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SAM BENEDICT: Welcome to SBCU.
Today we're going to talk about the Brain shock.
One of the most unique and exciting developments that
we've had in suspension the last decade, the Brain is
totally different than every shock out there on the market,
because it can tell the difference between the bumps
coming up from the ground and the rider moving around on top
without any buttons or knobs needing to be touched.
What this adds up to is the rider doesn't have to think
about the suspension while you're riding your bike.
All you have to worry about is going as fast as possible.
The Brain shock can be broken down into three parts.
There's the air canister, there's the Brain hose, and
then there's the actual Brain itself.
And these three pieces, all of them are absolutely vital to
how the bike works with the actual shock.
So let's get into how the inertia valve works, how the
tune of the shocks are different per bike, and then
how to actually set up the shocks for your ride.
So when you look at the inside of a Brain, you'll notice that
there's a lot of stuff going on here.
The Brain itself actually has all of the compression
circuits, so your high, your mid, and your low-speed
compression.
So it is a highly-tuned, well-performing shock.
But what's truly unique about it is the brass
mass inertia valve.
And this is what separates the Brain from
everything else out there.
And the whole concept, again, is that we want to
differentiate between bumps coming on the top--
this is the rider--
and actual bumps on the ground.
So what happens, when of the rider is bouncing around on
top, this brass mass stays in place.
It doesn't allow oil to flow, so the bike stays very firm
and planted.
This gives you a firm platform so you can accelerate as hard
as you want and give you that good hardtail-like feel that
gets you up to speed.
The next part that comes in is that when you hit a bump from
the bottom the inertia valve opens up immediately,
instantaneously and allows oil to flow so the suspension is
allowed to work.
You don't have to press any buttons or
give any verbal commands.
This just happens automatically
every single bump.
So rider on the top, it keeps it nice and firm.
You hit a bump from the bottom, the Brain activate,
allows the oil to flow.
And as soon as that bump is gone, the Brain snaps back
closed, and you're back to firm and mode.
So truly unique.
You never have to touch any buttons.
It just is always working, always attached to your bike.
Over the years, we've developed different
tunes on the Brain.
There are different styles of riders out there.
You have your XC racers, you have your marathon-style guys,
an even your trail riders that can benefit from a shock that
does the thinking for you.
So we built different tunes for the Brain out there.
Now the Epic World Cup is our most aggressive bike.
That is a bike that you're like, I want to freaking fly.
You're going to be hammering on this bike, so the tune is
the most aggressive.
It is the most firm tune when you're
peddling on smooth ground.
Now when you go into a standard style Epic, like a
marathon style bike, the concept of the
Brain does not change.
The inertia valve, everything is the same, except for the
tune is a little bit lighter.
We want the bumps to activate it a little bit easier and
allow more momentum to carry.
It's less about really hard accelerations in marathon and
a long time in the saddle.
So you still want that firm platform, but not as firm as
the World Cup.
So when you get into a trail bike, say like a Stump Jumper
FSR, now the needs of the rider are different.
We have an equal focus on climbing and descending, and
we don't need as firm of a tune on the bike.
We want the bike to be a little bit more active.
So again, the concept of the Brain stays the same, but we
lighten the tune up a little bit for that trail experience.
All right.
The last part that we want to talk about is actually setting
up your Brain shock, and there's two parts to that.
The first part, probably the most important part, is
setting sag on your shock.
And the second part is how you want to tune your Brain fade,
which is this blue valve on top of the shock.
All Brain shocks come with autosag.
This is a proprietary and specialized technology.
It's quick, easy, and, guys, it is correct
every single time.
It's the best way to set up your shock.
So there's four steps.
You inflate the shock, sit on top of the bike, depress the
autosag valve, and then you cycle your bike after you've
let go of the autosag button.
You're good to go.
Any bike that is a 2013 or newer, you're going to have
autosag on every single one of those Brain shocks.
So nice, easy, quick correct way to set up your bike.
The older bikes, you're going to have refer to your owner's
manual, make sure you get the proper sag range, and you put
in the proper pressure for your riding weight.
But make sure you get your sag dialed.
Dialing in a Brain shock verses a non-Brain shock, the
sag works the same way.
You still need a x amount of percentage of sag into your
shock to get that set up properly.
So nice and easy to set that up.
The second part is how you want your bike to ride when
we're on smooth terrain.
And that's what this Brain fade does.
This will set up how firm or soft your suspension is on
smooth terrain, and that's a key point.
Once you hit a bump, the inertia valve opens up, and
this blue valve doesn't play a role in how the suspension is.
This is only how firm or soft you want your suspension on
smooth terrain.
So if you want your bike to be really firm, better for those
hard accelerations, you're going to want to turn this
valve clockwise and firm your shock up.
If you want a little bit more kind of cushiony ride, you
want to be able to bounce around on
the top, that's great.
You can go ahead and turn this counterclockwise, open up the
Brain fade a little bit, and you're going to get a little
bit more squish out of your bike.
There isn't really a better or a worse way to do it.
It's just your preference, whatever feels better for you.
Again, once you hit the bumps, the Brain is going to work the
same way, and you're still going to have that active
control that you want.
So make sure you get your sag set up right, and then get
your Brain fade set wherever is going to make you happiest.