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That's way too much marketing bumpf to read. Is it any good?

Well its been an interesting few weeks of involvement with the cycle industry, the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm used to stuff lasting well, not just failing for no good reason. Shocks in particular. As you know my Monarch Plus failed and after two attempts to get it to work after servicing it at Stoke, I discovered that no parts were available despite the failure being relatively common and seemingly caused by a manufacturing defect or bad design/application. Big fail SRAM and RS. So, I threw myself at the mercy of the local bike agents. My enquiries and follow ups led to offers of second had shocks both at significant cost and/or a downgrade in performance. The local RS agents seemed disinterested. Spesh said I could buy a Monarch for R6k or an Ohlins for R16k. I laughed and put down the phone. So, I went further afield and seemed to be onto a good thing with an appropriate Ohlins replacement. So began a too and fro worthy of a Monty Python skit. Shock arrives and looks great although the bushing needed reduction in width to fit my frame. I fit it and find it is in now way usable. Airspring is toast. I send it back. 3 days later it is returned to me. I look at it more closely and notice it looks a little short. A tape measure confirms its 10mm too short eye to eye and 7mm too little in stroke. My 170mm bike suddenly became a 150mm bike with a 63.3 degree HTA. The next day its lost air from the air spring all on its own. I send pics and messages to the supplier. They initially think I'm bonkers but eventually admit that its actually not the correct shock for my bike. Back it goes and I get a refund, all but the initial courier fees. I lost R110 on the deal but didn't kick up a fuss. Still trying to work out if this was an attempted heist or a genuine error inexplicably made by an experienced industry person. Enter Hairy and his shark like nose for a deal in the Bikehub classifieds. The right shock, in perfect condition says the owner who put a coil on her bike. It has a warranty/service sticker from Specialized on it and apparently the agents provided it as a warranty replacement. Its way less than the first Ohlins and is actually the correct shock for my bike Risky? By now I'm desperate so I pay and pray. It arrived yesterday and was indeed as advertised - good condition and fully functional. After doing some more bushing reduction, this time in my home "workshop" I get it fitted and nervously pump it up with my shock pump. I sit on the bike and twiddle some knobs. Yay, it works. I check the sag manually - no autosag for me, and take it for a short test ride on some of the fastest sections of the Greenbelt. It feels good. Supportive but plush. Maybe even better than the Monarch. The Ohlins approach of offering limited adjustment in a range designed to actually be usable put me off initially but it seems to work. I matched my fastest time on one segment without putting in a big effort and noticed the back wheel tracking the corners better than ever at speed. ( First ride rose tinted specs may be at play here) The only thing I'm not sold on is the absence of a really firm pedaling platform but that said, the firmest setting does work and keeps the bike higher in its travel for steep ups. If this thing can stay reliable I'll be very happy with it I think...

Thanks, I have managed to find a replacement shock - Ohlins, but I would not mind repairing the old one as a back up. How much do you want for your Monarch?

See what you did there!

I have something like that on my HT because the frame's a bit small. So I'd be fine with it but Myles might not be...

I get a happy feeling when I see a MM tread. Going to stick mine on the front of my HT again since its a bit rough and damp out there at the moment...

54 Inch, what size is that, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXL? Genuine question.

Thanks for the offers guys, really appreciate the sense of community around here. The shock is a Spesh proprietary unit 216x57. The shaft is 10mm thick and needs to be the right length. I think there are other differences between the various models too. I got in touch with Robbie Powell and he thinks he may have either the part or a fresh unit off another bike he has swapped out with an Ohlins for a customer. Will find out tomorrow. I've attached a pic of the shock with the air can off. The internals are pristine...The damper shaft is the silver/gray bit. Its threaded where it screws into the top of the shock. The teeny tiny crack is a few mils in from the top of the shaft and visible on the inside.

"Sucks" is what my shock said...

All I know is the bike industry is rapidly pricing itself out of my reach.

I need to vent. I've always had good service from my suspension products. A couple of Fox forks, a RS Reba, a Pike and now a Yari. The only rear shocks I had before the Monarch on my current enduro were Fox and they never gave any hassles whatsoever. Enter the Monarch Plus RCShite ... A 2.5 year old otherwise perfect shock has been rendered useless by a manufacturing or QC issue. A hairline - more like spider web fine crack, formed near the end of the damper shaft where it threads into the head of the shock where the adjusters are. Its almost impossible to see but is enough to cause high pressure oil to vacate the damper while riding, rendering the shock pretty much useless after a few rides. This kind of failure should not happen of course, but on good authority I know this is not uncommon with these shocks. Frustrating enough you'll agree but there's more. RS do not supply spare damper shafts. Nowhere on planet earth in fact. And the warranty has expired. The shock is now only good for spares...my bike is now an ornament. Thank goodness I have a HT to ride while I try and sort this sh#t out.

Buy a better helmet and much cheaper glasses and gloves.

Can't agree with you on the HTA, especially on a HT. Mine is 65 unloaded. Sit on the bike and it loses a degree or two because its a HT. A decent hardcore HT should have a 63 degree HTA. As for the steering on a climb, what about "balance and upskill" for that too?

Les Get just cancelled. Lets just cancel this year and hope 2021 is better...

Ya, as dead as a dodo. LOL.

My big bike shock started making sucky noises so it went in to Stoke for a service. Aside from the noise, the compression damping had failed so it was well overdo for an overhaul. It came back and the difference was massive. Only disappointment was that after 120km the thing developed a weird noise and seemed to be sticking as it passed a point near sag. In it went again to be returned a day later. A seal had popped. Been experimenting with air pressure and running around 30% sag now. Bike seems to have hit a sweet spot with pedaling efficiency and support. As soon as funds permit I will get a 50mm rise bar to bring the font up a tad and add a 200mm dropper post. With Tokai still only open if you ride a very long way around as the "manned" gate remains locked and unmanned, riding in the South burbs has been limited to the green belts, and Cecilia to Newlands forest route. Planning on trying out the new single track below the 12 Apostles shortly however.

170 fork. I approve!

Too much fork. No man. I love my 160 Pike on mine. Why is your 150 too much?

Your second point is interesting but how does that fit in with the R63k frame price for the latest Epic? On some of these models you could get a frame and build a better bike for less paying retail for components. Manufacturers must get fantastic pricing on component packages surely?

The Spesh dealers had and may still have great specials on old models a few weeks ago. Its always possible to pick up a good deal if you are prepared to wait so the list prices are really only applicable to the wealthy early adopters.

The Evo clearly makes more sense for your typical big boned SA marathoner. In fact for many something heavier and stronger makes even more sense but you have to start somewhere. To me this iteration of the Epic is a rather simple and beautiful design. Looks like a lightweight #enduro shred machine. Now I wonder if 66.5 is as slack as the Evo will go? To me that is the sweet spot HTA for a bike like this, but looking at the latest 63 degree enduro bikes, perhaps the Evo could even go to 65.5.

I'd love an Epic in my arsenal but I'd break it swiftly I suspect and I would not be able to do many of the things I do on my big heavy bike. That said, why are we arguing about the price of what is actually a niche bike for Spesh, everywhere except maybe here and Brazil. The rest of the world rides trail and enduro bikes.

I'm still running 2.5 Aggressors front and rear. Cant really fault them. I think these days there are very few tyres that dont work. Tread patterns are all quite similar. I recall the early Hans Dampf pattern was rubbish with cheesy side knobs. Hairy, sounds like you're over tyred with that monster up front :-)

Yup, our market is heavily biased towards spandex and sufferfest. I think Brazil is similar but that's it. Everywhere else baggies and #endurobros rule.

FFS