G
GeeDubb
Guest
I rode my typical T-100 ride this cool morning with the newly Pushed rear
shock on my Titus Switch Blade. On the reinstall I extended the travel to
4" and off I went. The first thing I noticed (aside from two flat tires
before starting the ride...thank you Palm Canyon) was a bad case of
boinging, not from the rear but from the front. Guess I should have checked
pressure in the fork since 10 psi doesn't quite hold up under my 200+ lbs of
riding weight. I hit the trailhead, say a 'good morning' to some older
gent walking two German shepards, go another 100 yards and run over fresh
dog **** that I couldn't see since the sun was in my eyes. I hate some
people........
But on to the review! I have the Fox RL with the manual lockout (which I
screwed up by leaving it locked on a long descent). Push removed the
lockout and did some magic giving it that stable platform effect. The
piston was pitted slightly so I told them to replace it since they had it
apart and the cost wasn't but about $37US more. Total cost, with shipping,
was $189.95US.
For my weight I typically ran 170 psi in the shock so that's what they set
it at. Seated on the bike I have about 5/8" of sag. Pedalling on the flat
I have about 1/4" of motion which is some 1/2" less than the shock had when
new, it bobbed a lot. Standing up and hammering up the hills was somewhat
disappointing after riding my rigid ss....go figure. Of course this was due
more to the fork but the added travel in the rear seemed to really suck the
power. I was having extreme difficulty keeping up with my riding bud and
his ht. The lockout made the bike more rigid but was sometimes difficult to
switch on the fly (too cheap to add remote switch). The stable platform
still bobs but extemely less than the original.
On the dh runs the shock reacted much smoother than I remember but the shock
was 3 months from being 6 years old. I was getting full travel yet never
felt like it bottomed out. Very smooth!
To add to all this I stuck on the front a new Continental Vertical, wirebead
2.3 aired to 40 psi so I was pushing a lot of rubber and weight around
compared to John and it 1.95 Mythos tires. The 1/4" of rain we had on
Friday made for awesome trail condition with super grip.
First thoughts on one ride......Would I recommend this? Only if you need
the shock rebuilt. I wouldn't take a good working shock and spend this kind
of money to make it only marginally better. A better rider than me may see
more of a difference but I just didn't notice an enhancement in climbing
performance, something the stable platform is supposed to help with. I'm
going to tinker with air adjustments (read add more psi) and see if that
helps. I may resort to decreasing the travel again so that climbing is more
efficient cuz I like to climb!
So Mitch, don't do it unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket or
the shock needs to be rebuilt.
Gary (opinions are like a$$holes......)
shock on my Titus Switch Blade. On the reinstall I extended the travel to
4" and off I went. The first thing I noticed (aside from two flat tires
before starting the ride...thank you Palm Canyon) was a bad case of
boinging, not from the rear but from the front. Guess I should have checked
pressure in the fork since 10 psi doesn't quite hold up under my 200+ lbs of
riding weight. I hit the trailhead, say a 'good morning' to some older
gent walking two German shepards, go another 100 yards and run over fresh
dog **** that I couldn't see since the sun was in my eyes. I hate some
people........
But on to the review! I have the Fox RL with the manual lockout (which I
screwed up by leaving it locked on a long descent). Push removed the
lockout and did some magic giving it that stable platform effect. The
piston was pitted slightly so I told them to replace it since they had it
apart and the cost wasn't but about $37US more. Total cost, with shipping,
was $189.95US.
For my weight I typically ran 170 psi in the shock so that's what they set
it at. Seated on the bike I have about 5/8" of sag. Pedalling on the flat
I have about 1/4" of motion which is some 1/2" less than the shock had when
new, it bobbed a lot. Standing up and hammering up the hills was somewhat
disappointing after riding my rigid ss....go figure. Of course this was due
more to the fork but the added travel in the rear seemed to really suck the
power. I was having extreme difficulty keeping up with my riding bud and
his ht. The lockout made the bike more rigid but was sometimes difficult to
switch on the fly (too cheap to add remote switch). The stable platform
still bobs but extemely less than the original.
On the dh runs the shock reacted much smoother than I remember but the shock
was 3 months from being 6 years old. I was getting full travel yet never
felt like it bottomed out. Very smooth!
To add to all this I stuck on the front a new Continental Vertical, wirebead
2.3 aired to 40 psi so I was pushing a lot of rubber and weight around
compared to John and it 1.95 Mythos tires. The 1/4" of rain we had on
Friday made for awesome trail condition with super grip.
First thoughts on one ride......Would I recommend this? Only if you need
the shock rebuilt. I wouldn't take a good working shock and spend this kind
of money to make it only marginally better. A better rider than me may see
more of a difference but I just didn't notice an enhancement in climbing
performance, something the stable platform is supposed to help with. I'm
going to tinker with air adjustments (read add more psi) and see if that
helps. I may resort to decreasing the travel again so that climbing is more
efficient cuz I like to climb!
So Mitch, don't do it unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket or
the shock needs to be rebuilt.
Gary (opinions are like a$$holes......)
