what does everyone use for a rear shock and a front fork on thier dirtbags? I want to make mine into more of an all-mountain bike than the fr bike it is now. I have a bomber jr-t on it now but was thinking a new shock and fork may make this a better bike for what i am going to do with it.
dirtbag
- Thread starter tbeaton19
- Start date
Depending on the year, you can step the travel down in the back by using the same length, shorter stroke shock. Mine is an 04, originally 5/6" travel, and now it get's 4/5" using a swinger 3 way air. SantaCruz has them for $100, but I did have to machine some parts to make it fit.. I think it feels better than my original romic, especially as far as bottoming out. It's great to jump and I use it whenever I'm going on a xc ride.
On the front I have a Pike 426 for 4/5" of travel and it does a great job, even for jumping. I'm not sure what it weighs, but I know it's a lot lighter than when I had the same set up you do. I also put some single ply tires on it to lighten it up.
Hopefully this helps, mine has been really good set up this way.
On the front I have a Pike 426 for 4/5" of travel and it does a great job, even for jumping. I'm not sure what it weighs, but I know it's a lot lighter than when I had the same set up you do. I also put some single ply tires on it to lighten it up.
Hopefully this helps, mine has been really good set up this way.
Man i think that bike sits PERFECT with a 36 Vanilla on the front and a dhx 5.0 on the back. Run it with some thompson stuff and some single ply tires and it will be a really nice ride.
what single ply tires do you use?
i ran a DHX 5.0 coil on the rear and a Van 36 on the front, super fun bike to ride, a little pigish to pedal up hills but other than that it ripped.
Mine was built for less than the price of a new Kia, so I have the Swinger 4-way in back and a Sherman Slider Plus up front. Don't understand why people are down on the Manitou, I have had exactly zero problems with either one. It is kind of a pig going uphill, but bearable. That is okay with me, I didn't get it for it's epic ride qualities.
i just built up my 07' dirtbag. i got a Roco TST R (coil) 07' and a 07' 888 rc2x va up front. The geometry on the dirtbag still allows me to take any hill that i used to when i had a 66 with ETA.
I'm using WTB wierwolf 2.3's and they do pretty well. Good in the dry, not good in the wet. You could also try some single ply 2.3 minions. I'm not sure what the weight difference would be..
If you do get a shorter stroke shock, make sure you get the same eye to eye length, or else your geometry will change with it. Here's a link to the shock I bought, it's worked well and I'm not exactly easy on it.
http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25_72&products_id=398
Good luck!
If you do get a shorter stroke shock, make sure you get the same eye to eye length, or else your geometry will change with it. Here's a link to the shock I bought, it's worked well and I'm not exactly easy on it.
http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25_72&products_id=398
Good luck!
you may be correct on the piggy back shocks, at least bigger piggybacks, you could try a non piggy back shock like an rp23, and you may as well get the correct length and stroke, add a few more psi and you won't notice until you hit something big. and get a fork with adjustable travel like a lyrick or domain, then you can adjust the travel up or down to what feels best.
A shorter stroke shock won't mess up your geometry, but if you get a shorter length shock, it will. If your dirtbag is an 05 or earlier, your best bet is no piggy back. It would be best to try it out and see if it fits before you buy it. I emailed transition with the same question and the one they thought might fit was a vanilla R because it has a shorter piggy back. As for the fork, check the axle to crown heights on what you're considering, and keep in mind shorter means a steeper head tube angle. Also, single crowns tend to be taller than an equivilant travel dual crown.
My pike makes my head angle a bit steeper, but that's fine for the all-mountain and jumping type stuff that I use it for.
My pike makes my head angle a bit steeper, but that's fine for the all-mountain and jumping type stuff that I use it for.
4130 Biker: What exactly did you have to machine in order to get the shock to work? I have an '05 that I was gonna let go for really cheap but decided today to keep it and make a small travel trail bike out of it.
