timbeck

Cool. Now go and buy the damn thing already.

It's an air shock, so you have opposing positive and negative air chambers that the shock rides on. Slowly the shock loses pressure (like a tire does) over time, so you pump it back up when necessary. I run mine at about 70 percent of the suggested pressure because I like it softer for more bumpy and technical rides. It is a bit different to other shocks, because it opperates almost in reverse, but it seems to work awesome. I've never tried another type of rear shock so I'm not really the best to ask in terms of a comparison, but in my experience I have no complaints.

It has dual air chambers that you pump up individually with a shock pump, (sold seperately to the bike). The more you weigh, the harder you pump the shock. There is a weight/pressure table printed on the side of the shock that will tell you where to set it for your weight. It also has a 30 click preload adjustment at the bottom of the shock for you to fine tune the stiffness.

The rear shock is an LCR 110mm travel (dual air). It is made by scott and seems to work pretty well. The upgrade of the shock has an external air resevoir and looks a bit more trick than the standard one. It hasn't given me any sh*t yet and I will ride it until if/when it does.

No problem.

I would definately recommend the bike, on the condition that you upgrade some of the components. As I said before, the standard bike is cool but a little heavy. I am a bit bias because I love Scott bikes and products, it seems you do too, seeing as though you're still asking after the Giant Anthem guy. I still have the original shock, it's a rock shox dart 2. Rode it 3 times and now it sleeps in my cupboard. I bought the Reba new on eBay from a guy in Hong Kong. Great guy and it was here in 8 days for 1500 bucks less than anyone in SA.

The Hayes are perfect for now, no fade even on more downhill courses. Might replace them at some stage, but not necessary yet. With the rear suspension active it is super comfortable.

Moving from a hardtail to this has been the best thing for my riding. I ride a bit of cross country and some light freeriding and this bike is more than I will need for a long time. The front and rear shock both lock out and when they are in the full lock position I can't tell any difference between my old hardtail and the full suspension. No noticable pedal bob when locked out and when standing on climbs you can lock the rear shock remotely Slightly heavy to start with, but with a bit of clever spending you can get the weight down to mid 13 kilos, which is perfect for my kind of riding.

I just got a 2007 Reba Team. Only set to 85mm travel at the moment, but by next week it will have the full 115. There is very little flex in it and even at 85, it's handled some pretty big drops with ease. As a XC fork it is better than any of Fox's products priced at over 1000 bucks more.

I own a Reflex FX 35. I bought it for about 9 grand and then upgraded the front fork to a rock shox reba team (bought new off ebay for about 3 grand). I also put an lx crank and bottom bracket and a carbon seat on it for about another 2 grand. Essentially, I have a dual suser that weighs less than the FX 25, with better overall components (especially the fork) for a little less than buying the 25. The bike rocks and it was fun putting it all together. No one else has a bike quite like mine. Well, unless you like the idea so much you do exactly the same thing. If I see a bike just like mine on the trail, I'll know its you. Cool by the pool. Tim.