How tricky is it to dial in suspension? I got my first full-squish this summer (2021 Polygon Siskiu N9) and I love the way it rides, and the suspension feels amazing except for one thing. I feel like the suspension was tuned for someone about 40-50 pounds lighter than me (I'm a relatively big guy, well over 200 lbs). I couldn't tell you the % sag off the top of my head, but when I hit larger jumps or drops I have to flip my rear lockout to the middle setting (it's a 3-click lockout dial) to avoid bottoming out (which should not be an issue with 160mm of travel F+R lol), plus more annoyingly, pedal strikes have become a much more common issue from riding low.

I currently have no practical knowledge of how to tune suspension except for very basic knowledge of rebound speed adjustment. Does this sound like something remediable, or should I just get used to always riding with my rear suspension half-way locked out?

I don't know that bike or what your shock and fork are. Measuring your sag and knowing what percentage is ideal has been helpful for all the types and brands I've had. I tend to like more plush for fork and more stiff or platform for rear suspension unless that's for really long downhills. For the latter I mean real mountains, ski area downhills, or some places near Lake Superior, Brown County etc.....

Keep in mind at times some more plush really helps you with climbing and braking traction.  Also keep in mind the bike geometry. One of our 2 modern 29r bikes has a lower bottom bracket no matter how you adjust things. A hard tail bike we love has a low bottom bracket. Pedal and crank arm strikes from low bottom brackets is just part of darn fun to ride bikes.

If this is all new, maybe being conscious of pedal position is important too. Know to keep them at 3 and 9 (the clock) and to have an outside pedal down for some turns. Know to ratchet your pedals to get over obstacles or through water.

I haven’t got much feedback on getting together for some trail work, so I may not make it out there until a little later.  I must have just missed you yesterday  Justin,  I was Able to get the rest of the downed tree off the trail in the central area As well as another downed tree on the newer section Of the trail.  I weed whipped the new trails Along the north-East of the area, but didn’t get the entirety of it.

I’ll update here on any work I get done as I’m sure others will too.

Thanks for organizing the trail work on the 19th. Unfortunately I can't make it but I had some free time and I haven't contributed in a long time so I did a little work out there this morning. The trails looked good and there were very few mosquitoes. A few notes:

• I cut down the branch across the blacktop trail and moved it out of the way.
• I cut down the big branch across the trail in the middle of the park. When someone stronger or a group is there they can drag it off the path.
• There was another tree down across the new trail near the national guard fence. I didn't cut this one up because I was out of time.
• If someone wants to do some cutting there is a small yellow bow saw that is always at the park. I last saw it hanging from a tree near the bmx style trail area.
• Of the trails I walked, the old trails just seemed like they needed a few branches trimmed with a loppers. The trails from this year are overgrown already and will need more work.
• If someone could bring a garbage bag there is broken glass on the trail next to the baseball fields. Otherwise not much garbage.
• There is a bicycle parking sign and post next to the trail. I can't help but assume this is stolen. This makes us look bad. If it is stolen and the person who put it there is reading this please put the sign back where you found it.

Redstrong, it's no trouble asking people to do anything, getting them to do it is a whole other issue.  Know that it's a known problem, and we're working on it.

I dunno how desperate ya all might be at keeping volunteers and finding new members.
Here are a couple ideas to run by ya:

Have you guys and gals thought of incentives?
I see that you have giveaways.
Can you do something similar for volunteers and donors?
Maybe like a 10% off coupon for a one time purchase at a bike store for someone who volunteers X amount of times that could be logged.

I dunno if they still do it but organizations would give you things based the size of your donation.
$10 would get you a tote bag.
$25 a T-shirt
Etc etc.
Is Corp able to do something similar if you are not already?

Earlier we discussed a trade off of coaching help for riding on obstacles.
I think it would be great if you did that.

Once someone volunteers are they put on a list then contacted for an upcoming work date?
Or why not send out an email to everyone here on the forum and members with the place and times listed?
You could ask folks to be put on a list and if it's OK to contact them with that info.

I understand that everyone is going to have different schedules and priorities come up and there is also the weather, like last week,(9/6-12/20)  that kept us off the trails.
So do you be informal and flexible such as, "Let us know when you can help," or set something up with dates and times or find a balance between the two?
I get the sense that you don't want to be too pushy and you also don't want to be too flaky. Something in between I guess. 
   

Your summer only membership is good through fall.

If you are an existing year-round member now is the time to renew. Existing year-round members can sign up two weeks earlier to have the best chance at class and program schedules.  New year-round membership starts 9/28. You can get sign up help from the link below.

https://www.blackhawkskiclub.org/news/sign-instructions-new-92820-and-renewing-91420-members

Please respect the membership requirement. Your membership is required for the private land easement next door.