For many people who own a mountain bike with a suspension fork, the settings on that fork are either left as they were in the store, or just set to the manufacturer's suggested parameters. Setting them more specifically does make for a better riding experience, but not everyone knows to do so. That's why Scottish cyclist Alan Mason teamed up with partners at the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland, Napier University and Edinburgh University to create SussMyBike. It analyzes your fork's performance, then tells you how it should be set up to better meet your needs.
The SussMyBike device is attached to one leg of an air- or coil-sprung fork, and works with an accompanying smartphone app.
Using that app, riders start by entering physical parameters such as their weight, along with their preferred riding style. They then take their bike out for a ride, with the fork at its present settings. Using onboard sensors, the device monitors how much, how often and how quickly the shock compresses, paired up with data such as corresponding riding speed and inclination.
After that initial assessment ride is over, the app compares the fork's actual performance to what it should be, then advises the rider on what changes to make to settings such as preload, rebound and compression. They do so, take it on another ride, then keep finessing until they get everything just right.
If it sounds like something you could use, then drop Mason your email via the link at the end of the article – plans call for a Kickstarter campaign to begin later this month. Assuming the system does reach the market, it will likely be facing some competition from the similar ShockWiz.
More information on SussMyBike is available in the following video.
Source: SussMyBike
