I've been consistently on high engagement since 2000 due to trials interests. Recently made a brief swap to 18T DT hub. I found that unrideable. It was dangerous for shore riding IMO; knee to stem happened too often due to unpredictable engagement (is it 0 or is it 20 degrees?).
I've been on CK for most years, but now swapped to hydra. I didn't think I'd notice a difference, but 5 degree to 0.5 degree is noticeable.
I'm not convinced high engagement affects suspension performance other than corner cases. You'd have to be moving pretty slowly and have a large variation in CS length throughout bobbing travel for that to occur IMO. Never experienced it myself, but I typically ride horst-link bikes with limited CS length change.
May 15, 2023, 9:38 a.m. - Andy Krull
I've been consistently on high engagement since 2000 due to trials interests. Recently made a brief swap to 18T DT hub. I found that unrideable. It was dangerous for shore riding IMO; knee to stem happened too often due to unpredictable engagement (is it 0 or is it 20 degrees?). I've been on CK for most years, but now swapped to hydra. I didn't think I'd notice a difference, but 5 degree to 0.5 degree is noticeable. I'm not convinced high engagement affects suspension performance other than corner cases. You'd have to be moving pretty slowly and have a large variation in CS length throughout bobbing travel for that to occur IMO. Never experienced it myself, but I typically ride horst-link bikes with limited CS length change.