I was messing around with the settings on my rear shock today and was just curious.

 

The more dampening you have, the less likely you are to bottom out your shock.
Downside: Makes for a rougher ride though.

The less rebound you have, the slower the shock will extend and will be less likely to give you a sling-shot effect and "Hop" the backend of your bike.
Downside: A bike with little rebound won't take whoops very well because it can't extend the shock in time for the next contact.

When setting your shocks, you need to find what is right for you. Your amount of preload, weight, riding style, and terrain all play a key role. The best idea is to start with median settings and change them one at a time in small increments. This will give you the best combination for you. Good luck.

~HoundDog

 

I would think MORE rebound would cause the shock to extend slower.....

On a race car....more rebound will hold its weight longer....less rebound and it will dissipate the weight (let it shift) much faster.

More compression.....more weight transfer (shift to) that wheel......less compression means less weight transfer....

More compression will make for a stiffer ride....this can cause wheel hop and if too much weight gets transferred then it will start to slide

More rebound will make for a slower return to extension....going over a bunch of whoops, the shock wouldn't have time to return to full extension in time and you may end up bottoming the suspension out.

A stiff suspension will be quick reacting.

A soft suspension will be sloshy feeling.

Everything is a compromise......

 

Rook, you and I are saying the same thing. What I am calling more rebound, is less pressure on the rebound adjustment letting it come back quicker. Same thing as you said just different terminology.

~HoundDog

 

More rebound lets the shock rebound faster too it's original position...ready for another bump or whoop. Too much and the rear will try and buck you off.....too little and the suspension collapses upon a bump and cannot rebound fast enough too use the full travel on the next bump. It's based on your riding conditions and rider ability as well.

 

You are all not making any sense. There is no such thing as more or less "rebound" or more or less "compression". You can dial in more rebound DAMPING, or less rebound DAMPING. You can make the rebound faster or slower by adjusting the DAMPING rate.

More rebound damping will make the shock extend slower after absorbing an impact. Too much of this and the shock wiil pack up and bottom out over whoops. Less rebound damping will make the shock extend faster. Too much of this and the shock can extend too fast when you go off a jump and push your front end down making you endo.

More compression damping will make the shock compress slower. This will give you a stiffer ride but will soak up the big jumps better without bottoming. Less compression damping will make the shock compress faster. This will give a softer ride and will be better for trail riding, but will bottom easier over big jumps.

All of these settings are completely up to personal preference and riding type/style.

And remember, we haven't even mentioned ride height/preload or spring rates yet. That opens a whole other conversation.

 

Actually, I did mention those variables already and whether you want to refer to the amount of rebound being allowed (as I did) or the amount of dampening being applied (as you are) we are all talking about the same adjustment and its effects on the perfomance of his suspension.

~HoundDog