Rider height and bike set up....?

[LuckyStar64]

I figured this was a discussable topic... When setting up suspension, weight and riding abllity seem to always be at the forefront of conversation. But I just had a conversation with a guy the other night about taking his son's height into consideration when setting up his suspension.

At 5'4-- (I know, I know...), a guy like me can't move around on a bike as much as say.... a rider who is a foot taller. IMO-- if a rider is taller, that rider is capable of more leverage forward, back, and laterally than a more diminutive rider. So-- I'd tend to go a bit softer on the valving, and possibly slightly lighter on spring rate than what is called for for my weight. I'd stick to what's called for for a taller rider. Does this seem logical? ---L*64

 

[PitRacer]

When you go through the valving chart lookup with RaceTech, one of the selections is for rider height. However, there are only two selections, under 6"3" and over. So obviously they must believe people under that height all have the same affect.

 

[Notorious t.o.d.]

Set sag properly...

Rider Speed and ability determine needs for suspension performance...and stiffness and reaction rates.

Being able to rapidly reposition your body relative to the bike is what you see in the best riders. Stewart has always been great at rapidly repositioning his body but crashes too much. Shorter and lighter is better than taller and heavier. Cant think of a pro over six feet tall. TP199 maybe but that was eons ago...

 

[TCracing]

Set sag properly...

Rider Speed and ability determine needs for suspension performance...and stiffness and reaction rates.

Being able to rapidly reposition your body relative to the bike is what you see in the best riders. Stewart has always been great at rapidly repositioning his body but crashes too much. Shorter and lighter is better than taller and heavier. Cant think of a pro over six feet tall. TP199 maybe but that was eons ago...

DAVID KNIGHT! He was a big freakin Dude!

Depends on what type of riding Ie woods trails (softer) as apposed to SX, AX (stiffer) but never underspring your bike to try and plush out the ride. You simply loose travel and will bottom out sooner.

 

[Notorious t.o.d.]

Tony D is reasonably tall, but he raced before they had suspension!!!

Tony was always talking about Travis' big feet and how he had Suzuki make him special extended shift and rear brake levers.

Tony teased my son Dan about big feet like Travis, but it never seemed to cause him a problem...

 

[flyin polack]

Travis mentioned in an interview that his big feet got in the way in rutted corners and were constantly getting caught in the ruts yanking his feet off the pegs and doing damage to his knees...