Getting full travel on a Pitch with RP2 shock?

[Embra]

I notice I never get the last 15mm of travel on my rear shock (Fox RP2, standard as far as I'm aware). This is despite riding a bit bigger than usual recently including a couple of blind hucks to flat in Cumberland (note: these weren't big by any standard except my own...).

The shock pressure seems perfect for me (215psi for 80ish kg) and lowering it even a little (like 5psi) seemed to result in catching pedals a lot more and general badness.

So, what can I do to get more travel on the shock without upsetting the ride height/sag I'm already used to. I guess I need it to ramp up less, is that possible to achieve without replacing the whole shock?

Thanks!

[Erik]

You could try a high volume air sleeve on your shock.

[chrisc]

That to me seems like quite high PSI. I had a pitch and I had it under 150 PSI and I am a little under 70kg. I found it was quite good in most conditions

[nortonwhis]

i thought the general rule was 1lb is roughly 1psi depending on riding style etc. 215 sounds like a hell of a lot.

i would think that clipping pedals is something that might take time to get used to the new height, but maybe you have just been riding too high all this time and need to be lower in the travel.
another good thing would be just to set the sag somewhere between 25-30% and see how it goes from there.

[JCL]

Are you sure the shock stroke is supposed to bottom? Deflate the shock and measure the wheel travel. Back of saddle to rear axle or top of tire is sufficient.

[delusional]

The shock is supposed to bottom. I'm running mine fairly hard at 165psi (at 160lbs / 72kg) and I definitely bottom it relatively regularly.

215psi at your weight is really hard. I'd expect to see somewhere more around 180psi or under.

The bottom bracket is fairly low, so pedal strikes will happen if you don't pay attention - if it really bugs you you can always make use of the pro-pedal when climbing to raise the ride height a little.

[jefg]

My pitch with an RP23 is kept at 205-210 psi. I'm ~215 lbs at the moment. I do bottom it on larger hits, but never harshly. Overall I'm very happy with the shock, and bike in general for a trail bike.

[Embra]

Thanks guys, I dropped the pressure a little bit (5 p.s.i) and immediately felt an improvement, I'm still not getting full travel but could definitely feel the benefit, the front end seemed easier to loft for drops. Caught a couple of pedals on the descents but nothing major, I'll maybe drop it 5 p.s.i. at a time for a few rides until the pedal strikes get silly. Also a good excuse to get lower profile pedals I guess!

Good tip about the pro-pedal, I'd tried it and thought it was pretty ineffective but that was probably because I'm running the shock too hard in the first place.

Now, what tyres for constant pinch flats...