Manitou Evolver ISX6 Setup

Dark horse?

X Marks the Shock

Fox, Rockshox... I wanted different, I wanted special, I wanted, well, some suspension made by a company who didn't end with "X"... So I bought a Manitou Evolver. It is not a current model (2010) - the 2012 equivalent is  the Swinger Pro DC which adds a lockout, but is (I believe) internally the same shock.

The Evolver is a large volume air shock, with a lot of adjustability: main air spring, rebound damping, separate high + low compression damping, mildly mysterious volume adjust, and the even more mysterious IFP (so mysterious it only has a three letter acronym), are all separately adjustable.

Don't try this at home.

WTF?

Confused by the adjustments? I was. The manual is crap. It doesn't even tell you what the IFP does! And this shock has a lot of adjustments. After some time scouring the net, I found a few things out about the shock, and how to set it up. If you don't own one, sorry  - this post probably won't be that interesting... if you do, read on.

Demystified

The mystery acronym IFP stands for Internal Floating Piston (and refers to the piggyback chamber). It controls the overall compression curve for the shock. More pressure = more compression damping (sort of).


The IFP needs inflating to at least 50psi, preferably a bit more. Any less and the shock oil can blow past the piston in the piggyback, drawing air into the oil, ruining the shock's performance and you will then need a rebuild & service. Max IFP pressure is 175psi.


The low & high speed compression adjusters need to be fully open when you change the IFP pressure. Otherwise restricted oil flow stops the pressure from settling properly.

The following short setup guide is great help and I've shamelessly copied it from the mtbr forums:

1. the IFP pressure has nothing to do with your weight! pressure up the IFP (set the IFP volume back to 1) with minimum 65 psi.
2. set both compression damping knobs counterclockwise to minus (- = full opened = minimum damping compression), and rebound counter clockwise full opened (= fast).
3. now pressure up the main chamber with about 25% SAG.
4. then search some long and steep (let's say, about 1,5-2 meters high and about 40-45°) stairs.
5. race down the stairs.
6. if the shock bottoms out, increase the pressure of the main chamber step by step with 5 PSI.
7. if the shock don't bottoms out, decrease the pressure of the main chamber step by step with 5 PSI.
8. repeat this procedure, until you can use about 90% of the shocks travel (mine is an 200x56 mm shock, so at 90% i use around 50-51 mm).
9. on such stairs the shock will compress harder than on any trail you will ride.
10. so the 10% rest is now reserved for the big drops.
11. now you have set the main settings.

fine tuning:

1. set the proper rebound for your riding style and comfort.
2. if you feel discomfort with pedal bob, pressure up the IFP step by step, until pedal bob is gone (but maximum 175 PSI).
3. last but not least, try to tune the low compression on roots, and the high compression on drops.

one thing we forgot? what is the 1-4 IFP volume adjuster for? it is for the really, really big jumps. if you need more progression on big jumps for not bottoming out, reduce the IFP volume until you do not bottom out any more. 1 = maximum volume, 4 = quarter volume.