I have a 2020 SuperCaliber 9.7 that I got in Dec 2021… I race in Cat 2/Sport in my age bracket.
I bought the bike thinking it would be a huge improvement over my 2020 Kona Hei Hei 29er. (which I raced last year). Mid way through the season that hasn’t seemed to be the case yet.
I lost about 10 lbs, feel more fit… but seem to struggle on technical trails (race in NE USA, states PA, MD, NJ, DE). Tech riding is typically strong suit, but I find the super cal ‘bouncy’ at times, especially if I am not just ripping through stuff.
I setup my suspension and tire air pressure based on Trek susp calculator, and did some test loops adjusting rebound up/down to my preference.
I am 185lb, 5’9 riding a L frame,
front tire 21 psi(XR2)… front shock @ 117 psi (15% sag), 9 clicks out on rebound, full comp.
rear tire 24 psi.(XR4). rear shock @ 160 psi (13.3% sag) 5 clicks out on rebound, full comp.
Anyone find the need to retune the bike susp for the style of course you are riding? Or any similar experiences. I feel at times I am fighting the bike through tech sections, and can’t solve what’s going on.
I finished 4th in the season last year on the Hei Hei… the super cal was supposed to help me get to the podium. This year I am running 7th at the mid point. It is a more competitive field, and 3rd is still a real possibility… but not if I keep dropping spots in races on lap #2 due to being fatigued from working the bike so much lap #1.
Its a razor sharp bike takes alot of focus and finesse to exploit it. It can bite you when you get tired. And it is more fatiguing.
I weigh what you weigh and i run between 200 and 210psi in the shock with small spacer and alot of rebound damping. Just a couple clicks from closed. That gets me 6.Xmm in sag. (160 got you 13.3%?)
How long is your stem? What angle and how many spacers.
Unless youre racing enduro type trails the bike shouldnt put you 5 places back compared to a 2 or 3 pound heavier and less efficient hei hei.
I don’t have a SuperCaliber, but if the bike feels too “bouncy”, with the sag set at 15% and 13%, what’s the harm in setting more sag (say 20% on both) and riding it for a few weeks to test? Or maybe adjusting the rebound to be slower in both front and back?
I’m surprised at the sag percentage - it seems low. I’m not familiar with how the rebound settings work, but your description of “too bouncy” sounds either like “not enough sag” or “rebound is too fast for the trails you’re riding”…
Suspension set up can be tricky and will heavily depend on the course, rider and tire set up too.
I pulled up my notes as to what I’m currently running. I was out in Leadville a little over a week ago on the Supercaliber and made a few adjustment. The Leadville LT100 course is pretty rocky in sections, so this is where I focus on tuning the suspension to. On the flats I just lock it out a lot of the time.
I’m at about 154lb right now plus gear.
In my SID Ultimate up front I’m running two tokens, 95 psi and rebound 13 clicks from slow.
Rear - No spacers. 145 psi, Rebound 6 clicks from slow; Looking at @FactoryMatt numbers, his suspension setup in the rear is likely a fair bit firmer than mine with the spacer and higher PSI. I do tend to lock out when out of the saddle.
I’m running either 2.2 Race King Rear and 2.35 Schwalbe Racing Ray with TuboLight inserts. In Leadville I ran 16psi front, 17 psi rear.
Since getting the Supercaliber, I’ve taken the spacers out from under my stem, but by Enve stem still has some rise. I’ve found the bike handles better in a more aggressive position and it also helps me get a little more aero for the longer endurance races.
@wake … I am in MASS too… How did you like Sizzler yesterday?
Granted not even close to as technical as say bear/french creek, but those roots yesterday really threw me off line a ton… and who knew that only 525 ft of vertical climb over two laps could wear you out so much… but those suckers were steep!
I’ll try maybe more sag, I didn’t want too much in front or rear since it is a shorter travel bike. I did a bunch of test runs with different rebound settings to dial in where I am at now… felt good that day… not so much yesterday. Thanks for the feedback.
@Kuttermax thanks for the info… I think I have just the stock (small) spacer in the rear… given our weights, shock pressures seem in line… I’ll check factoryMatt numbers and see. New to group and haven’t read the whole thread.
Loving the super-cal on my training rides, it just hasn’t been translating to better race performance for me yet.
I skipped it, because I’m doing the marathon events. I’m racing Granogue on Saturday though, so I’ll get plenty of activity in the heat.
I just have to say, if you have 13% sag on the rear with 60mm travel, that’s like 8mm sag. I have 20% on 115mm on the rear, which works out to 23mm sag. Not saying sag is everything, and certainly my Blur TR is pretty cushy for these courses, but you could probably do with a little more room on the suspension.
(Also, my races are 4 hours plus finishing the lap. A little different than yours).
@FactoryMatt the bike is a 9.7, all stock other than me swapping my slashed X2 rear for an X4… so thinking the stem is the 80mm. For spacers… I’ll attach a picture.
I have about 8mm of sag on the rear shock @ 160psi. and came stock with small spacer and it’s still in… Trek susp. calculator said about 8mm and 155psi, I had to go a bit higher. sound right?
