The document provides an overview of setting up an Ohlins TTX22M Coil rear shock on a mountain bike. It describes adjusting the spring rate to achieve the proper sag percentage and then using a "bracketing" technique to iteratively set the rebound, low-speed compression, and high-speed compression dampening settings. The author settled on a 640lb spring rate with 30% sag, 4 clicks from closed on the rebound dial, 6 clicks from closed on the low-speed compression dial, and used the middle high-speed compression setting. This process took around 30 minutes and provided a baseline shock setup that can then be fine-tuned for different track conditions.

1. Stories
ISSUE ONE

2. January is arguably the busiest month for me as the podcast returned for
2 massive episodes, the Tour Down Under came to town, and the [R]evolution
summer issue was getting pieced together. Who needs time for rest anyway
Eh?
The First episode two was with young mechanice Alex Preasant, a young
up and coming mechanic who is working with young up and commer, Jackson
Frew. Alex is a super motivated guy and its so refreshing to meet a guy who
goes after what he wants. We chat about his journey as a mechanic, preparing
for the task of world cup wrenching, how it has lived up to what he expected,
and what he has in stall for 2020. It was amazing to compare his stories and
experience with past guest Aaron Peltari, as they share many similarities.
Episode two with Jon Odams is in the process of getting produced as you
read this. It was awsome to sit down with a rider who has adapted his life and
riding around so many disciplines. We go into how he goes about training, bike
setup, and how he balances family with racing. We even slip in a bit of a chat
about MTBA’s confusing new layout for the National cup.
While moving house I have still managed to tee up some massive inter-
views with Aussies doing rad things overseas. As always I am more than open
for guest suggestions or feed back. Jump on I tunes to review, send me a dm
via insta , or contact me through the site so I can make the podcast as good as
possible.
At the end of March I will be bringing the first series of the Sideline Sto-
ries video series from the National DH champ in Bright Melbourne. Through
interviews with riders/mechanics, as well as raw track side footage I hope to
give you a full immersive experience.
Huge thanks to Craftworks for the continuing support in 2020. Don’t
forget to check out their amazing bikes at craftworkscycles.com. Stoked to
welcome NSDynamics on as another major sponsor for 2020. We will be doing
some rad projects together in the future. Huck The World have been helping me
out with clothing, I absolutely love their stuff. Lastly, thanks to everyone who
has listened, Let’s make 2020 a huge one.

3. After breaking my wrist badly 2 years ago, the search for a comfortable grip has never
been more critical. Over the last 24 months, I have tried almost every grip under the sun.
From mushroom style grips like the ODI longneck, mixed grips like the ODI Elite, and
even some stock Norco things that resemble grips.
While I liked the longneck for its comfort, it allowed too much lateral movement. The Elite
was ergonomic, but I needed more shock absorption for my screwed scaphoid. The stock
Norco grip……. Well, they were terrible. It was Brendan Fairclough who came to the
rescue, by blending Mushroom with knurls and waffles he has created a Michelin
star-worthy recipe.
Coming in soft or hard rubber compounds and in either a thick or thin diameter, there is a
grip that will work for you. There is a “Race” compound which is super soft and grippy;
however, it will wear out a lot fast, more on that later. Taking a hint from BMX the Death
Grips are available in any colour you can think of. From bright pink to camo green, you
would be hard-pressed not to find a colour you like.
After chewing through a set of “race” compound” grips in a week, I decided it might be
better going for the standard soft compound. As per usual, with big hands, girth is essen-
tial, so I settled on the thick sizing. I have always found flanges give me a feeling of secu-
rity, so I made sure I got those as well. After riding these grips for the last six months, it
is honestly going to be hard to go back to anything else. The inner Mushroom gives me
the shock absorption I need for my dicky scaphoid. The smaller diameter knurling pro-
vides the grip with an ergonomic shape, and that thinner diameter paired with the waffle
gives superb grip levels. I have noticed much less arm pump due to my fingers holding on
with less effort. As a gloveless rider, I find the grip to do well in the wet but, I do still
need to throw on gloves occasionally.
The only small downside to these grips is thanks to its internal tapered sleeve. This sleeve
uses compression to “lock” on the outer edge of the grip. I have found this system tends
to leave a substantial amount of grip overhanging the bar, therefore makes the bars 20 or
so millimetres wider. Doesn’t seem like a huge difference but its enough to start touching
trees at the wrong time.
All in all, it is a great grip and one I would recommend for anyone to use. With so many
options to get the right fit and feeling it would be hard to get the wrong one.

