avy shocks
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Depends on what bike you're putting it on. Some frames will really benefit, others you will barely notice.
Good when good, everything else when bad.
in a word
inconsistently.
If you have a frame design that pedals relatively efficiently regardless of shock choice (FSR, VPP, etc), then yes its the best you can buy. I went from a Romic to a Ti-Avy on my Titus Supermoto and the difference is INSANE. The shock just handles anything. Quality and reliabilty are the best in the industry.
Do it, do it.
Do it, do it.
I love my Avy.
I had an Avy, I own a romic now, the customer service is wat better and I dont have to argue with the owner if I have small service to ask for. Ill never buy an avy again, Im still bitter.........whats that saying....1 angry customer will tell everyone, 1 happy customer will tell 2 people? somthing like that...
Im gonna go into it, Ill just say I had a bad expierance with Craig. His products are great , but his customer service stinks. thats all...
all I wanted was a oil change and new sticker for the resivour...and thats when it started. I sat on long distance listening to him go off about me and my shock for 20 mins and then he told me to go to a moto shop and have them do it.
i dont want to say more or bring it all back up , becuase he does have a good shock...but I will be one to never use them again. Call him see how he treats you, I have numerous others who wont say anything but dislike his attitude also, and some are industry people. but anyways....now that I have rambled on...R9 is a sweet rig..do you have it already?
Nop not yet i wish i did im currently riding a santa cruz bullit 2002 on a 5th element.I just need to get some more cash then all have the r9.Hopefully in about a month or so probly more all have the r9.Im just planning out wat i need and how i woud like it set up so i dont have to go get everything and check sizing and wat not last minute.
cool, good luck with it!..I was checking those out at Interbike...they are SWEET!
theres nothing wrong with the AVY stuff, but just be prepared to deal with a little B.S., and then maybe he had a bad day when I called.....who knows...
but either way you should never treat a fellow industry person that way or a customer.
I have a Romic on my Chappie now, but with all the bad talk, I was thinking of getting an Avy, and keeping the Romic as a back up.
Now I am not so sure about Avy!
Damnit!:angry:
Now I am not so sure about Avy!
Damnit!:angry:
you mean one persons bad experience is enough? you'd probably just be better off giving up biking in general then...........Originally posted by Jesus
but with all the bad talk, I was thinking of getting an Avy, and keeping the Romic as a back up.
Now I am not so sure about Avy!
I have had two different Avy DHSs and have dealt with Craig numerous times. I even convinced him to try something we shouldn't have on one DHS varation and he was totally cool to deal with. However, I was very respectful of his knowledge and I treid to do more listening than talking. I strongly suggest Avalanche and their products.
D
D
I can second that. Avys are good shocks but Craig is not a nice person to deal with nor talk to.Originally posted by bibs
Im gonna go into it, Ill just say I had a bad expierance with Craig. His products are great , but his customer service stinks. thats all...
well maybe he's got a split personallity or something 
Cause i'm with profro on this one! Craig even talked me out of giving him an extra $100 when i ordered my shock cause i simply didn't need the comp adjuster i was trying to order (he was very right too)! I also was going for a slightly weird setup, he listened, pointed out the potential problems, we discussed, we settled. Also spoken to him on several other occasions and (although i know he's real busy) always seems to have time for people.
Cause i'm with profro on this one! Craig even talked me out of giving him an extra $100 when i ordered my shock cause i simply didn't need the comp adjuster i was trying to order (he was very right too)! I also was going for a slightly weird setup, he listened, pointed out the potential problems, we discussed, we settled. Also spoken to him on several other occasions and (although i know he's real busy) always seems to have time for people.
Have you guys with good experiences ever dealt with him for a PROBLEM with or relating to the shock? He seems nice until there's a problem, then it's a whole different deal IMO.
I think that the Avalanche shocks are worth every penny and probably more. They can help to transform your bike if you are willing to spend the time to tune and adjust the shock. The dampers are reall RACE dampers. Every aspect that you need to have control over can be adjusted and fine tuned. For me, thats a huge bonus. Also, Craig and Eric are great guys who ride and love the sport of DH. Cant go wrong in my book, Ive been a believer for years.
