it is public, but I don’t expect anyone to to really care, and if you do break my times, bravo; you’re braver and more skilled than me.

Here’s the Garmin Connect Segment

That’s really about it – I’m going to head out and ride some more. I’ll keep you posted on the results!

Are you enjoying this series? Please feel free to buy me a Cup of Coffee!

ShockWiz Suspension Assessment on a New Bike!

ShockWiz Helps Anyone Understand Suspension

I studied many different bikes and suspension systems before I settled on this rig.

After 8 months of waiting, I finally received my new mountain bike last week! The Intense Sniper T Pro is a modern Cross-Country bike with All-Mountain Geometry. The Front and Rear suspension are Fox components, and the first thing I did was place a ShockWiz unit on the front fork and rear shock.

The ShockWiz is a component that measures air pressure in pneumatic suspension systems. Using a cell-phone app, the ShockWiz looks at compression, rebound, and travel to make post-ride recommendations in the following areas.

  • Base air pressure
  • Spring Rate
  • Compression
  • Rebound

Suspension Tuning is Usually a Guessing Game

Suspension is a guessing game
More air? Less air? How much damping? How much rebound? The ShockWiz can help come up with answers

ShockWiz removes a lot of the work required to properly dial in a bike’s suspension. Over the course of a ride, the app will provide a “Confidence” Percentile, followed by a “Tuning Score”. Recommendations about what to ride next are also displayed. I’m fortunate to have a perfect, traditional Cross Country Trial course up on the mountain behind my house. Using this course, and starting from the first hour of ownership, I’m blogging the changes that I’m making to the suspension, based on ShockWiz recommendations.

So far, I’ve had about Six rides on the Sniper T. I must say; after riding a 10-year old bike with “Old School” Geometry, having a modern bike that fits me properly, and has modern suspension, is a game-changer. Suspension requires about 20 to 50 hours of time to properly break in the seals, but the ShockWiz has already provided some fascinating information. This is helping me improve more quickly and setsuspension settings with more confidence.

Ride 3 ShockWiz Review and Changes

My goal with this series is to produce multiple short videos reviewing the data from the ShockWiz app after each ride. I was unable to adequately collect data from rides 1 and 2, but here is Ride 3’s review.

Going forward, after each ride, I will write up a quick review, make a short video, and then make changes for the next ride. I’ll also be using the same trail repeatedly, along with downhill segments to properly assess speed, comfort and control. Let’s see what the system says, how the changes are made, and whether this improves performance or not.

Thanks for watching, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

 

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Fox DPX2 and Quarq ShockWiz – First Ride!

Fox DPX2 and Quarq ShockWiz Suspension Tuner Gives Me Some First-Ride Knowledge!

In Early March, I purchased and installed a 2021 Fox DPX2 Rear Suspension Shock, and began recording data from a ShockWiz Suspension Tuning System. At the beginning of every ride, I save the previous ride profile, and then clear the memory. I will continue to record my results and my thoughts regularly through the summer of 2021.

I’m not going to alter the Shock Settings much, other than air pressure, until the 20-hour/20 ride mark. I want to break the shock seals in, and I want to determine any trends for Suspension compression, rebound, damping, sag, etc.

Fox DPX2 and Quarq ShockWiz First Ride Results

My mountain bike is a 2012 Trek SuperFly 100 Pro, with a 2020 Fox 32 Factory SC front. I tuned the front  with Shockwiz throughout 2020, to the point where it routinely scores 92-96 points, and I’ve been very happy with my control and performance. Now, it’s time to use a modern rear suspension to get the bike better dialed-in. I used Factory Settings and air pressure. I also looked at the pressure that had been used by my original RP23 rear suspension.

Basically, I’m lucky to have gotten off the mountain in one piece! Air pressure was too low, and I bottomed out the shock too much. I’m going to add a lot of air pressure for the next ride, and we’ll see what the Fox DPX2 and Quarq Shockwiz app says after that.

Here’s the video – have a look and let me know what you think!

If you like what you see or read, please consider buying me a cup of coffee of a beer! Just click on the link below, and I’ll keep posting relevant and fun blog posts and videos for you to review!

Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride!

Garmin Incident Detection Activated and Worked

Garmin Incident Detection Triggered After A Crash And Alerted My Wife

The Garmin Incident Detection feature is one of the most under-rated features in the Garmin Connect Ecosystem. Many of my friends and family either do not know it exists, or if they do, they tend to turn it off. I’m writing this to strongly urge you to reconsider. When the Garmin Incident Detection feature triggers, it can save you critical minutes when you’re in a crisis. Today, I came pretty close, and I’m glad I had it running on my Garmin 1030.

The Ride – Peavine Mountain, Total Recall and StageCoach Trails, the “Towers to Cairn Loop” on Strava.

Here’s the Strava and Ride With GPS link to my ride.

I was having a pretty good ride. I’ve been working hard on my business, and my clients are seeing a lot of success. This has occurred at the expense of my own performance, so I felt the need to roll out and enjoy some time on the singletrack. I rode a soft warmup loop with my wife and the dogs. The temperature was moderate, winds were nominal, and the light was flat. I left the family at the trailhead, punched in the Strava section for the local DRY trail loop, and started riding.

The Garmin showed that I was within 8 seconds or so of my Personal Record on the climb, but I was also climbing with my front and rear suspension activated. I was testing out a higher tire pressure and was relying on the suspension to do more work. The bike did not feel perfect – it was rebounding and bouncing off of rocks. Front and Rear tires were at 24psi.

