An integrated and self-contained suspension assembly having a gas spring
integrated with a shock absorber (damper) is described. The rigid gas
cylinder of the air spring is divided into a first gas chamber and a
second gas chamber. A flow port connects the first and second gas
chambers, and can be manually opened or closed by valve and a simple
one-quarter turn rotation of an external knob to instantly switch the gas
spring between two different spring rates. The different spring rates are
functions of the separate or combined volumes of the two gas chambers.
The integrated suspension assembly is compactly packaged and
self-contained, i.e., does not require any externalities, such as gas
sources or electricity, to operate.