How do you know your mountain bike suspension is set up properly? It’s usually more of an art than a science and can be hard to keep track of over time. But what if there was a device that could monitor your suspension and make recommendations based on how and where you ride? That’s SussMyBike.
SussMyBike is a small electronic device that monitors your shock displacement and looks for how the suspension moves through its travel. Upon sensing undesirable characteristics, SussMyBike recommends how you can tune High/Low speed compression and High/Low speed rebound. It records bottom out events, the dynamic sag while you are riding, and progressiveness of shock. All this information enables the system to inform you on how exactly to adjust the sag and damping to optimize your ride quality.
SussMyBike is used in conjunction with an app on your phone and communicates over Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE). The device can be uses on any adjustable air or coil suspension system.
You can tune the suspension to suit your everyday riding style or the type of riding you plan to do at a certain point in time–XC, enduro, or downhill. The smartphone app helps you understand what you have to do to achieve critically damped tuning values for your weight, terrain, and riding style. This will result in increased stability and a more balanced ride.
Unlike the ShockWiz, you don’t have to keep the device on your bike all the time–just when you are first getting your suspension dialed in or when you head to new trails, such as from Colorado to Vermont, and want to match your suspension accordingly.
As I am by no means a pro mountain biker, I really only know when my suspension feels off but don’t know how to fine tune it for the perfect ride on the trails I frequent. So to be able to quantify it in numbers and know exactly what my suspension is doing beyond what I can feel, is extremely helpful.
Unsurprisingly, the UK-based company is taking pre-orders for SussMyBike over on Kickstarter–for around $208 you can own one of the devices, set to be delivered around June 2016.