Suspension Setup: Rebound: spring speed control

Rebound damping allows you to control the speed at which your suspension returns (rebound) after compressing.

Rebound damping is important because:

• If rebound is uncontrolled and too fast, the bike will rebound in a way that can put the rider at risk
• if rebound is too slow the bike will progressively lose travel

In both case the consequence can be a loss of control of the bike. This is the reason suspensions need to provide at least a way to adjust rebound.

If you adjust the suspension stiffness on your MTB, you will generally need to adjust rebound settings as well, because higher pressure or a stiffer spring results in a faster rebound process.

On some high-end suspension components, rebound adjustment is divided into "low-speed" and "high-speed" settings. This isn’t related to your riding speed or impact velocity but rather the amount of travel used. The more travel you use, the higher the counter-pressure from the spring (whether air or coil) and the faster the rebound. Therefore, low-speed rebound adjustment affects rebound speed when using low to moderate travel, while high-speed rebound adjustment affects it when using more extensive travel.