Posts
26
Joined
9/5/2015
Location
Athens
GR
Edited Date/Time
6/22/2020 7:42am
Hello!
My name is Alex, I am 5ft 8in/173cm, weigh about 145lbs/65kg, and I have been riding mountain bikes for 15 years.
My V3 Bronson CC needed some bottom-out resistance and after giving it some thought, I decided to purchase the MegNeg upgrade kit. While installing the kit, I noticed that the stock air can had one GnarDog spacer in the positive air chamber.
However, Rock Shox suggests removing 1-2 positive air volume spacers because the MegNeg can produce more force near bottom out and may be difficult to achieve full travel.
I had no choice, so I left the GnarDog in, placed 3 bands in the negative chamber, and pumped the shock with 20% more air volume to achieve 30% sag.
Any thoughts?
My name is Alex, I am 5ft 8in/173cm, weigh about 145lbs/65kg, and I have been riding mountain bikes for 15 years.
My V3 Bronson CC needed some bottom-out resistance and after giving it some thought, I decided to purchase the MegNeg upgrade kit. While installing the kit, I noticed that the stock air can had one GnarDog spacer in the positive air chamber.
However, Rock Shox suggests removing 1-2 positive air volume spacers because the MegNeg can produce more force near bottom out and may be difficult to achieve full travel.
I had no choice, so I left the GnarDog in, placed 3 bands in the negative chamber, and pumped the shock with 20% more air volume to achieve 30% sag.
Any thoughts?
I put one in my old stumpy evo, had gnar dog and full to the brim with spacers prior to the megneg, afterwards I was down to 1 small spacer in the positive and 2 in the negative and that worked best for me.
I sold that bike and so gave the shock to my buddy who is your weight approx, he put it on a Trek Fuel EX and we had to take 2 bands out of the negative because off the top it was still a bit harsh for him at 30% sag. Removed the bands and he loves it.
It's a great mod, but really does take a lot of trial and error to get right. Good luck.
This video contains a sample of how to go about it beginning at 3:09. Have fun out there!
To be honest, I've watched this video several times and it helped me decide to buy it. You mentioned that TR Patrol didn't require a positive token reduction. How many were you using?
Tokens are there to ramp up the force towards the end of the travel, because the pressure increases faster with a small air chamber. They have some effect on the mid-stroke, but they are most noticeable in the end-stroke. The same thing goes for the negative chamber - a bigger chamber will have more pressure in the mid-stroke, resulting in a slightly softer feel, but that can be compensated for with air pressure. Basically just use negative bands for tuning the beginning stroke only and tokens only for the end-stroke.
In a nutshell: Set your air pressure first, which determines the mid-stroke, then use the negative bands to change the size of the negative chamber for more or less sag (more bands = smaller chamber = less assist = firmer beginning-stroke) and then use tokens for end-stroke progression to stop bottom outs.
I didn't quite understand you in the end. Do you mean that your friend now runs the MegNeg with no bands and one spacer?
I've got 30-32% sag, 3-2 clicks of rebound from open, and lsc is usually full open.
I am a heavy guy (92kg) and my bike is a Revel Rail.
What initial configuration do you recommend to my MegNeg
RS says its best to start with 2 bands and removing 1-2 positive chamber spacers. MegNeg will require more psi.
Go ride and take notes. Then make changes according to feel. It's a puzzle.
The LR on my bike is Progressive - Linear - Regressive. This sort of has the effect of having a great pedaling platform, maybe using travel a bit too quick at times, and then it will bottom if it doesn't have an air shock w/ some volume reducers.
I don't know enough about suspension to really know ahead of time if the MegNeg was a good fit for my whip and my riding style (endless natural chunk with a few park features thrown in) But I figured it could soften the initial hit (cause larger negative spring), firm up the middle (due to higher air pressure) and reduce bottom outs without excessive ramp up (also due to more air pressure).
My concern was that the natural high pedaling efficiency of my Foxy would be diminished due to the plushness.
At first I removed 1 spacer and left all 4 bands in the negative chamber. This was as close as it could be to the standard air can set up. On the test ride just riding off the curb I noticed right away that the harshness my Foxy had when slapping down was much reduced. I also noticed that it held up better in the midrange. This had the surprising effect of making my STA remaining steeper while pedaling, a really nice side benefit. Bottoming support was essentially the same which was fine. I rode it this way and was completely pleased.
Then I dropped to 3 negative bands and it was more of the above and better in all ways but now it was harder to get to the bottom. I could see I was getting right there but I never could feel it.
And that's where I'm at (for months). I've been thinking about experimenting with removing another band but gosh dang it feels so good it's hard to get the inspiration to start the dialing in process again.
My Foxy is not only as efficient, but I believe when pedaling it's actually more efficient because it stands taller and stays steep.
That's my input.
It resembles the stock character but with a more playful behavior, to the point where I had to slow down 1 click of R. I started with +2 and chose +3 for a little more compliance and predictability.
Small bump sensitivity is good and it kind of eliminates that low sunk mid-travel situation that keeps you glued to the ground when sometimes you'd rather pop things. Bottom out is obtainable but harder to reach than it was with the stock air-can.
I still need to test it at bike park speeds! I believe it won't disappoint!
It feels supportive and springy.
Looking for a starting point regarding # of positive tokens and # of bands for riders close to or over 200 lbs.
6'3
Weight= 205lbs
Bike= Evil Calling
Shock= RCT Super Delux w/ Megneg
Rider Wt. 85kg 187lb
Previous shock settings: 190psi, 3 tokens, 4+ clicks of rebound from hare.
Tyre pressures 22psi ft, 25psi rr.
Even with 3 tokens bottom out was regular. Never felt harsh, but I bent the shock bolt.
MegNeg tests
20.08.20
260psi to achieve 30% sag
+2 tokens
-2 bands
Too bouncy on roots back end kicking up. 10mm from full travel.
22.08.20
235psi
+2 tokens
-1 band
Much more plush over roots. Still not getting deep into travel. Dropped pressure to 230psi. 5mm from full travel.
Sag sitting, 35%: standing ~32% no pack.
3 click rebound from hare
23.08
Down to +1 token No other change.
24.08
Aston Hill. Ricochet, felt more confident on roots drops. Able to unweight and “gap” surface roots more. Surface to Air, felt more confident in berms. Some controlled rear wheel slide. Root Canal, quicker on root drop corners until the big one, then OTB. Ran out of talent.
Generally felt more pop on jumps.
Almost hit full travel. Most travel all day - 1mm of stanchion showing below O’ring.
Happy with feel.
05.09.20
Rogate.
Upped pressure to 235psi. Slightly nosey on jumps so added +1 click of rebound. Felt good all day. Didn’t bottom out, 1mm left. Will probably run +4 rebound on smoother trails and +3 on rocks and roots.
The bike is very different to ride. I feel far more confident to push. A friend who is normally buzzing my back wheel is now complaining. 😜
After installing MegNeg I find it really hard to compress at any point... you just literally have to jump on a bike as a madman to let the air through to the chamber. Following the approach in manual (basically the same as with regular shock) results in a shock being as hard as a rock in the end... giving approx 10% sag at the appropriate value for my weight - 205 psi for 73kg with equip. If I inflate in in 50 psi increments and after each one actually jump on the bike, then at 205 I can actually reach 35% or so sag, but this does not feel right
Post a reply to: MegNeg - What settings do you run?