Mine will be coming with a romic, and i will be running a 66rc2x on the front.
About the shock not fitting, Ummm im getting an 05, buying it for cheap from My brother, Its hase the Dangerboy rockers on it. There was some controv ersy in teh DH Forum about the DHX being an Impossibility, but with the res on top and forward, And i am sure i am going to hear about this, it fits with teh DB rockers, but not with stock rockers. Yesterday i brought an 8.5 eye to eye DHX coil home with a 2.25 stroke, and i put it on without a spring and moved it through the travel all teh way down. And guess what, no contact still have more room to compress, looks liek it will take a 2.5 stroke even, Maybe i will test fit that one, will just have to make sure the tire wont rub the frame when compressed that far
About the shock not fitting, Ummm im getting an 05, buying it for cheap from My brother, Its hase the Dangerboy rockers on it. There was some controv ersy in teh DH Forum about the DHX being an Impossibility, but with the res on top and forward, And i am sure i am going to hear about this, it fits with teh DB rockers, but not with stock rockers. Yesterday i brought an 8.5 eye to eye DHX coil home with a 2.25 stroke, and i put it on without a spring and moved it through the travel all teh way down. And guess what, no contact still have more room to compress, looks liek it will take a 2.5 stroke even, Maybe i will test fit that one, will just have to make sure the tire wont rub the frame when compressed that far
is there a certain way you have to mount that shock in the frame to make it fit with stock rockers. I cannot find the danger boys anywhere so i'm **** out of luck on that one.
does anyone know where i can find a set of dangerboy rockers. they stoped makign them didn't they? does anyone else make rockers for these?
does anyone know where i can find a set of dangerboy rockers. they stoped makign them didn't they? does anyone else make rockers for these?
I think the dudes at DropnZone used to keep a set or two on hand, but it has been a while since I've been there. Have you tried the TBC guys to see if they still have some? Other than that, good luck.
Hey drkenan,
first of all, I run the shock upside down. For my dirtbag, it made it possible to run the shock without any interference between the schraeder valves on the shock and the rocker arms. Then for the bushing of the manitou shock nearest to the rocker arms, I machined the crossbar and spacers. I did this for two reasons: 1. I had to because the manitou bushing is a different size than the romic 2. This allows for quick changes of the shock because I don't have to share any hardware between the two. I'll try to get some pics up on this thread before long. I hope this helps in the meantime.
dirty mike: that's good to hear, I would just double check that you're taking into account the bottom out bumper will compress when you bottom out hard on your dhx. Is there still room after that? Also, that 8.5" shock is a 1/2" too long and will steepen your headtube angle...
first of all, I run the shock upside down. For my dirtbag, it made it possible to run the shock without any interference between the schraeder valves on the shock and the rocker arms. Then for the bushing of the manitou shock nearest to the rocker arms, I machined the crossbar and spacers. I did this for two reasons: 1. I had to because the manitou bushing is a different size than the romic 2. This allows for quick changes of the shock because I don't have to share any hardware between the two. I'll try to get some pics up on this thread before long. I hope this helps in the meantime.
dirty mike: that's good to hear, I would just double check that you're taking into account the bottom out bumper will compress when you bottom out hard on your dhx. Is there still room after that? Also, that 8.5" shock is a 1/2" too long and will steepen your headtube angle...
4130biker -- thanks a lot for the info. I would love to see pics if you get a chance.
you can run with a piggyback on the newer Fox VanR or
you can remover the blue bottom out adjuster knob on the 2007 DHX coil and it will also work..just tune it and remove the knob. not gauranteed on the DHX because not all of the frames have the exact same tolerances and it is a very close fit with the DHX.
you can remover the blue bottom out adjuster knob on the 2007 DHX coil and it will also work..just tune it and remove the knob. not gauranteed on the DHX because not all of the frames have the exact same tolerances and it is a very close fit with the DHX.