Hello, just wondering if either shock seems to perform better, if you had a bike that came with a 5th Element, would there be a reason to get a Romic rear shock? Performance gain at all?
5th Element or Romic for shocks
- Thread starter BlackhillsBob
- Start date
They are both good shocks, but if a bike came stock with either one I'd stick with it. The only time I would concider a replacement is if there was a Fox or a Rock Shox installed.
The 5th has more tuning options than the Romic. Maybe too many, seems to be overly complicated for many people. In the hands of someone with the patience and/or expertise to set it up properly it's probably the best in terms of ride quality, but not by much. I definitely feel that the Romic is more reliable than the 5th. Progressive's customer service seems to be very good when there are problems, but I've definitely seen more issues with them than the Romic. Two different frame builders I talked to at Interbike also mentioned that they chose the Romic over the 5th specifically for reliability reasons. I've been very happy with my Romic, and have gotten great feedback from everyone I've sold them to.
Larry Mettler
http://www.mtnhighcyclery.com
Larry Mettler
http://www.mtnhighcyclery.com
I havent used the Romic, so I cant comment on it. I like the 5th's adjustment ability, its not that complicated. Just make one adjustment at a time so you can tell exactly what the difference is. I have heard of alot of them exploding though.