Understanding Your Suspension Analysis

Understanding the Zones

• Extension (Purple): Suspension extending beyond sag - indicates you're riding very light or hitting compressions
• SAG Zone (Green): 15-35% of travel - your baseline riding position where suspension should spend most time on smooth terrain
• Active Zone (Blue): 35-80% of travel - working range for normal riding, absorbing bumps and impacts
• Deep Travel (Red): 80-100% of travel - reserved for big hits, drops, and harsh impacts

Key Metrics to Watch

• Average Position: Where your suspension sits most of the time - should be around 25-35% for proper sag
• Maximum Used: How deep into travel you're going - ideally 90-97% to use full travel without harsh bottom-outs
• SAG Zone Time: Percentage of ride spent in sag zone - higher values indicate smoother terrain or lighter riding
• Active Zone Time: Time spent in working range - should be highest for aggressive trail riding
• Deep Travel Time: Time in bottom range - should be minimal (1-5%) for most riding

How to Interpret Your Results

Too Firm (60% travel used, "Firm" rating):

• Not using enough travel (under 85% max)
• Spending too much time in SAG zone
• Suspension feels harsh on small bumps
• Fix: Reduce air pressure by 5-10 PSI or remove volume spacers

Too Soft (99% travel used, "Too Soft" rating):

• Using full travel frequently (over 95%)
• High deep travel time (over 5%)
• Feeling harsh bottom-outs
• Fix: Add air pressure by 5-10 PSI or add volume spacers for more progression

Well Balanced (85-95% travel used):

• Using 90-95% of available travel
• Good distribution across active zone
• Minimal time in deep travel (1-3%)
• Perfect - suspension is working optimally!

Understanding the Energy Chart

• 100% Efficiency Line (Green Dashed): Theoretical perfect efficiency - all input energy absorbed
• Data Points by Impact Severity:
• Green dots: Low-speed impacts (trail chatter, small bumps)
• Blue dots: Medium impacts (roots, rocks, moderate compressions)
• Orange dots: High impacts (drops, jumps, harsh hits)
• Point Distribution: How close points cluster to the efficiency line indicates suspension performance

Overall Efficiency Rating

• 85-100%: Excellent - suspension absorbing impacts efficiently across all speeds
• 75-85%: Good - minor tuning could improve performance
• 65-75%: Fair - suspension working but could benefit from damping adjustments
• Below 65%: Poor - significant setup issues, energy being wasted

Reading Energy Patterns

Points Below Line (Low Efficiency):

• Suspension not absorbing enough energy - feeling harsh and transmitting impacts to rider
• For low-speed impacts: Add rebound damping or reduce compression damping
• For high-speed impacts: Increase compression damping (HSC) or check if bottoming out

Widely Scattered Points:

• Inconsistent performance across impact types
• May need to balance low-speed and high-speed compression
• Check air pressure and spring rate are appropriate for rider weight

Well-Clustered Near Line:

• Consistent, efficient energy absorption
• Suspension is well-tuned for your riding style
• Only make minor adjustments based on rider preference

The Four Frequency Bands

• Low (0-3Hz) - Trail Chatter: Small, rapid bumps, washboard surfaces, smooth braking bumps. Controlled by low-speed compression and rebound damping.
• Mid (3-8Hz) - Roots & Rocks: Medium-sized obstacles, rock gardens, moderate roots. The "sweet spot" where suspension should be most active.
• High (8-15Hz) - Impacts & Drops: Larger hits, square-edged bumps, small drops. Requires good high-speed compression control.
• Very High (15-30Hz) - Landings: Jump landings, large drops, harsh bottom-outs. Reserved for most severe impacts.

Interpreting Your Distribution

Smooth Trail Profile (Example: 31% Low, 31% Mid, 33% High, 5% Very High):

• Balanced distribution across all bands
• Low Very High frequency (under 10%) - not hitting harsh features often
• Setup is likely well-balanced for varied terrain

Technical Trail Profile (Example: 18% Low, 26% Mid, 31% High, 26% Very High):

• High Very High frequency (over 20%) - lots of harsh impacts, drops, or rocks
• Lower Low frequency - less time on smooth sections
• May need more high-speed compression damping or volume spacers

Using Frequency Data for Setup

• High Low Frequency %: Focus on low-speed compression and rebound settings, check sag setup
• High Mid Frequency %: This is ideal - suspension working in its designed range, maintain current setup
• High High Frequency %: May need more high-speed compression damping, consider volume spacers
• High Very High Frequency %: Check if bottoming out harshly, add air pressure or volume spacers, verify HSC is adequate

Reading the Damping Chart

• Perfect Balance Line (Diagonal): Ideal 1:1 ratio where compression and rebound speeds are matched
• Color Coding:
• Green: Low-speed events (under 50mm/s) - small bumps and trail chatter
• Orange: Medium-speed events (50-150mm/s) - normal riding impacts
• Red: High-speed events (over 150mm/s) - harsh hits and drops
• Balance Score (%): How close your average performance is to ideal balance

