Quantcast

Is Avalanche still a contender?

Dog Welder

Dog Welder

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
1,123
0
Pasadena, CA
A friend of mine just converted his 09 888 Air with the Avalanche 20mm internals. He said it completely changed the feel of the 888 for the better.

I've been away from DH for about 5 years and still have my Foes Mono that I'd like to clean up and ride. the mono I have was the last year of the old design before the 2:1. The Curnutt shock that I got never felt right even after sending it in, the dial adjustments were so hard to turn i just said eff it and rode.

Was wondering if Avy is still good stuff or is it old tech? If so does anyone know who makes a shock as big, eye to eye, as the Curnutt?
 
FlyinPolack

FlyinPolack

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
371
0
I love my Avy stuff.
Myself & my 2 ridding buddies just installed the Avy carts in our '08 888s about a month ago.
We all love em, Avy made a good fork work totally incredible. I'm blown away everytime I ride it. I'm actually running it softer than I did with the stock internals, & it doesn't bottom out.
I know a guy with one of those super-long oldschool Avy Shocks for sale. He said he'd sell it for about $100 clams. Just putting it out there:)

The funny thing is: Suspension really hasn't changed all that much in the last 5 years. They've added some new terms, there are a few new offerings & of course the boxxers seem to be built a little better, but there really isn't much that's really new.
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
FlyinPolack said:
I love my Avy stuff.
Myself & my 2 ridding buddies just installed the Avy carts in our '08 888s about a month ago.
We all love em, Avy made a good fork work totally incredible. I'm blown away everytime I ride it. I'm actually running it softer than I did with the stock internals, & it doesn't bottom out.
I know a guy with one of those super-long oldschool Avy Shocks for sale. He said he'd sell it for about $100 clams. Just putting it out there:)

The funny thing is: Suspension really hasn't changed all that much in the last 5 years. They've added some new terms, there are a few new offerings & of course the boxxers seem to be built a little better, but there really isn't much that's really new.
Click to expand...
Now thats a bold claim - 5 years ago - boxxer 2005 - it was quite crap. Was there fox 40 on the market? Also rear suspension progressed a lot. Compare newer shocks to old spv swingers or even the dhx that was not a stellar shock either. Suspension outside of mtb world has not progressed that much but here there is a differance. Avy is still good because when they were introdued they were way ahead of the game and I still think they are worth the price but the gap between them and other companies is smaller, also they have some heavy competition in their price range.
 
FlyinPolack

FlyinPolack

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
371
0
Now thats a bold claim - 5 years ago - boxxer 2005 - it was quite crap. Was there fox 40 on the market? Also rear suspension progressed a lot. Compare newer shocks to old spv swingers or even the dhx that was not a stellar shock either. Suspension outside of mtb world has not progressed that much but here there is a differance.
Click to expand...
Not bold at all, I've been around DH suspension for 15 years, I've seen what works, & what are hype & gimmicks.
As much as I dislike the boxxer platform, I have to admit that they have improved over the last 5 years.
There is really nothing technologically advanced about the 40. They crumble rapidly, & must be messed with too often to be called dependable by any stretch. If they weren't the lightest ones out, they wouldn't sell at all.
When you are in the parking lot with a broken bike, you have to keep one thing in mind: When your bike is broke, you can't ride it, no matter how light it is.
Like I said before, some new "terms" have popped up in the last 5 years. Most are gimmiky half-fixes, that really don't count as "progression" in any way shape or form.
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
FlyinPolack said:
Not bold at all, I've been around DH suspension for 15 years, I've seen what works, & what are hype & gimmicks.
As much as I dislike the boxxer platform, I have to admit that they have improved over the last 5 years.
There is really nothing technologically advanced about the 40. They crumble rapidly, & must be messed with too often to be called dependable by any stretch. If they weren't the lightest ones out, they wouldn't sell at all.
When you are in the parking lot with a broken bike, you have to keep one thing in mind: When your bike is broke, you can't ride it, no matter how light it is.
Like I said before, some new "terms" have popped up in the last 5 years. Most are gimmiky half-fixes, that really don't count as "progression" in any way shape or form.
Click to expand...
Well - Ive been riding for the last 5 years in dh and 12 years in xc and am. You claim that there is no progress in suspension because some of the forks dont take abuse well and require servicing? Its race suspension, of course it will require often serivce. In terms of actualy performence - sensitivity, adjustability, stiffness and weight the susp has gone a long way. Maybe not from a mechanics point of view but for a rider yes. I remember that in the old days it was possible to buy a damper that would heat up so much you would end up with a hardtail.

Also - ppl buy fox 40s because of how they work, not because of their weight. There were never the lightest, now they are on the heavier end of the scale(boxxer, marz evo ti and dorado are lighter) and are still quite popular.
Also - Sorry that you had a bad experience with fox but in most cases forks stay in one piece. RS had a bad season of boxxers and the 05 were much weaker than fox. Marz had a bad batch of rcvs but aside from that most big name forks are strong enough. Though we talk about suspension performance alone so lets not talk about the lowers but about how they work.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,088
6,022
borcester rhymes
I'm not going to get into the he said she said crap above, but avy is still a top contender. they just work. They don't have fancy names for their adjusters and they don't offer a range of damping that will fit 30 million bikes...they offer high quality shocks that perform well and reliably and are tuned (mostly) to your liking.

