Air Spring - Is a contained column of air inside a compressible container such asc a bellow or sleeve. They can be used as a primary suspension spring or a secondary component inside a coil AVA (Air Volume Adjuster) - The compression ratio of an air-spring system is the formula used to compare the starting air volume of the air spring (at full extension) to the ending air volume (shock at full bottom out). This ratio between the two volumes determines the rate at which the air spring builds or, as it's sometimes called, the slope of the spring curve. With typical air shocks on the market today, the compression ratio of the air spring is fixed, thus predetermining the characteristic of the spring curve. The consumer can adjust the air pressure of the shock but that adjustment only moves the spring curve up and down in rate. The AVA system is a feature that allows the end user the ability to fine-tune the progressivity of the spring curve in conjunction with the air pressure adjustment to best optimize suspension performance for their specific set of circumstances. The AVA system is not intended as an "on the fly" adjustment but rather a set-up tool for the consumer Chrome Silicon Steel - The primary alloy steel wire used for the manufacturing of coil springs commonly referred to as ASTM A 401. The material gets its name due to the fact that it has high levels of Chromium, Silicon as well as Carbon. In most applications and spring wire diameters the Tensile strength will exceed 235,000 Psi. Chrome Silicon Steel is ideal for cyclic compression spring applications and has a better fatigue life than Chrome Vanadium. CLS (Coil Lubrication System) - Internal oil lubrication is key in creating the most active and lowest friction suspension fork. Bushings, Main Seals and Coil springs need to be lubricated for optimum low-friction performance. All coil springs inside suspension forks buckle during compression and create friction against the inside of the upper tube. CLS, Coil Lubrication System, goes one-step beyond by automatically lubricating all key parts during every compression stroke of the fork. CLS consists of creating passageways on many of the internal parts and pumping oil to the key parts where friction is present. Coil Spring - Consist of a metal wire formed into a coil that can store energy when compressed and releases energy as the load is taken off. Compression Damping - The damping circuit that absorbs the energy of compression forces on the damper. Damper - A fluid chamber with a means of regulating the fluid flow to restrain the speed of the moving end of the damper during the compression or rebound strokes. A set of forks and a rear shock are considered dampers. Damper Speed - The relative speed in which the moving end of a damper compresses or rebounds. Damping - The process of absorbing the energy of impacts transmitted through the forks or rear shock on the compression stroke, and the process of absorbing the energy of the spring on the rebound stroke. Damping Circuits - There are normally four damping circuits which affect the damper's speed. There is both a low and high speed circuit for the compression and rebound strokes. Hard Anodize - A dense wear-resistant anodic surface coating on Aluminum parts that has 50% buildup and 50% penetration into the material. In general, hard anodizing is applied following the military specification MIL-A-8625 Type III, Class 1 for non-dyed, or Class 2 for dyed applications. All Hard Anodized FOX products have proprietary post surface treatments that provide ultra low friction and wear to the mating components. HSC - High Speed Compression damping is the damping circuit in the shock absorber or suspension fork that is tuned to provide suspension travel control at high speed over square edged bumps. All Fox products are HSC tuned by extensive lab and field testing. Too low of HSC damping will cause excessive bottoming out in rough terrain. Too high of HSC damping will minimize suspension travel in rough terrain and cause loss of traction. Lock Out Blowoff Threshold - This is the force required to move the fork or rear shock when in Compression Lock-Out mode. (This threshold is adjustable on FOX FORX RLC models) LSC - Low Speed Compression damping is the damping circuit in the shock absorber or suspension fork that is tuned to provide suspension travel control at low damper speed conditions. All Fox products are LSC tuned by extensive lab and field testing. Too low of LSC damping will cause the excessive travel use, brake dive and wallowing of the bike on small bump terrain. Too high of LSC damping will cause loss of traction on small bump terrain. Magnesium - An excellent lightweight material that can be machined from billet or die-cast. A Magnesium die-cast lower leg is the best manufacturing method and material to satisfy the structural and precision machine requirements on a suspension fork. Magnesium has excellent vibration damping characteristics and is 34% lighter than aluminum and 77% lighter than steel. Negative Spring - A negative spring is oriented in such a way that it tends to compress, rather than extend a suspension shock or fork. A properly tuned negative spring provides an opposing force equal to the seal drag which eliminates the feeling of friction in an air spring system. Negative springs can be a separate air chamber or a small coil spring. At FOX Racing Shox we have a unique way of charging the negative air chamber in the FLOAT rear shocks and the FOX FORX TALAS system. A transfer port allows air to pass from the positive air chamber to the negative chamber at the beginning of each movement of the shaft stroke. This Patented transfer port system automatically balances the pressure for the perfect negative spring for any pressure setting. Nitrogen - An inert gas used to pressurize the Internal Floating Piston (IFP) or Bladder system in a gas charge shock damper. Note: Air is about 75% Nitrogen. Packing - A term used to describe the ride characteristics of a rear shock or fork that has too slow of a rebound setting. A damper with to slow of a rebound setting will stay compressed after hitting one bump and cannot rebound quickly enough to absorb the impact of the second or third bump. The solution is to adjust the rebound to a faster setting. Preload - Preload is applied to the fork and shock springs in order to bring the bike to the proper sag dimension. Adjusting preload to the proper sag dimension insures traction as wheel load gets light and drops into bumpy holed sections of terrain. PSC (Precision Steering Control) -The lower leg and steerer-crown-upper tube assembly make up the chassis of a suspension fork. The design of these parts determines the rigidity, steering precision and stability of a suspension fork. A rigid, stable, chassis slides easier under high bump and braking loads because the bushings are not binding onto the upper tubes. The super-lightweight forks on the market today spend as much time bending fore and aft as they do cycling up and down when negotiating high speed bumps. PSC, Precision Steering Control, is a chassis design in which the geometry and engineering created by FOX has developed the best 'stiffness to weight' ratio suspension fork on the market. Rebound Damping - The damping circuit that effects the stored energy release of the compressed spring in order to reduce the rebounding speed of the damper. Sag - This term refers to number of millimeters that the forks or shock sag with the rider on the bike in full riding gear. This is essential to proper suspension tuning but is often overlooked or adjusted incorrectly. SDC (Shimmed Damping Control) - SDC is the damper system used in all FOX Forx models. Both compression and rebound oil flows through independent sophisticated multistage blended circuits to maximize suspension control. The sophisticated circuits automatically give you the correct amount of damping for any given shaft speed. Damping - The process of absorbing the energy of impacts transmitted through the forks or rear shock on the compression stroke, and the process of absorbing the energy of the spring on the rebound stroke. Shims - A thin, steel, round, flat washer used to exert resistance on the oil flow through a piston. A series of shims (valve stack or valving) with varying outer diameters and thicknesses are arranged in sequence to provide a damping effect. Shot Peening - Shot peening is a manufacturing process in which small steel balls are blown with com-pressed air against a metallic part to stress-relieve the external surface of a part. Shot peening dramatically increases the fatigue life of highly stressed parts. Fox rear shock and fork springs are shot-peened in order to ensure long life of the spring. SLT (Scraper Lip Technology) Oil Seals - Patented scraper lip technology excludes outside dirt and retains internal fork oil. The rubber in the seal is specially compounded for extremely low friction and wear. Spring Curve - A spring curve is a graph of Force [y-axis] versus Travel [x-axis] measured during compressing a spring system. Spring Rate - Spring rate is described by force, in pounds or kilograms, needed to compress the spring one inch or centimeter. Stiction - A combination of the words static and friction. This word is used to describe the tension exerted on the moving damper parts by the stationary parts like the bushings, seals, and wipers. Low stiction is desirable because it has less of an effect on the damping TALAS (Travel Adjustable Linear Air Spring) is an external travel adjustment system that offers the end user more versatility from a single bike design. The TALAS system offers the ability to choose different lengths for a shock or fork, making significant changes to the overall bike geometry. These changes in geometry can be used to optimize the bike's performance for the requirements of specific terrain. Shocks and forks equipped with the TALAS system can be adjusted "on the fly" by simply adjusting the travel knob, then cycling the shock through a half inch of it's travel. Done! The shock/fork is now set at the new length but also, as importantly; the TALAS system has adjusted the spring rate for the new length and travel. This automatic adjustment to the spring system ensures a consistent ride performance from the bike in all settings. The TALAS system optimizes the bikes performance through geometry changes and maintains a consistent bump performance through the different settings. Titanium - A material with a high strength to weight ratio, that when alloyed (combined) with other Elements can provide the required functional properties for such parts as springs, shafts and fasteners. It is one of the most abundant material elements on earth, but due to the stringent manufacturing standards and high processing costs, the raw material is quite expensive. Unlike steel, and similar to aluminum, Titanium has a finite fatigue life. Density: .162 Lb/Cu-In, Melting Point 3100 Deg Unsprung/Sprung Weight - The unsprung weight of the bicycle are parts like the wheels, brakes,swingarm and suspension linkage, and the lower front fork legs. The sprung weight is all the parts of the bicycle that are supported by the suspension. Valves - A term that refers to a series of shims either for the compression or the rebound damping. Viscosity - A rating system for oils that measures the oil's flow rate through a fixed orifice at a certain temperature. Also known as the oil's weight. Example: SAE 7 Wt. Viscosity Index - The flow rate characteristic of the oil over a range of temperatures. The VI rating of anoil is directly linked to the oil's transmissibility. FOX High Performance Synthetic Suspension Fluid has a very high VI # of 300.Valves - A term that refers to a series of shims either for the compression or the rebound damping. |
