What your fork's clickers actually change
Compression damping works at two kinds of speed. Low speed is the slow movement of the fork: braking, diving into a corner, crawling over rocks. High speed is the fork moving fast on a sharp hit: a square-edged rock, a root, the face of a whoop, a hard landing.
Most shocks let you adjust each one separately, so you can trade whoops hold-up against comfort over roots without changing both. Dirt bike forks have compression and rebound clickers, but no high-speed compression adjuster: the compression clicker works on low speed. How the fork handles sharp, fast hits is set by its internal valving, and changing that means a revalve.
That's why a clicker can't fix valving that's wrong for you. Get the setup right first: springs for your weight, sag, and valving that suits your riding. Then use the clickers to fine-tune.
When one setting isn't enough
Riders run into the limits of a single fork setting in a few common ways:
- One bike, different terrain.A setup that's right for fast desert or sand feels harsh in tight, slow woods and rocks, and vice versa. Many riders set the bike up for the faster terrain and back the clickers off for slow trail.
- The end of a long race. Racers back the clickers off between sections or late in a race to save their hands and arms. Some have the clicker turned all the way soft before the finish, with nothing left to adjust.
- Close, but not quite right. After a revalve the fork is better but still not right in one condition, and the next step is another trip to the tuner.
What riders do about it today
| Option | What it changes | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Clickers | Low-speed compression and rebound, quickly, at the trailhead | No high-speed compression adjustment, so little effect on sharp, fast hits; you can run out of range |
| Revalve | The fork's base character, for your weight and terrain | One setting for all your riding; changing it means opening the fork again |
| A second setup | A different valving or a second fork for different terrain | Costly, and a swap, not an adjustment |
| Aftermarket adjustable kits | Externally adjustable damping | About $1,000 or more, and not on every fork |
Rider reviews of all of these are mixed. A revalve or kit that one rider swears by, another finds no better, often because their weight, pace or terrain is different.
Coming soon: the Tintic Reds ABV
Your shock has high- and low-speed compression adjustment. Now your fork does too. The Tintic Reds ABV adds the high-speed compression adjustment forks have never had, alongside low-speed, adjusted by hand at the top of the fork, no tools.
- Fast desert or whoops? Firm it up.
- Slow technical trail, or tired late in a race? Soften it.
- Setup close but not quite right? Close the last bit yourself, without another revalve.
It launches first on 2024 and newer WP closed-cartridge forks, and it works with the Tintic cone valve or on its own. Join the waitlist to hear first.
For tuners
You set the base valving for the rider's weight and riding. The ABV lets the rider fine-tune the rest on the trail, so “close but not quite right” doesn't have to mean another revalve.