Enduro/gravity bike suspension and geo

[Thermophage]

Roots are a moot point in the Western Cape these days.... Ine hardly has to deal with any off camber roots anywhere anymore.

 

I can think of some in Higgovale/Deere Park and that's pretty much it.

 

One quick question..... Is running a 70mm stem on a trail bike going to get me laughed at and ridiculed in the car park? 

Don't forget the root masses on the sneaky RH line of the Glen...I mean the sign says to ride in groups, so must be a go

[Heinrich Hattingh]

Is this off an enduro? If so I have one somewhere in a box. Ciao 

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. 

[Headshot]

Is this off an enduro? If so I have one somewhere in a box. Ciao 

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?

[Hairy]

[Headshot]

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...

[Dexter-morgan]

Quick question to you guys that seem to know bike suspension, I have a Scott Genius with a X-fusion O2 shock in it and a Rock shox Sektor Fork with 140mm Travel(Front and rear), where would I see the most benefit in "upgrading" fork or shock? I was looking at Pike 140mm travel, seems like upgrading the shock(second hand) would cost about the same as a second hand shock, your opinions/advice?

[Eddy Gordo]

Quick question to you guys that seem to know bike suspension, I have a Scott Genius with a X-fusion O2 shock in it and a Rock shox Sektor Fork with 140mm Travel(Front and rear), where would I see the most benefit in "upgrading" fork or shock? I was looking at Pike 140mm travel, seems like upgrading the shock(second hand) would cost about the same as a second hand shock, your opinions/advice?

I reckon with the fork. The sektor has 32mm stanchions where as the pike is 35mm. So the front end wont have as much flex over bumpy stuff

[Grease_Monkey]

Quick question to you guys that seem to know bike suspension, I have a Scott Genius with a X-fusion O2 shock in it and a Rock shox Sektor Fork with 140mm Travel(Front and rear), where would I see the most benefit in "upgrading" fork or shock? I was looking at Pike 140mm travel, seems like upgrading the shock(second hand) would cost about the same as a second hand shock, your opinions/advice?

For sure the fork - no contest. You will feel the difference in both, but the Pike will transform your bike.

[BaGearA]

Quick question to you guys that seem to know bike suspension, I have a Scott Genius with a X-fusion O2 shock in it and a Rock shox Sektor Fork with 140mm Travel(Front and rear), where would I see the most benefit in "upgrading" fork or shock? I was looking at Pike 140mm travel, seems like upgrading the shock(second hand) would cost about the same as a second hand shock, your opinions/advice?

Definitely the fork first

[Headshot]

I've now ridden the new shock at Tokai on the higher speed stuff and some slower rocky stuff along with some very steep climbs. My concerns about the pedaling platform turned out to be unfounded. Overall the shock seems to have a firmer compression tune than the RS which makes it ride higher in its travel and pedal more efficiently seated and standing.

 

Cornering is also improved as the bike seem to have lost its tendency to sink too far into its travel.The only trade off is possibly a slightly harsher ride but so far that seems to be minor. Some fiddling with air and compression knobs is in order.

 

Overall the Ohlins is a high quality item and is very nicely put together. I especially like the feel of the compression and rebound controls.

[Jewbacca]

I've now ridden the new shock at Tokai on the higher speed stuff and some slower rocky stuff along with some very steep climbs. My concerns about the pedaling platform turned out to be unfounded. Overall the shock seems to have a firmer compression tune than the RS which makes it ride higher in its travel and pedal more efficiently seated and standing.

 

Cornering is also improved as the bike seem to have lost its tendency to sink too far into its travel.The only trade off is possibly a slightly harsher ride but so far that seems to be minor. Some fiddling with air and compression knobs is in order.

 

Overall the Ohlins is a high quality item and is very nicely put together. I especially like the feel of the compression and rebound controls.

I missed the shock length on this?

 

I have a standard fox float 197x48 with the Spaz proprietary yoke end... I would be tempted to shop around for an ohlins upgrade or a double can of some sort too but haven't found any non OEM options

 

I'm glad you like the forced upgrade. That is a small victory in my books!

 

As aside, is there not a yoke replacement/mod one could buy to free up options?

Edited July 30, 2020 by Jewbacca

[Hairy]

I missed the shock length on this?

 

I have a standard fox float 197x48 with the Spaz proprietary yoke end... I would be tempted to shop around for an ohlins upgrade or a double can of some sort too but haven't found any non OEM options

 

I'm glad you like the forced upgrade. That is a small victory in my books!

 

As aside, is there not a yoke replacement/mod one could buy to free up options?

BikeYoke do one ... but they are also a little pricey 

[Jewbacca]

BikeYoke do one ... but they are also a little pricey 

Hmm.... Buying a 120 dollar yoke to free up my shock options seems like a small price to pay.

 

Thank you for that, I had a look and am going to check if it fits on my bike.

[Headshot]

I missed the shock length on this?

 

I have a standard fox float 197x48 with the Spaz proprietary yoke end... I would be tempted to shop around for an ohlins upgrade or a double can of some sort too but haven't found any non OEM options

 

I'm glad you like the forced upgrade. That is a small victory in my books!

 

As aside, is there not a yoke replacement/mod one could buy to free up options?

Thanks, long may it work.

 

My bike runs a 216 x57 shock. The problem is the proprietary "eye" on the Spaz shocks. Their latest bikes have ditched this stupidity leaving owners of older Enduros and Stumpjumpers etc with only one option namely the Bike Yoke guys in Germany. At 140 E, The yoke alone for my bike would cost nearly as much as I ended up paying for the second hand Ohlins! If you buy the Yoke you still need a decent shock so you're probably still not going to get away with much under R10k depending on the price of the new shock.  

 

I must say I like to sound of the Ohlins TTX coil shock. The Vital testers have one and it still works perfectly after a year of abuse and no servicing whatsoever. It seems that Ohlins are selling service kits to owners directly these days so if Stoke can tool up for them, I may be able to get mine serviced locally in due course...

[DieselnDust]

Thanks, long may it work.

 

My bike runs a 216 x57 shock. The problem is the proprietary "eye" on the Spaz shocks. Their latest bikes have ditched this stupidity leaving owners of older Enduros and Stumpjumpers etc with only one option namely the Bike Yoke guys in Germany. At 140 E, The yoke alone for my bike would cost nearly as much as I ended up paying for the second hand Ohlins! If you buy the Yoke you still need a decent shock so you're probably still not going to get away with much under R10k depending on the price of the new shock.  

 

I must say I like to sound of the Ohlins TTX coil shock. The Vital testers have one and it still works perfectly after a year of abuse and no servicing whatsoever. It seems that Ohlins are selling service kits to owners directly these days so if Stoke can tool up for them, I may be able to get mine serviced locally in due course...

 

 

does it require any proprietary tools to service?

[Headshot]

does it require any proprietary tools to service?

Apparently it does. Stoke would need to buy the necessary tools which I'm not sure would be worth their while as I suspect Ohlins are few and far between and the later versions are different again.