I think there are very few people who prefer other shocks over avy suspension for their bikes, and almost all of them have oodles of money to throw away on shock after shock, or the hyper-tuned sensitivity to tell the difference and care...I think for most on the mountain, we'd be happy...
 
no skid marks

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
Norbar I think your taking his comments out of context a bit.
Apart from the double barrels good design, you really can't go wrong with moar shims, and good volume oil flow, both of which Avy have always had.
Just look at the Avy's internals, try to find a bad Avy review, and make your own decision. Betetr still, get a ride on one.
 
Last edited:
M

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
in 2006 the 40s were pretty weak, performance wise. they continued to be rally until 2009, and are finally "dialed" in 2011.

the boxxers sucked until sram bough rockshox and put the 2008 internals in them.

however, forks like the 888rc2x, shiver, avy, startos s8, white ud200, etc always felt good, and while their tune was not always what racers wanted, especially since dh racers were at the back of the line in terms of marketing in 2001, the forks could be tuned into what people wanted pretty easily and effectively.

the fact now is that you can stick a $400 avy cart into a $600 boxxer race that weighs 6.3lbs and get the suspension performance of a 9lb fork out of it, which makes it win-win.
 
foesrider

foesrider

Chimp
Aug 30, 2002
74
0
north east mass.
well.. i remember when i got my foes mono in 2001..with a curnut that lasted one day at plattekill..and back then i got the curnut so i didn't have to deal with fox..lucky for me that avy/Craig was around to fit a shock on my frame cuz no one made a 10.25'' X 3'' shock back then...
ended up getting a MTN-3 instead of a DHS and beat the crap out of it for at least 6 years/3 frames without servicing.. till it wore a hole in the braided hose to the reservoir.
also have a DHS fork that works flawlessly..i have never felt a fork that could touch it's dampening/performance.. only thing is it's dual spring/dampener witch makes it heavy..but reliable..recomended 2 years between services

long story short...fox and rock shock have come a long way and were probably pushed to improve by the performance/reliability of avalanche products...but they still have a long way to go to catch up with a custom tune avy..
bottom line..
I'll never ride on anything other than an avy...worth every penny..
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
ive had several Avy shocks and they all have been amazing. it turned my 2000 DHS into a amazing bike. it wasnt even a comparison with the stock Vanilla RC that came on the bike.
it also turned my first gen V10 into a amazing bike as well. again, night and day difference b/w the 5th Element
 
stumpjump

stumpjump

Monkey
Sep 14, 2007
673
0
DC
The worst part about avalanche products is waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Seriously this day is lasting forever!!!
 
karpi

karpi

Monkey
Apr 17, 2006
904
0
Santiasco, Chile
I've owned a DHS, and let me just say it was by far the best shock I ever used hands down. I had it for 3 years, in which time I only serviced it once, and if thats not quality then I don't know what is... I've tryed a bunch of different shocks, but the dhs was the most forgiving, responsive and predictable out of them all, it was just flawless. I wonder if I can fit a dhs to a sunday? Any one try this before?
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,088
6,022
borcester rhymes
karpi said:
I've owned a DHS, and let me just say it was by far the best shock I ever used hands down. I had it for 3 years, in which time I only serviced it once, and if thats not quality then I don't know what is... I've tryed a bunch of different shocks, but the dhs was the most forgiving, responsive and predictable out of them all, it was just flawless. I wonder if I can fit a dhs to a sunday? Any one try this before?
Click to expand...
from what I understand, no. You can fit a chubie, but the DHS is no go. You may be able to grind your link like others to make it work, but it's not suggested and I haven't seen it done.
 
foesrider

foesrider

Chimp
Aug 30, 2002
74
0
north east mass.
karpi said:
I've owned a DHS, and let me just say it was by far the best shock I ever used hands down. I had it for 3 years, in which time I only serviced it once, and if thats not quality then I don't know what is... I've tryed a bunch of different shocks, but the dhs was the most forgiving, responsive and predictable out of them all, it was just flawless. I wonder if I can fit a dhs to a sunday? Any one try this before?
Click to expand...
 
karpi

karpi

Monkey
Apr 17, 2006
904
0
Santiasco, Chile
you could put the shock in the same position as the chubie on the picture and leave the remote underneath the top tube. That would be my guess... don't know about all the movement you get with the shock moving and how it would affect the hose for the reservoir... you follow? I remember seeing the sinister with a similar system where the reservoir was left on the chainstay (similar system in the sense that the hose would have to move around when there was shock compression).
 
freakrock

freakrock

Monkey
Aug 19, 2005
431
0
Santiago de Chile
The hose doesn't move as much on an R9 as it would on a Sunday, but if you don't have the proper fittings, it'll die relatively fast. I had one that developed leaks in less than a year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom