Bomberhood

yay I got some bomber SLs the other week, I still feel sick when I look at my credit card statement!

I <3bombers 🙂

Cheers, Tom

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just read the FAQ and realize this group likes Bombers. Well that suits me just fine since I
happen to be the proud owner of a "2003 Bomber Marathon S".

No need to send Brandy and cigars since I neither smoke nor drink. However have a party on my
behalf next time more than one of you bombers gather.

Now that we are done with formalities I'll let on how these fine bombers

are

Quoted message said:

mounted and I expect ya'll to let me in on all the finetuning secrets of these masterpieces.

They are setup on a 2001 Klein Adept Pro painted Plum Crazy with Fox Float RC rear shocks "2003
XTR Dual lever hydraulic brakes, complete group except an XT rear cassette and a SRAM PC99 chain.
*Yes I removed the thumblever* Easton CT2 MonkeyLite riserbar Thompsson Elite seatpost and stem (
stem is on order). Building new wheels at the moment. XTR hubs with XTR discs, Mavic X819 UST
rims. And of course Nokian Extreme studded tires.

Now I just need to learn how to ride it and I'd appreciate any and all

tips

Quoted message said:

on getting the most out of these shocks. Question numero uno is of course how do I know if the
spring coil is the right strength and how do I figure out if I need a harder or softer coil.

Is

Quoted message said:

there an easy way of reading the specs for instance, color coding etc.

I've set the sag sort of according to instructions and the rebound pretty much right inbetween max
and min. I don't really know yet if I want it to rebound faster or slower. I was riding on a dirt
road the other day and

the

Quoted message said:

shocks were giving me a really nice ride as I entered a washboard section.

I

Quoted message said:

decided to increase my speed. Everything was absorbed really nice up to a certain point. All of a
sudden I started bouncing way up in the air really leaving the saddle, worse every time until I
slowed down again. Does this mean I need to tighten up the rebound settings so that the

shocks

Quoted message said:

rebound faster? Do I need to do it on both front and rear? Or is it enough to do it on the rear if
I let off some weight on the front shocks? If I speed up the rebound how will that affect the
suspension as I get

into

Quoted message said:

more technical terrain? I do prefer to have a good setup for technical terrain if I have to make
a choice.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just read the FAQ and realize this group likes Bombers. Well that suits me just fine since I
happen to be the proud owner of a "2003 Bomber Marathon S".

Congratulazoni!

Quoted message said:

No need to send Brandy and cigars since I neither smoke nor drink. However have a party on my
behalf next time more than one of you bombers gather.

Carla you can send his to me. ;^)

Quoted message said:

Now that we are done with formalities I'll let on how these fine bombers

are

Quoted message said:

mounted and I expect ya'll to let me in on all the finetuning secrets of these masterpieces.

<snip nice bike spec>

Quoted message said:

Now I just need to learn how to ride it and I'd appreciate any and all

tips

Quoted message said:

on getting the most out of these shocks. Question numero uno is of course how do I know if the
spring coil is the right strength and how do I figure out if I need a harder or softer coil.

Is

Quoted message said:

there an easy way of reading the specs for instance, color coding etc.

I've set the sag sort of according to instructions

You've kind of answered your first question here. If you have difficulty getting the required sag
you need to adjust your spring strength.

Quoted message said:

and the rebound pretty much right inbetween max and min. I don't really know yet if I want it to
rebound faster or slower. I was riding on a dirt road the other day and

the

Quoted message said:

shocks were giving me a really nice ride as I entered a washboard section.

I

Quoted message said:

decided to increase my speed. Everything was absorbed really nice up to a certain point. All of a
sudden I started bouncing way up in the air really leaving the saddle, worse every time until I
slowed down again. Does this mean I need to tighten up the rebound settings so that the

shocks

Quoted message said:

rebound faster?

Yes the shock is 'packing up', the rebound is set too slow and the shock can't extend quick enough
for repeated high speed bumps. Back off on the knob. Rebound and compression adjustments are a
valve adjustments. Close the valve and the oil takes longer to pass through, open it and the oil
goes faster.

Quoted message said:

Do I need to do it on both front and rear?

Yes, it's a balancing act. If you adjust one end the other will react differently.

Quoted message said:

Or is it enough to do it on the rear if I let off some weight on the front shocks? If I speed up
the rebound how will that affect the suspension as I get

into

Quoted message said:

more technical terrain? I do prefer to have a good setup for technical terrain if I have to make
a choice.

You just don' t want it to 'pogo stick' or bounce off of rocks and landings. If the suspension
bounces wildly on a single hit you need a bit more rebound damping.

Also note new Marzocchi's need a bit of a break in period to achieve full plushness. Maybe 5-10
hours (SWAG) of good hard riding.

Enjoy!

Mike

"Michael Dart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

snip< Also note new Marzocchi's need a bit of a break in period to achieve full plushness. Maybe
5-10 hours (SWAG) of good hard riding.

Enjoy!

Mike

And for those with Marzocchi air forks, like the Marathon SL, they take significantly longer than
that - mine took a good 15-20 hours before it felt as plush as it does now. The air seals are
tighter, because losing air is not a good thing, so they take longer to wear in.

Jon Bond

Michael Dart said:

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just read the FAQ and realize this group likes Bombers. Well that suits me just fine since I
happen to be the proud owner of a "2003 Bomber Marathon S".

Congratulazoni!

Thankyou.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

No need to send Brandy and cigars since I neither smoke nor drink. However have a party on my
behalf next time more than one of you bombers gather.

Carla you can send his to me. ;^)

Drooling now aren't ya?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now that we are done with formalities I'll let on how these fine bombers are mounted and I expect
ya'll to let me in on all the finetuning secrets of these masterpieces.

<snip nice bike spec>

So nice I almost wanted to paste them back again. When my wife first came home and the bike was
already standing in the livingroom, she looked at it and asked how much it's costed. After a while I
managed to tell her. She looked at the bike again took in the Plum Crazy paintjob and just kinda
nodded her head like, "Yes of course with a paint job like that why shouldn't it cost a mint". I
caught her walking by and glancing at it several times that evening 😉

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now I just need to learn how to ride it and I'd appreciate any and all tips on getting the most
out of these shocks. Question numero uno is of course how do I know if the spring coil is the
right strength and how do I figure out if I need a harder or softer coil. Is there an easy way of
reading the specs for instance, color coding etc.

I've set the sag sort of according to instructions

You've kind of answered your first question here. If you have difficulty getting the required sag
you need to adjust your spring strength.

Sounds simple enough. I hope it is 😉 I'm not sure if I have any difficulty getting the required SAG
yet. I'm just kinda trying things out still. One thing I've noticed though is that it doesn't seem
to stay put. The lever that I lock out with keeps moving around and I have a feeling so does the SAG
settings. How can I fix that.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and the rebound pretty much right inbetween max and min. I don't really know yet if I want it to
rebound faster or slower. I was riding on a dirt road the other day and the shocks were giving me
a really nice ride as I entered a washboard section. I decided to increase my speed. Everything
was absorbed really nice up to a certain point. All of a sudden I started bouncing way up in the
air really leaving the saddle, worse every time until I slowed down again. Does this mean I need
to tighten up the rebound settings so that the shocks rebound faster?

Yes the shock is 'packing up', the rebound is set too slow and the shock can't extend quick enough
for repeated high speed bumps. Back off on the knob. Rebound and compression adjustments are a
valve adjustments. Close the valve and the oil takes longer to pass through, open it and the oil
goes faster.

Quoted message said:

Do I need to do it on both front and rear?

Yes, it's a balancing act. If you adjust one end the other will react differently.

Quoted message said:

Or is it enough to do it on the rear if I let off some weight on the front shocks? If I speed up
the rebound how will that affect the suspension as I get into more technical terrain? I do prefer
to have a good setup for technical terrain if I have to make a choice.

You just don' t want it to 'pogo stick' or bounce off of rocks and landings. If the suspension
bounces wildly on a single hit you need a bit more rebound damping.

That would mean slower rebound, right? Like closing the front rebond and turning the rear rebound
towards the minus sign?

Quoted message said:

Also note new Marzocchi's need a bit of a break in period to achieve full plushness. Maybe 5-10
hours (SWAG) of good hard riding.

Enjoy!

Mike

Thanks Mike

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Jon Bond said:

"Michael Dart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

snip< Also note new Marzocchi's need a bit of a break in period to achieve full plushness. Maybe
5-10 hours (SWAG) of good hard riding.

Enjoy!

Mike

And for those with Marzocchi air forks, like the Marathon SL, they take significantly longer than
that - mine took a good 15-20 hours before it felt as plush as it does now. The air seals are
tighter, because losing air is not a good thing, so they take longer to wear
in.

Jon Bond

I know two riders with the SL forks. Both are having problems with their air seals and tell me I was
wise to get the coil version. I wasn't wise a deal just landed on me including theese shocks. Is it
a widespreaad problem or are these two just statistics.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Michael Dart said:

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just read the FAQ and realize this group likes Bombers. Well that suits me just fine since I
happen to be the proud owner of a "2003 Bomber Marathon S".

Congratulazoni!

Thankyou.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

No need to send Brandy and cigars since I neither smoke nor drink. However have a party on my
behalf next time more than one of you bombers gather.

Carla you can send his to me. ;^)

Drooling now aren't ya?

Yeah, but it's a condition many DHer's have. ;^P`````

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Sounds simple enough. I hope it is 😉 I'm not sure if I have any

difficulty

Quoted message said:

getting the required SAG yet. I'm just kinda trying things out still. One thing I've noticed
though is that it doesn't seem to stay put. The lever that I lock out with keeps moving around and
I have a feeling so does the SAG settings. How can I fix that.

Perhaps you can put a mark on the knob to see if it really is turning. It shouldn't once set. If it
does I'd say contact Marzocchi. I don't have experience with that year/model fork. I have a 02
Marathon Air. The sag in that is set by air pressure.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and the rebound pretty much right inbetween max and min. I don't really know yet if I want it
to rebound faster or slower. I was riding on a dirt road the other day and the shocks were
giving me a really nice ride as I entered a washboard section. I decided to increase my speed.
Everything was absorbed really nice up to a certain point. All of a sudden I started bouncing
way up in the air really leaving the saddle, worse every time until I slowed down again. Does
this mean I need to tighten up the rebound settings so that the shocks rebound faster?

Yes the shock is 'packing up', the rebound is set too slow and the shock can't extend quick
enough for repeated high speed bumps. Back off on the knob. Rebound and compression adjustments
are a valve adjustments. Close the valve and the oil takes longer to pass through, open it and
the oil goes faster.

Quoted message said:

Do I need to do it on both front and rear?

Yes, it's a balancing act. If you adjust one end the other will react differently.

Quoted message said:

Or is it enough to do it on the rear if I let off some weight on the front shocks? If I speed
up the rebound how will that affect the suspension as I get into more technical terrain? I do
prefer to have a good setup for technical terrain if I have to make a choice.

You just don' t want it to 'pogo stick' or bounce off of rocks and landings. If the suspension
bounces wildly on a single hit you need a bit more rebound damping.

That would mean slower rebound, right? Like closing the front rebond and turning the rear rebound
towards the minus sign?

In that case yes, but from what you described you need faster rebound. You can test the setting
by compressing the suspension and watching how fast it returns. There should be some delay but
not too much.

Mike