Interpreting Damping Patterns

Well Balanced (90-100% score):

• Points cluster tightly around the diagonal line
• Average compression ≈ Average rebound (within 10-20mm/s)
• Suspension feels controlled, returns to sag quickly without packing or bouncing
• Maintain current rebound settings

Harsh Rebound (Points mostly above line, low score):

• Rebound speed higher than compression speed
• Suspension feels harsh, kicks back on bumps, loses traction
• Add rebound damping (slower rebound) - close rebound clickers by 2-3 clicks

Slow Rebound (Points mostly below line, low score):

• Rebound speed lower than compression speed
• Suspension packs down on repeated hits, feels dead, sits lower in travel
• Reduce rebound damping (faster rebound) - open rebound clickers by 2-3 clicks

Understanding Velocity Distribution

• Left Side (Negative values): Rebound speeds - suspension extending back out
• Right Side (Positive values): Compression speeds - suspension compressing into travel
• Peak Height & Position: Shows the most common suspension speed during your ride
• Width: Range of speeds experienced - wider means more varied terrain
• Shape: Symmetry and shape indicate damping balance

Reading Velocity Shapes

Balanced Shape (Symmetrical bell curve):

• Peak centered near zero
• Similar height and width on both sides
• Compression and rebound are well-matched
• Ideal - no damping adjustments needed

Peak Shifted Left (Toward Rebound):

• Rebound too fast - suspension extending quickly
• Feels harsh, kicks back, poor traction
• Add rebound damping (close clickers)
• Note: This matches the "compression too harsh" recommendation because fast rebound makes compression feel harsh

Peak Shifted Right (Toward Compression):

• Rebound too slow - suspension not extending fast enough
• Packs down, sits low in travel, feels dead
• Reduce rebound damping (open clickers)

Shape Detection Recommendations

The app automatically analyzes your velocity distribution shape and provides specific recommendations:

• "Peak shifted toward rebound (left)": Decrease compression damping (LSC/HSC) OR increase rebound if only rebound adjustment available
• "Peak shifted toward compression (right)": Increase compression damping OR decrease rebound
• "Wide distribution": May need to adjust both LSC and HSC independently for better control across speeds
• "Narrow, centered peak": Well-tuned suspension, minimal adjustments needed

Understanding the Chart

• X-Axis (Horizontal): Travel position from 0% (fully extended) to 100% (fully compressed)
• Y-Axis (Vertical): Suspension speed - top half is rebound (extending), bottom half is compression (compressing)
• SAG Line (Vertical orange): Your sag position (typically 25-30% of travel)
• Trend Lines (Orange): Show average speed patterns through travel
• Data Density: Where dots are most concentrated shows where you ride most

Key Patterns to Look For

Steep Trend Line Slope:

• Speed increases significantly as you go deeper into travel
• Progressive damping - more resistance deeper in travel
• Good for preventing bottom-outs on big hits
• May need to add HSC or volume spacers if still bottoming harshly

Flat Trend Line:

• Consistent speed throughout travel range
• Linear damping - same resistance across travel
• Good for predictable, consistent feel
• May bottom-out more easily on harsh impacts

Data Density Patterns:

• Dense around SAG line: Spending most time in balanced position - good for smooth trails
• Dense in mid-travel (40-60%): Active suspension use - ideal for aggressive riding
• Dense in deep travel (70-100%): Using lots of travel - may be too soft or very rough terrain

What It Reveals About Setup

• Outliers (Extreme speeds): Big hits or harsh rebound events that need attention - check if they're causing harsh feedback
• Compression trend line angle: Shows how quickly you're hitting bumps through travel - steep = aggressive riding or harsh terrain
• Rebound trend line angle: Shows how fast suspension is returning - should mirror compression trend for balanced damping
• Gaps in data: Areas of travel rarely used - might indicate setup preventing access to full travel range

Setup Information Sections

Rider & Terrain:

• Rider weight with gear - affects spring rate and sag
• Terrain type - context for interpreting results

Suspension Settings:

• Fork/shock model and travel
• Air pressure (PSI) or spring rate
• Rebound damping (clicks from closed)
• Compression damping (clicks from closed)
• Volume spacers/tokens installed

Travel Measurements:

• Total available travel
• Maximum travel used (from o-ring or sensor)

How to Use Setup Tracking

• Before Each Ride: Record your current settings in the app
• When Making Changes: Only adjust one setting at a time (e.g., +5 PSI, or +2 clicks rebound)
• Test & Compare: Ride similar terrain and compare analysis results
• Establish Baseline: Find settings you like and save them as reference
• Track Conditions: Note if conditions changed (wet vs dry, temperatures, etc.)