I honestly have not gotten to spend more than a couple days of riding on Romic shocks, but the ones that I rode felt pretty nice, and Roger and Smitty over there are cool cats. They will definitely take care of you.
dw
only regarding bushes wearing out, whether or not to send it over to him for a service and whether or not the shock was meant to get hot enough to burn me.
Other than that, no.
What was the problem?
Other than that, no.
What was the problem?
oil leakage...I got the whole lecture from him too. Then he told me that he has a business to run and his reputation was important, and wether I knew what that meant... 
-------ive been waiting for you to Q in. i sold a frame to shortbus w/ a avy far as i knew in working condition. his stories really soured my avy love. a great riding shock but kinda like dealin w/ pms suspension sometimes. i never had a bad deal in w/ craig. he was always very helpful, specially when i was mounting a modding a avy to a modded 03 2step.Originally posted by Shortbus
oil leakage...I got the whole lecture from him too. Then he told me that he has a business to run and his reputation was important, and wether I knew what that meant...
Here is the deal with Craig, he is a one man show as far as assembly, repair & sales. If you ever want your oil changed/revalve do it in the off season, Nov-Feb when things are slower for him, his turnaround time is usally only a few days also its quicker when ordering a shock then too. During the race season, he is slammed with everyone wanting there shock yesterday, he gets frustrated on the phone because instead of getting peoples shocks completed he's explaining to them he has to get off the phone to complete his work to get to theirs quicker. It can take up to 1-2 months durning peak season to get one, is it worh the wait definatly yes. My recomendation is if you want to order/service a shock during peak season, make sure you have a healthy backup shock to get you through his service time.
Thats why he tells you for oil changes you can take it to an MX shop. He does take care of it any time, just takes longer.Originally posted by Acadian
IMO he should be able to service any of his customers no what time of year it is. If he's so overloaded, then maybe he need to hire more people to help him out no?
I sent my Avy in last week to get it revalved. Craig had it one day and sent it right back. He has been very helpful and has #1 customer service. I love the AVY but I also love the Romic, well when the Romic works. The Avy doesn't pedal as well as the Romic but very close. You have to let Craig know how and what terrain you ride so he can valve it. If valved right it will climb as good as a Romic and DH/FR better. Good luck.
Im sure Craig is reading this complete thread so keep up the good work Craig. AVY ROCKS!
Im sure Craig is reading this complete thread so keep up the good work Craig. AVY ROCKS!
Jst one note on Service:
Craig prefers to have your shock sent in for Oil/nitro during the off season because he is slower then. I understand what Luc is saying about needing it during the season, however Avy stuff only gets serviced once a year unlike the other top dogs out there. My whole team is on AVy and I hve never heard anyone needing service during the season, even in the harshest of easstcoast conditions.
Craig is a race guy. If you understand race shocks, speak his language and you will be really happy. Other than that, let him valve it based on your input and you will be fine.
There is no other bike shock like Avy...
Brennan
Craig prefers to have your shock sent in for Oil/nitro during the off season because he is slower then. I understand what Luc is saying about needing it during the season, however Avy stuff only gets serviced once a year unlike the other top dogs out there. My whole team is on AVy and I hve never heard anyone needing service during the season, even in the harshest of easstcoast conditions.
Craig is a race guy. If you understand race shocks, speak his language and you will be really happy. Other than that, let him valve it based on your input and you will be fine.
There is no other bike shock like Avy...
Brennan
Worth every penny AND the occasional unwelcoming engineer-itutde I've heard said about Craig. (No offense to dw who clearly is an exception to the socially mal-adjusted uber-engineer mold.)
IMO superior performance far outweighs a need to feel socially in-tuned with a manufacturer. I will admit it's a tad more satisfying when you have a repoire with the people to whom you hand your earned cash. But last I heard, Avalanche's #1 agenda is rider safety, with performance coming in close 2nd. Which means I'm not only safer, I'm having a helluva lot more fun riding. That makes Craig and Eric two of the three best friends I have on the mountain.
edit: Luc, I understand what you're saying about fluke type stuff happening mid-season. It is simpy so rare with Av's that Craig's request is reasonable. Additionally, he might grumble and say it'll take a long time, but it's been even more rare that he hasn't delivered ahead of schedule.
