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Suspension Tech: Does a change in altitude affect air suspension performance?

Cane Creek explains how ambient air pressure and altitude affect your air fork and shock suspension performance on a mountain bike
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We hear stories about riders burping air around the seals of their forks when they get to the top of the mountain. Or pros who are so in tune with their bikes that they can detect changes in suspension performance from the start of their downhill or enduro run at the top to the finish at the bottom. But are air forks and shocks really susceptible to performance changes from the top of the mountain to the bottom?

Here to answer the question “Do changes in altitude or outside air pressure affect mountain bike suspension performance?” are Andrew Slowey at Cane Creek and Bill Brown, FOX Bicycle Engineering Manager. Both chimed in to explain why it probably doesn’t matter as much as you think. So, apologies in advance, but you now have one less excuse for a lousy run…

BIKERUMOR: How does a change in altitude or ambient air pressure affect suspension performance?

CANE CREEK: Since your suspension is a sealed system constructed of rigid materials, change in altitude has a negligible effect on suspension performance. The differences in relative pressure is so marginal that “most riders” will find it unnoticeable in their suspension.

FOX: At sea level, all objects have 1 atm (or 14.696 psi) of pressure acting on them, as measured on an absolute scale. When you pressurize an air shock to 200 psi, what you’re really reading is gauge pressure which is a pressure differential; the pressure difference between ambient pressure and pressure inside the shock. On an absolute scale, if you were at sea level, the pressure inside the shock is 214.696 psi and the pressure outside the shock is 14.696 psi, a difference of 200 psi. As you go up in altitude this ambient pressure decreases. Going from sea level to an elevation of 10,000 feet reduces the ambient pressure to 10.196 psi, a reduction of 4.5 psi. The gauge pressure in the shock is now 204.5 psi, which is 214.696 – 10.196. It’s actually a bit more complicated than this, but (it’s hard to explain) without illustrations.

Eds’ note: Going to Wikipedia to clarify pressure measurement terminology never hurts.

CANE CREEK: It is important to note that your tire pressures can vary with altitude changes (due to the dynamic construction of tires). A change in your tire pressure will affect the handling and performance of not only the bike but how forces are translated into your suspension.

fox explains how ambient air pressure and altitude affect your air fork and shock suspension performance on a mountain bike
Richie Rude descends toward the ocean to win another EWS race – Photo c. Fox Racing Shox

BIKERUMOR: How much of a change in pressure does it take for the average rider to notice a change in suspension performance?

CANE CREEK: The difference in ambient pressure between sea level and 10,000ft is roughly 5psi. The pressure difference is only effective on the area of the damper tube. So if a 1.26″ damper tube has an area of 1.246 in², the 5psi difference would only net 6lbs of difference between sea level and 10,000ft.

FOX: It depends on several factors – fork or shock? Air piston diameter (32mm, 34mm, 36mm, 40mm)? I think the average rider would have difficulty picking up 5psi gauge pressure change in a shock – I think 10psi become noticeable to the average rider. I think the average rider would notice a 5psi pressure change in their fork.

BIKERUMOR: Can you illustrate the answer to question #2 with numbers? As in, if you ascended/descended “X” feet, the air pressure inside your shock would feel “Y” higher/lower

CANE CREEK: If you start your ride at sea level (ambient air pressure is about 14.5 psi at 0 ft of elevation) with 200 psig (gauge) inside your shock, the absolute pressure in your shock is 214.5 psia (absolute).

Now let’s say your ride all the way up to 10,000 ft of elevation (where ambient air pressure is about 10psi), your shock still has 214.5 psia sealed inside, but now the relative pressure acting on the shock is 204.5 psig (which is what would be measured in you put the gauge back on your shock at the higher elevation.)

So this means that the difference in relative pressure between sea level and 10,000ft will be so small over the span of your ride it will be undetectable by “almost” all riders and their suspension components.

how do ambient air pressure and altitude affect your mountain bike air fork and shock suspension performance
Yours truly after climbing from town up to almost 13,000ft during the 2010 Breck Epic. Trust me, the suspension wasn’t what was slowing me down. Obviously it was those 26″ wheels.

BIKERUMOR: How does that equate to real world situations? As in, would doing a big climb that’s 800 feet of vertical elevation change impact the suspension? Or 3,000 feet? More?

FOX: I think you’d have to climb about 15,000 feet to make a noticeable difference in shock performance – some of this has to do with the fact that the shock force is leveraged at the rear axle. I think climbing 5,000 feet would result in a noticeable change in fork performance; more so because of pressure build up in the lower leg than change in gauge pressure of the air spring.

CANE CREEK: Unless the temperature changes drastically, the rider would not feel any differences at those elevations related to suspension performance or setup.

BIKERUMOR: Are there other ways, tools or designs that allow the user to adjust the suspension (ie. pressure relief ports, blow off valves, creating a gap in the seals, etc.)? Are there different solutions for forks versus shocks?

FOX: Forks have a trapped air volume that shocks do not – the air volume trapped inside the lower leg. This volume is subjected to pressure changes as well. Imagine you build your fork at sea level and trap ambient pressure of 14.696 psi inside the lower leg. At sea level you have 0 psi gauge pressure inside the lower leg. Then, you go to 10,000 feet where the ambient pressure is 10.196 psi. You now have 4.5 psi of gauge pressure inside your lower leg. This gauge pressure is acting on the area of the stanchion and creates a spring force as the fork is compressed. Forks with bleeders allow the user to equalize the pressure in the lower leg with ambient pressure and bring the gauge pressure in the lower leg back to 0 psi.