4. JUST A TEE?
With a flashback to the nineties, the kit has been getting brighter and
brighter. It was only last year that a few of the FOX athletes were wear-
ing bright pink tees paired with zebra print pants. I don’t know about
you, but I don’t have the skills or speed to meet that level of out-here
clothing. That’s where the Huck The World “Tech tee” comes in!!!
After not knowing much about what a “Tech Tee” was I was a little dubi-
ous to what would arrive in the mail. Was it just going to be a super thin
cotton tee? Was it going to be some weird mix of tissue
paper-thin material and generic “fast dry” mate-
rial? I was stoked when I ripped open the
package to see what looked like a standard
tee. However, the fabric was a soft,
breathable mix of cotton and magic
that was just the right texture.
Whenever you but a Tee it’s
more often than not based on
the overall look. The simplici-
ty of the design is originally
what attracted me to HTW.
Coming from a cultural
background heavily
involved in skate and punk
rock streetwear, colour is
not usually my thing. Having
the classic left breast logo paired
with a giant screaming eagle on the back,
it was love at first sight. After years of sift-
ing through outdoor pyjamas, it was great to
have something that came in black, black, or
black.
So, what does the shirt actually do that’s so differ-
ent? Well firstly, thanks to its open weave, it
breathes a lot better than your regular cotton tee.
It’s not like a paper-thin xc jersey that feels like
you’re riding naked and is going to rip at the thought of
a crash. If it is going to be 40 degrees outside and you are
plan- ning a big one, perhaps go for lighter jersey; however,
this tech tee is suitable in all other situations. I have actually been
wearing this tee at the gym, commuting to work, and everything in be-
tween. It’s the perfect option for a ride finishing at the pub or cafe be-
cause you don’t stick out like a sore thumb. All in all, I have absolutely
loved this piece of kit, so much so that I ordered 4 more.
All tees are available at https://huck-the-world.myshopify.com/.

5. About 3 weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have an Ohlins
TTX22M Coil rear shock rock up on my door. Ever
since I built my ENR, I knew the bike was only as
strong as it's the weakest link. In this case, it was
the VIVID rear shock. While it wasn't a terrible
shock, it just seemed to wallow and lack support
through the stroke. When Aaron from NSD
offered me the Ohlins to try on my bike, I jumped
at the chance.
The review on this shock will be coming later,
but, I thought I would take you through how I
went about setting up this shock. Each one of
the runs described has a rocky section, berms
and a couple of harsh G-Outs. The track is only
a minute long but, allows me to feel what I
need.
Step 1: Because most dampening stems off of
the spring rate, it's essential to get that set
first. The Craftworks loves to sit at 28%-30%
sag and due to my off the bak position, I
settled on a 640lb spring to start with. I am
currently at 30% with two full turns off
preload. I will keep this rate for now because
even though I am running preload, the softer
rate seems to be taking rear grip levels to the
next level.
Step 2: No the spring rate is set with sag as a guide you
can begin setting the dampening up. I like to start with all
the dials set in the middle positions and start by "bracketing"
rebound first. On my first run, I set the rebound to fully open, and
I instantly felt how out of control the rear end can be. The second
run was fully slow, and it didn't take long for the shock to pack down
and feel terrible. The ENR has always seemed to behave nicer on the
faster side of town, so I ended up settling on 4 clicks from closed. The
TTX only has 5 clicks of the rebound; however, each click makes a
significant difference.
Step 3: Next was low-speed compression, run 1 was fully open and run 2
was closed. Fully open resulted in the rear end feeling "floppy", and
there was a total loss of trail feel. Fully closed provided a tonne of
support but, it hindered the TTX from performing correctly, and the ride
felt rough. After liking the support I opened it up 5/20 clicks, and it was
almost right, the support was there, but I was struggling for traction.
Opening it up to 7/20 felt too vague again, so I settled on 6/20/
Step 4: Lastly, I played around with the High-Speed Compression Dial.
The open setting is best for heavy-hitting chunder, the middle setting
stiffens up the rear. It makes the bike more reactive to rider input. This
setting is much better for flow tracks or anything you want more
support. The 3rd setting is basically a pedal platform and works best up
hills.
That's the bracketing technique to find base settings for my shocks. I
never try to understand what the excitement is doing I go by what feels
better to ride. These steps are an excellent way to get a base setting;
however, I will soften the compression in wetter races for more traction
or adjust rebound if I want to play more. There is always room to
improve, but the above will get you set in around 30 minutes.