[Bibio]

lets try and get you to understand what the springs actually do. springs come in a weight, the correct weight is determined by the rider and the bike weight. too light a spring and the bike will easily bottom out on its suspension. too heavy a spring and the bike suspension will move less resulting in a harsh ride.

with .85 front springs you are looking at a rider weight of 10-12st (12st being a tad too soft)

preload does not change the weight of the springs. preload only raises and lowers the height of the bike.

"bike" sag settings are the ONLY measurement that matter. you set the bike sag settings and leave it there.

"rider" sag settings are to CHECK the measurements to tell you if the springs are correct for the weight of the bike and rider.

front and rear both have different "bike" sag settings. for road use i would recommand that the rear is set to 10-15mm and the front set to 20-25mm. add another 20-25mm both front and rear for rider sag. when you sit on the bike with your feet up and in your usual riding position in full gear the bike should move closely the same front and back.

set bike sag and leave it.
check rider sag.

there is a whole host of things that are spouted on the net about setting rider sag only.. these people are muppets. i could go into a long list is why its not done that way but the main one is "topping and bottoming" out.

when the "bike" sag settings are done then you need to put a cable tie round the front stanchion as an indicator. after about a week or so longer if you can keep reducing/raising the front preload till you have about 5-7mm of travel left on the front forks.

thats pretty much the basics of setting the sag.

after a few weeks or months you can start to check things like tyre wear to determine how your suspension is copping and what can be altered.