Editor’s note: This point is important for folks living at altitude. Many major brands’ suspension forks are assembled at or near sea level. So, when it arrives at your door, the lowers may be somewhat pressurized. We’ve heard of (but aren’t necessarily recommending) riders slipping something between the stanchion and the seal (like the end of a small zip tie) to release internal pressure.

why doesnt ambient air pressure or altitude changes affect mountain bike air suspension performance
Greg Callaghan also descends pretty quickly at Enduro World Series races, this time dropping down the Spanish Pyrenees – Photo c. Fox Racing Shox

BIKERUMOR: Does cycling the suspension through its travel adapt it to any changes in ambient air pressure? Or do you need to do something else to adjust?

FOX: Cycling (the suspension) will not change the gauge pressure because the air spring is a closed system.

CANE CREEK: Since your suspension is a sealed system, cycling it through its travel does not adapt it to any external pressure changes. But rather (in most designs) equalizes the internal pressure between the positive and negative chambers.

BIKERUMOR: Anything else related to changes in ambient air pressure that can affect suspension performance that riders should know about?

CANE CREEK: No, ambient pressures are minuscule enough that other factors will play a bigger role in your ride, i.e. trail conditions, body fatigue, heat, and tire setup.


The fun never ends. Stay tuned for a new post each week that explores one small suspension tech, tuning or product topic. Check out past posts here. Got a question you want answered? Email us. Want your brand or product featured? We can do that too.

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17 Comments
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Andrew
Andrew
5 years ago

The representative from Cane Creek needs to review some basic concepts. 200 psig (gauge) is NOT 185.5 psia (absolute). They went the wrong way with their conversion. 200 psig (gauge) is 214.7 psia (absolute), as noted by the Fox representative. Also, as you go to higher altitude, the absolute pressure in your fork would stay the same (since it is a sealed system). It is the gauge pressure which would change. Hopefully the person from Cane Creek just made a simple mistake and doesn’t actually misunderstand these fundamental principles. Not an ideal way to represent your employer though.

Greg
Greg
5 years ago
Reply to  Andrew

First thing I caught when reading the article as well.

samuelthom
5 years ago
Reply to  Andrew

Wow, not inspiring Cane Creek. Neither is the heat building in my shock…

Jason Etter
Jason Etter
5 years ago

I know the answer to this. But a better question is “how does temperature effect damping”? Far, far more people are going to see 50degF temp changes than 10,000ft elevation changes.

JBikes
JBikes
5 years ago
Reply to  Jason Etter

a 50de F temp swing will affect damping and be accompanied by about a 10% change (and this is temp only. Elevation will be additive per the article).

Jason Etter
Jason Etter
5 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

How did you come up with 10%?

JBikes
JBikes
5 years ago
Reply to  Jason Etter

ideal gas law…P2=P1(T2/T1). 50 deg F change is about a 10% change on the Kelvin scale.
Air is not an ideal gas but good enough for the equipment at hand.

Jason Etter
Jason Etter
5 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

I’m talking about damping (oil/fluid/valving), not spring rate/air. 😉

JBikes
JBikes
5 years ago
Reply to  Jason Etter

Yeah…I meant 10% change in air pressure.
Damping? Who knows. But on the internet I’ll confidently say it’s 16.745%…hows that 😉

Jason Etter
Jason Etter
5 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

That’s exactly what I was thinking!!! 🙂

Jason Etter
Jason Etter
5 years ago
Reply to  Jason Etter

That could be a cool article. It would be interesting to hear from the manufacturers on what sort of changes they expect. A few weeks ago I rode when it was 90degF and then two days later when it was 42degF. Holy smokes, the suspension turned into a brick. I really was pretty shocked (pun intended) how dramatic the change was.

gringo
gringo
5 years ago
Reply to  Jason Etter

8-9,000 foot elevation changes are normal here, along with the 20-25 degrees Celsius temp changes. In my experience suspension and tires both feel notably different from top to bottom.

I suspect that most ambitious weekend warriors could feel the difference if presented with similar riding conditions.

kavitator
5 years ago

It is noticebale in tires – when you start at -5ctC and climb on mountain where is +15stC (around 1600m above sea ) – you can feel higher pressure in tires – and when you get out some air in descending back to colder temperatures and on asphalt tires are very soft. Wider snd bigger tires more effect is

JBikes
JBikes
5 years ago
Reply to  kavitator

The effect on wider, lower pressure tires is more noticeable because the change in gauge pressure is greater on a percentage basis. A road tire going starting at 95 psig, will change to 100 psi at 10k ft. A 5% change.
A fat tire at 5 psi will change to 10 psi. A 100% change.

The lower the starting pressure the more pronounced altitude effects are on a percentage basis (and will affect feel/performance more)

Jonas
Jonas
5 years ago

I did a 5,000′ climb with a friend who had a rs pike on his bike. By the top of the climb his fork was 90% locked out. We had a shock pump with us and he readjusted the pressure but it ramped back up within a few minutes of descending. When he took it in for servicing after the trip they couldn’t find anything wrong with the fork. What was happening?

kavitator
5 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Temperature difference?

Jonas
Jonas
5 years ago
Reply to  kavitator

It was a summer day, we started riding in the morning and finished in the late afternoon. At a guess the temperature range might have been 10º C.

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