ASK THE MXPERTS: BACKYARD ENGINEERING FOR SHORT PEOPLE

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Dear MXA,
    I am on the short side, very short, and want to make my bike lower. I tried cutting the seat foam, but that was very uncomfortable. Now I am thinking of cutting the shock spring. How much do I cut off to lower the bike by two inches?

Whatever you do, do not cut your shock spring in an attempt to lower your bike. Cutting the spring might well let the shock sag down further, but the spring rate will get so stiff that you will hate it more than your uncomfortable seat. If you cut a 250 psi spring in half you turn it into a 500 psi spring. We are pretty sure that you will not be happy with a very stiff spring. Plus the spring will coil bind and make the experience much worse. Your cheapest options are to slide the forks up in the clamps 15mm and run the shock’s race sag at 110mm. If you are willing to spend money, any suspension company can shorten your shock (with an internal spacer).