IMO superior performance far outweighs a need to feel socially in-tuned with a manufacturer. I will admit it's a tad more satisfying when you have a repoire with the people to whom you hand your earned cash. But last I heard, Avalanche's #1 agenda is rider safety, with performance coming in close 2nd. Which means I'm not only safer, I'm having a helluva lot more fun riding. That makes Craig and Eric two of the three best friends I have on the mountain.
edit: Luc, I understand what you're saying about fluke type stuff happening mid-season. It is simpy so rare with Av's that Craig's request is reasonable. Additionally, he might grumble and say it'll take a long time, but it's been even more rare that he hasn't delivered ahead of schedule.
I've only had my Avy for about four months but I have to say that so far its been worth every penny, it has transformed my bike. The travel feels endless and the bike rides so much better over the rough, I feel more in control.
I also had my doubts about spending that kind of money on the shock, especially after hearing some of the Customer Service issues, but I decided that the Shock performance outweighed any other concerns. I ordered my shock during the off-season and it only took seven days from when I ordered it to when UPS delivered it to my place.
I called Craig several times before ordering and he always took the time to answer any questions I had. I do have to say that I've only dealt with him in the off-season nor have I had any issues with the shock.
I also had my doubts about spending that kind of money on the shock, especially after hearing some of the Customer Service issues, but I decided that the Shock performance outweighed any other concerns. I ordered my shock during the off-season and it only took seven days from when I ordered it to when UPS delivered it to my place.
I called Craig several times before ordering and he always took the time to answer any questions I had. I do have to say that I've only dealt with him in the off-season nor have I had any issues with the shock.
Yeah it was... All in all IMO the avy works much better on certain suspension designs than others. Which is not necessarily the shocks's fault, but more inherent to the environment the shock is placed in I guess. Was that giberrish???? At least that's what I understood from talking to people who really know what's up.
I also understand, also from people who really know what's up, that mister Avalanche does get fired up (i.e. pissed) when "having" to deal with an avalanche put on a frame that wasn't generally designed around an avalanche
In all fairness I do ride an avy shock currently and absolutely LOVE it. But my opinion is that its' the shock+frame combo that makes the best setup. Generally speaking a frame with a more linear or a falling rate design won't EASILY get the best out of an avalanche. Maybe with a lot of tuning and tinkering around it could though...
EDIT: I might have come around as bashing avalanche but i definitely didn't mean to. Again my newest avalanche has performed flawlessly on my latest frame. I only thunk it was fair for someone thinking of getting one to know the potential downsides he just might end having to deal with. Most likely he won't though. The latest avy shocks I noticed have MUCH better hose sealage. That's where i had issues.
I'll say an Avy is worth every penny. It transformed my old M-1 into a bike I will always regret selling.
As far as customer service, I never had a problem although I never asked for anything either. Plus, I have ridden and hung out with some of the Avy Team racers so my opinion is somewhat biased.
As far as customer service, I never had a problem although I never asked for anything either. Plus, I have ridden and hung out with some of the Avy Team racers so my opinion is somewhat biased.
Just a shout out from another satisfied AVY customer. Several shocks / several 'tunes' - always happy with turn around.
Funny story, I called Craig for yearly service, he told me to send it in. A couple of days go by and I had not sent it in to him yet. Well, he calls ME looking for it, I quess he had set aside some time to service at it and I missed my 'reservation'. He still got it back to me within a couple of days.
I wish more companies operated like them...
Funny story, I called Craig for yearly service, he told me to send it in. A couple of days go by and I had not sent it in to him yet. Well, he calls ME looking for it, I quess he had set aside some time to service at it and I missed my 'reservation'. He still got it back to me within a couple of days.
I wish more companies operated like them...
Even when Craig was presented with something strange like my circumstance he's taken a good amount of quality time/energy to find something that will work.
Craig is working with me to get his shock to work in an extremly low leverage linear application...alla Gemini DH.
