Fifth Element Air

[Doug Taylor]

Now that the temp is 50 deg here in upstate NY, my thoughts have drifted back to biking. Not that we
will be on the trails before May due to snow cover for the rest of this month and mud the next, but
ya gotta dream and plan in between doing winter sports.

So, I have a bit of cash to blow on upgrades and was thinking about the Fifth Element Air to replace
the Fox Vanilla rear shock on my Superlight. The Fox is in decent shape after 2 seasons of abuse,
but the Fifth Element "reportedly" reduces bob which is common on a single pivot.

The question is whether this is true to a degree that justifies blowing $350.00. The cash is not an
issue per se, but maybe it could be put to better use (wheels) if the shock upgrade is more hype
than reality.

Anybody have any experience / opinions?

--dt

 

[x]

RE/
>The question is whether this is true to a degree that justifies blowing $350.00. The cash is not an
>issue per se, but maybe it could be put to better use (wheels) if the shock upgrade is more hype
>than reality.
>
>Anybody have any experience / opinions?

I replaced my Fox with a Romic coilover that's purported to do the same thing.

Bottom line, I'm a happy camper.

I noticed a difference in feel as soon as I rode the new shock - but I'm not perceptive/knowledgable
enough to describe it - just that I preferred it.

I checked for pedal bob by watching the shock. Maybe it reduces bob somewhat at a spinning cadence -
but there's still movement down there with each stroke. OTOH, out of the saddle - taking long, slow
strokes - there's zero bob...none whatsoever.

What prompted me to buy was the turnaround time on the Fox repairs and a desire for
bulletproffness...any performance benefit was gravy. Now I've got the Fox as a backup against the
day the Romic starts dribbling fluid...
--
PeteCresswell

 

[Small Black Dog]

Doug Taylor wrote:

> Now that the temp is 50 deg here in upstate NY, my thoughts have drifted back to biking. Not that
> we will be on the trails before May due to snow cover for the rest of this month and mud the next,
> but ya gotta dream and plan in between doing winter sports.
>
> So, I have a bit of cash to blow on upgrades and was thinking about the Fifth Element Air to
> replace the Fox Vanilla rear shock on my Superlight. The Fox is in decent shape after 2 seasons of
> abuse, but the Fifth Element "reportedly" reduces bob which is common on a single pivot.
>
> The question is whether this is true to a degree that justifies blowing $350.00. The cash is not
> an issue per se, but maybe it could be put to better use (wheels) if the shock upgrade is more
> hype than reality.
>
> Anybody have any experience / opinions?
>
> --dt

no first hand experience but i've got a few friends with 5th element coilover/oil shocks and they
are the most pleased bunch of folk i ride with. The coil over shock is arguably one of the best in
the world, many people say that about the air shock, to. I'm inclined to agree.

definately a good thing to look into

Small Black Dog

 

[Michael Dart]

In news:[email protected],
Doug Taylor <[email protected]> typed:
> Now that the temp is 50 deg here in upstate NY, my thoughts have drifted back to biking. Not that
> we will be on the trails before May due to snow cover for the rest of this month and mud the next,
> but ya gotta dream and plan in between doing winter sports.
>
> So, I have a bit of cash to blow on upgrades and was thinking about the Fifth Element Air to
> replace the Fox Vanilla rear shock on my Superlight. The Fox is in decent shape after 2 seasons of
> abuse, but the Fifth Element "reportedly" reduces bob which is common on a single pivot.
>
> The question is whether this is true to a degree that justifies blowing $350.00. The cash is not
> an issue per se, but maybe it could be put to better use (wheels) if the shock upgrade is more
> hype than reality.
>
> Anybody have any experience / opinions?
>
> --dt

My friend is running one on his Heckler and loves the ride. He has tried/owned a lot of bikes of
different designs and equipment. Go for it.

Mike

 

[Ivan]

Doug Taylor <[email protected]> wrote in message

> The question is whether this is true to a degree that justifies blowing $350.00. The cash is not
> an issue per se, but maybe it could be put to better use (wheels) if the shock upgrade is more
> hype than reality.

One of the local tracks has singletrack uphill to 1/4 mile of doubletrack uphill. Friend of mine
rides a superlight with the fox. I have a 5th element coil over (4-bar linkage frame style). Uphill
side x side comparison had him bobbing and me not (he's only 205 lbs, i'm towards 220lbs). Different
friend bought a Blur with the 5th element air. Apparently its much more difficult to nail the
adjustments on. He's still trying (got the bike last august or so).

Good luck.

 

[Doug Taylor]

[email protected] (Ivan) wrote:

>One of the local tracks has singletrack uphill to 1/4 mile of doubletrack uphill. Friend of mine
>rides a superlight with the fox. I have a 5th element coil over (4-bar linkage frame style). Uphill
>side x side comparison had him bobbing and me not (he's only 205 lbs, i'm towards 220lbs).
>Different friend bought a Blur with the 5th element air. Apparently its much more difficult to nail
>the adjustments on. He's still trying (got the bike last august or so).

I checked out the reviews of the air shock on the infamous mtbr.com, for what that is worth, and was
quite surprised to find numerous complaints about it leaking oil and air like crazy and being hard
to adjust on the Blur. Great in theory, works well when adjusted properly for about a day, then
falls apart. Hmmm. Like I said, maybe $350 can be put to better use.

--dt