I saw several other cyclists, but none were riding at my pace, or they were not on the same trail. Some were riding in the anti-clockwise direction. Basically, I had the trail to myself, and I was really working the berms to try and see if the decreased rolling resistance was worth the slipping and lack of edge bite in my Hans Dampf Tires. I crested the top of the climb about 18 seconds behind my PR, and decided to go for it and claw those seconds back on the StageCoach descent.

StageCoach Descent

On the descent, the bike and I kept launching off the tabletops. I’m not a Pro Downhiller – Big Air scares me. I’m 50 years old, I have crappy Health Insurance, and a lot of respect for the mountain. The Garmin recorded 2 jumps of maybe .5 seconds each, but I really worked to keep the tires on the ground, and stay balanced. Balance and centering on the bike are critical when you’re descending at speed. In many ways, a descent can be SAFER at speed, because the bike is flying over rock obstacles, the suspension is absorbing and rebounding to keep the tread in contact with the earth, and you’re at a lower center of gravity. This means I was traveling fast. The extra air in the tires was leaving me with less traction and control, so I was ‘on the edge’ of my abilities.

I know this trail VERY well. Strava and Ride With GPS show that I’ve ridden this trail at least 54 times since I moved up here. It’s one of my two “Go To” trails, and I have become comfortable with every rock, every berm, and even the new features, which Trailbuilder Kevin Joell installed in the Summer of 2020. The Garmin “Flow” Field for the field, which is maybe 3 Minutes, was pretty low, and lower in that Garmin metric is better.

I clawed back about 5 seconds over the route time, but with about 30 yards to go, there’s a gully that you have to hit JUST RIGHT, and absorb a lot of the rebound energy in the bike. Well, oops! I lost my balance, went airborne, and crashed, tumbling while clipped in, with two full impacts.

The Garmin Incident Detection CHIRP

My final impact on the ground was pretty hard, but I hit dirt and not rock on my lower right ribcage. While I lay on my back, my lower torso twisted and my bike still connected to me, I heard that Garmin CHIRP. I looked over at the unit, and it said “NEED HELP? NOTIFICATION WILL BE SENT IN”, and it started chirping a countdown.

Garmin Incident Detection Screen for Garmin Edge displaying a message "Incident detected. Sending message to emergency contacts."
The Garmin Edge Incident Detection Screen displays a message notifying the user that an incident has been detected and a message is being sent to emergency contacts.

I have 3 Contacts in my Emergency Contacts in Garmin Connect, which is a FABULOUS and UNDER-UTILIZED Web portal. The contacts are: My Wife, My Friend Billy, and my Mom. I ALWAYS ride with my phone, and I ALWAYS make sure my phone and my Garmin are connected before I leave for the ride. It’s almost like a cyclist’s version of GM’s “OnStar” system. When the Garmin head unit detects a high-g force shock, it triggers the Incident Detection Warning and Countdown.

I thought about canceling the Alert, but then I tried to get up, and I felt woozy. There was blood on my knees and my back was hurting. I knew I had hit my helmet, and I did not know if I had broken anything or if I had suffered a concussion.

THE CALLS

I let the Countdown finish. Within 30 seconds, my wife was on the phone, calling.

Tracy Christenson Garmin Incident Detection Text
The Garmin Incident Detection Feature sent my wife a text message with my exact GPS Coordinates. She knew right where to find me if I needed help.

It felt good to hear her voice.

She stayed with me on the phone while I slowly pulled myself apart from the bike, and then moved to stand. My breath was still short, and I could not take a deep breath. I finally cleared out my head, and told her I was riding home.

She met me at the driveway, and I rolled in.

Later, I received a phone call from Billy – he had been away from his phone, but we both agreed that this was the right thing to do.

Billy Gogesch Garmin Incident Detection Email Map
Billy pulled up the link on his PC, and was able to find my crash position in high-res detail. This was just his first shot. My home is visible in the map, off to the right.

Later that evening, my mom called as well. Here’s her emergency message from Garmin…

Jeanette Wharton Garmin Incident Detection Text
It’s nice to know that your emergency information is going out, even if it just means picking up the pieces. Sardonic, but serious.

Conclusion

The Garmin Incident Detection Feature is one more reason why I love my Garmin 1030 and Fenix 6X. There are SO MANY quality features in Garmin Connect, many of which are overlooked or ignored. I’m going to try to dig into these more. Yesterday, the Garmin Incident Detection feature properly activated when I had a crash in a semi-remote area with few people around. I am glad it did, even though I was able to pick myself up and ride home. NEXT TIME, I may not be as lucky.

One More Thing

And this is serious. I love cycling. I love riding a bike. But crashes happen, whether they’re solo or in groups or on trails or on roads. I have been learning and instructing since 1993, and I remain a student of the sport. But I’m not dumb and I’m not naive. Wrist ID bands are really just glorified Toe Tags. I know that stuff happens.

SO, I carry a tiny SD chip in my wallet and in my saddlebag, with a video I made and update now and then, that basically says,

“Hey – if you’re looking at this, I’m either dead or incapacitated. Here’s my Last Will and Testament, and here’s my Living Will. Use the data on my Garmin to determine whether this was my fault, or someone else’s, or was just an Act of God, which is doubtful. I have a life insurance policy with XXX. Know that I died doing something I love, and trying to share that passion with others. Thanks and move on with your own lives.”

Or something like that. I think the Garmin Incident Detection feature can help me avoid having anyone watch that vid, and hopefully, I’ll be cycling into my 90’s, like few others.

Thanks for reading, and Enjoy the Ride.