Oh… and I am racing XC, but there are some decent technical courses. Yesterday’s was just roots probably 1"-3" high, and at times in typical ‘rhythm strips’…
I took 7th in class… was in 5th or so and started dropping due to fatigue/handling challenges… was back at 9th and had some good fortune due to other guys bad fortune (mechanical for one, cramps for the other) and redeemed myself back up to 7th in the last mile of the race.
Why run the grippier tire with bigger knobs in the rear, and faster rolling tire up front? I’d think you’d have greater handling confidence with the tires reversed.
I tore the rear XR2 on a sharp rock… replaced to a beefier tire… but yes, I agree with you that would make better sense to have it up front.
I may have some bad form contributing too… I am typically very hard on rear tires. My early tear of the XR2 (under 150 mil bike) may have been related to form, (certainly line choice), or other setup issues, at that point I hadn’t even tuned the shock for my weight or ride style… just took it off the floor and even as a multi-decade seasoned rider, was at the time a bit oblivious to the fine tuning of suspension. But have learned a lot recently.
In my short time (7 mon) on this bike… it seems very important on a shorter travel bike to get suspension right
re shock: i wonder if your bushings are sticking, and mudding up the sag numbers. I had a really tight bushing out of the box that i had to burnish.
has the shock be relubed in the last 50 hours? that can make a big difference in suppleness. lube and bushing stiction.
see this thread toward the bottom:
re tires: Xr4 is a very slow tire. I would try a vittoria tnt or pirelli prowall (same casing) xc tire. Not good on wet roots but much lower rr while still durable.
Maybe try 180-190psi and maybe slightly lower stem. Not saying either is the answer but just something to try.
Also maybe try 31.8 bars. Maybe something with sweep like syntace or sqlab. Might help with fatigue.
@olafSC I’ll be interested in your opinion on Granogue. From last year, my feeling is that the technical sections are pretty technical, and that there are several of them. It doesn’t feel like an old-school XC course to me, but I don’t have a lot to compare it to…
@olafSC if it matters, I’m running Maxxis Rekons front and rear. I tore my Ardent Race at Fair Hill (April race) after only 12 hours total of riding, and was so frustrating I just bought a relatively heavy duty tire to get me through the season (I think mine is the EXO+ casing or something).
I’m hoping to Up my skills game this season and maybe run Rekon Races next year, we’ll see…
I rode the Rewind in fall 2020 on a steel hardtail (the mud fest if you were there)… and then both escape and rewind on my Hei Hei last year. It is technical for sure. But Frech Creek and Bear Creek are the most tech in my opinion.
I am curious to see how the superCal handles Granogue. The gorge is always sketchy, and full of dabbing or walking… but some of the tech climbs, and features like devils backbone, tunnel… etc… I think the supercaliber will handle well…
We’ll see… really hoping to hit my stride this year. I’ve been having a rough go so far. I wrecked at Neshaminy and gooned up the bike a bit and needed stitches, with mild concussion too.
Sizzler was my first race getting back so some of my struggles may have been confidence related given the course was rooted and slick too… not the best confidence builder after a wreck in the deluge of Neshaminy.
Thank you… you too… I’ll be in the kit I have on in my profile picture… since I race cat 2, I’ll only overlap an hour with you on the course, but maybe I’ll see you milling around after for the podiums.
I am racing a supercaliber and despite setting the suspension to the guides I am bottoming out the rear a lot. I am light and easy on the equipment and raced a hardtail for years. So not a 120mm smasher. 60mm travel is just too small of a range to setup ideally. I can see people breaking these a lot.
Otherwise it is a fast bike and can definitely replace a hardtail. It adds weight but is faster everywhere except purest of climbing races.
I took it out yesterday on a local two lap race course that I rode my Hei Hei on just last week. It is a 7 mile lap with 1130 vertical per lap… and one I know well. I tried to stay HR zone 2 on the Hei Hei as it was the day before my race. So, on the SuperCal I tried staying zone 2 for comparison.
I found I went a bit harder than that on the SuperCal lap 1 and probably wasn’t as fresh…
Lap 1
superCal 57:26 avg HR 154, 157w avg…
Hei Hei 59:36 avg HR 148, 154w avg
Lap 2
superCal 1:00:31 avg HR 159, 147w avg…
Hei Hei 59:01 avg HR 152, 157w avg
HR data
SuperCal Z1-0.2%, Z2-9.6%, Z3-72.3%, Z4-17.9%,
Hei Hei - Z1-0.3%,Z2-32.7%,Z3-64.3%,Z4-2.6%
So rode a good bit harder, and was likely a bit more fatigued to start… 40 sec faster overall but a really poor 2nd lap.
I made some shock/tire pressure adjustments after and plan on re-riding today. It’s not an overly tech course, but just didn’t seem to have the ability to keep pace that second lap and I do feel I have to ‘fight’ the bike through tech, and just didn’t have that fight left on that second lap… which is typical when I ride the supercal.
Maybe I need to just work fitness on that bike, or take a bit off my effort in lap 1… with a goal of turning similar lap times.
I race this Sat… and plan on today being my last ride of the week so I am rested. My mtb ride the day before certainly impacted my performance too.
