March 19, 2020, 8:22 a.m. -  Andrew Major

That’s lame. The difference between the most basic trail-worthy FS bike, like the [Hawk Hill](https://nsmb.com/articles/min-maxing-budget-bikes-marin/) I tested, and a wunder-machine evaporates quickly with bad suspension setup or a hub seal dragging under load. Maybe they tested it when they built it and set it up for your weight? It’s easy enough to bracket your best suspension settings for how the bike currently functions. The only rule is your fork needs to be firmer (less sag) and faster (rebound) than your rear suspension. It’s good to have a friend measure the sag. From there find a piece of trail you know that you can hike in a couple minutes and start putting in some intervals. Make one change at a time and write them down so you can always go back to base settings. It works with basic suspension or more sophisticated stuff like my Double Barrel CS Shock. If you’re finding bottom too often and starting to approach <20% sag for the fork or <25% sag for the shock then you probably need to add a volume spacer. But that REALLY depends on the condition of your suspension, fit of the bike, and exact model of fork/shock