Which fork leg should I fit the stronger spring in?

[Demannu]

To get the correct front sag I've had (about to) to fit different rate springs in each leg.
However 1 leg is rebound only, the other compression.
So...........which one gets the stronger spring?

[Mussels]

Won't that put a bending force on your forks that they aren't designed for?
Apart from that it shouldn't matter as springs and dampers work independently of each other.

[Demannu]

Won't that put a bending force on your forks that they aren't designed for?
Apart from that it shouldn't matter as springs and dampers work independently of each other.

Not in my experience.
However only ever done it to bikes with both sets of adjustment on each leg!

[Mussels]

If there were no springs and the compression damper was on the left then the right hand fork would be lower on the way down, so I'd probably go with the stronger spring on the right.

[Demannu]

My thoughts precisely.
My reasoning is the stronger spring needs more rebound control.

[Lutin]

I might be missing something really obvious here, but aren't the springs supposed to be the same?

Just asking for a friend, you understand.

[wull]

I might be missing something really obvious here, but aren't the springs supposed to be the same?

Just asking for a friend, you understand.

It’s common practise to achieve the required rate, they tend to average out.

[Lutin]

I might be missing something really obvious here, but aren't the springs supposed to be the same?

Just asking for a friend, you understand.

It’s common practise to achieve the required rate, they tend to average out.

OK. Thanks for that.

[Yorick]

Who said you need different springs ?

[Demannu]

Who said you need different springs ?

I did

[Yorick]

Who said you need different springs ?

I did

Hmm.

[mangocrazy]

Why do you want to complicate matters unnecessarily? Minimise the number of variables, not increase them. Spring rates can be specified in very small gradations to allow you to set static sag correctly. If you need the contact details of a spring maker I can supply that.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I'm guessing the OP is trying to get a "half" value between two available rates?

Getting custon springs seems more complicated than fitting one of one size and one of the other. The legs are already asymmetric by virtue of the fact one does compression and one does rebound. Its not like you're gonna anger the suspension gods by making the legs different. They're already different.

But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if the makes have finer steps available than first advertised. Do that if you can.

[MingtheMerciless]

Its not like you're gonna anger the suspension gods by making the legs different. They're already different.

Screenshot 2022-01-11 at 09.36.10.png (1.4 MiB) Viewed 301 times

[KungFooBob]

Who needs suspension, just get tyres with higher sidewalls.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Who needs suspension, just get tyres with higher sidewalls.

S'all in the knees.

[singlesman]

Surely you set the ‘sag’ with the damping adjusters backed right off? So the damping side of things is completely separate from spring rate at the point of measuring sag.
I stand to be corrected, but know with my old speed triple the only way to get the standard forks working a little better was to put in springs for the correct sag, then thin oil in the compression side and heavier oil in the rebound.
Using miss- matched springs wouldn’t have felt right, but maybe I’m missing something?

[Mr. Dazzle]

Surely you set the ‘sag’ with the damping adjusters backed right off? So the damping side of things is completely separate from spring rate at the point of measuring sag.
I stand to be corrected, but know with my old speed triple the only way to get the standard forks working a little better was to put in springs for the correct sag, then thin oil in the compression side and heavier oil in the rebound.
Using miss- matched springs wouldn’t have felt right, but maybe I’m missing something?

I think the OP is talking about something different. If I understand, they're trying to achieve a spring rate which is between two available types of spring.

We usually talk in terms of a "10kg/mm" spring or whatever, but of course there are generally two in the forks. So the total rate is actually two times what you put in the forks (springs in parallel just add up). Two 10kg/mm springs give a total of 20kg/mm and so on. Say you went down to 9kg/mm springs, you're total would then be 18kg/mm. If you wanted a total of 19kg/mm you'd need a 9.5kg/mm spring in each leg - but maybe 'they' don't make 9.5kg/mm springs. So you just put a 10 in one leg an a 9 in the other. S'not as uncommon as you might think.

They probably do make 9.5s though!

[Demannu]

Who said you need different springs ?

I did

Hmm.

Surprisingly for someone on here, I DO actually know what I'm doing re: suspension
I'm just quite fussy, 9.5 is just a little too soft, hard on the brakes, so upping 1 leg to 10 to hopefully get it just right without going too firm!

[mangocrazy]

I'm guessing the OP is trying to get a "half" value between two available rates?

Getting custon springs seems more complicated than fitting one of one size and one of the other. The legs are already asymmetric by virtue of the fact one does compression and one does rebound. Its not like you're gonna anger the suspension gods by making the legs different. They're already different.

But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if the makes have finer steps available than first advertised. Do that if you can.

My point is that if you go to a spring maker you can specify the exact rate you want, to fractions of a kg/mm, lb/inch or N/mm. There is no need to use different rates in each leg to try and arrive at a median setting. It really is just making life diffficult and being imprecise when you don't need to be.

And the damping in both legs of the fork (be they compression or rebound) is predicated on the assumption that the spring rate is the same in each leg. OK, it's not going to be a mile out doing it the way the OP is thinking of, but it's not ideal.