This is the complete opposite of what he has always been asked to do. (high leverage/high load)
Even though I'm yet to come up with a shock that is really killer for this application his time and patience is pretty cool.
Craig is working with me to get his shock to work in an extremly low leverage linear application...alla Gemini DH.
This is the complete opposite of what he has always been asked to do. (high leverage/high load)
Even though I'm yet to come up with a shock that is really killer for this application his time and patience is pretty cool.
another happy avy customer here, i already had an avy on my turner afterburner until it was stolen from the bike shop a year ago, the shock was perfect for that bike and always wanted to go back to an avy when $$ will be available.
after the afterburner i've neen riding a '03 DHR with a romic that failed on the second run since i purchased the bike, romic treat me great, were fast, no questions asked, no charges, but being outside the US (ecuador) it took me almost like 1 month to get it back due to couriers, customs, etc. since then the romic has been great on the bike, but after looking 3 additional romics fail in the last 2 months from diferent bikes (1 azonic, 2 turners) i decided to get the avy again , due to it's reliability first and then to it's performance.
i ordered the shock for a medium '04 DHR (as i plan to sell the '03 and get the '04), since i placed the order with my specs to craig the shock has been delivered in 7 days to a friend in the US, for me 7 days is a reasonable time for a custom valved shock, considering that he had to dial the reservoir placement for the medium '04 DHR first.
by the way....also bought a used DHF Ti fork for the bike so my turner will be 100% avy equipped very soon:devil: :devil: :devil:
diego
after the afterburner i've neen riding a '03 DHR with a romic that failed on the second run since i purchased the bike, romic treat me great, were fast, no questions asked, no charges, but being outside the US (ecuador) it took me almost like 1 month to get it back due to couriers, customs, etc. since then the romic has been great on the bike, but after looking 3 additional romics fail in the last 2 months from diferent bikes (1 azonic, 2 turners) i decided to get the avy again
, due to it's reliability first and then to it's performance.i ordered the shock for a medium '04 DHR (as i plan to sell the '03 and get the '04), since i placed the order with my specs to craig the shock has been delivered in 7 days to a friend in the US, for me 7 days is a reasonable time for a custom valved shock, considering that he had to dial the reservoir placement for the medium '04 DHR first.
by the way....also bought a used DHF Ti fork
for the bike so my turner will be 100% avy equipped very soon:devil: :devil: :devil: diego
I have bought 2 shocks and one fork from him in the past. He has allways been nice to me.
Just bought my DHS from Graig now. He told me turnaround was 2 weeks, and two weeks later the shock was ready. He have been wery patient with questions regarding hose routing on the 04 DHR. (which is'nt so simple) I have made some suggestions, and he got some. At the end we find the best overall solution, I think.
I have been in contact with him a lot of times, he har allways been nice. It's not hard to understand that he get pissed off some times, he is working hard to make perfection for all kind of people/frames. I guess he get alot of different questions ALL the time. I think it's strange he dont get pissed off more often.
Avalanche Downhill Racing makes awsome products period! Keep in mind that you'r dealing a mini biz with top proffesional people who should do everything. Do the engieneering, make drawings, make the parts, make and compare charts for valving, order smallparts, do the assebly AND take care of all kind of customers. (nand I guess alot of other things too) I think he is working like a dog to get his customers happy.
Keep up the good work!!
Espen
Just bought my DHS from Graig now. He told me turnaround was 2 weeks, and two weeks later the shock was ready. He have been wery patient with questions regarding hose routing on the 04 DHR. (which is'nt so simple) I have made some suggestions, and he got some. At the end we find the best overall solution, I think.
I have been in contact with him a lot of times, he har allways been nice. It's not hard to understand that he get pissed off some times, he is working hard to make perfection for all kind of people/frames. I guess he get alot of different questions ALL the time. I think it's strange he dont get pissed off more often.
Avalanche Downhill Racing makes awsome products period! Keep in mind that you'r dealing a mini biz with top proffesional people who should do everything. Do the engieneering, make drawings, make the parts, make and compare charts for valving, order smallparts, do the assebly AND take care of all kind of customers. (nand I guess alot of other things too) I think he is working like a dog to get his customers happy.
Keep up the good work!!
Espen