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New Rear Shox for old bike

rif

Chimp
Mar 25, 2015
19
0
pittsburgh, pa
Hey all,

I just replaced the Forks on my 2002 Giant AC Air 140mm FOX 32's they are awesome. It is clear that from 2002 - 2015 there has been much progress in suspension forks, the question is has there been the same kind of progress in rear shocks. The 2002 AC Air has adjustable rear travel from 4-6 inches. What shocks should I be looking at to replace the stock air Rockshox from 2002?

Thanks,

Rif
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,928
14,450
where the trails are
determine the overall shock length (eyelet to eyelet) and the total stroke of the shock and you'll know what your options are. My guess is that its a 7.5 length 2 2" stroke, a very common size.

Almost ANY new modern shock will blow the doors off a 13 year old air shock. Maybe shop by budget.
 

rif

Chimp
Mar 25, 2015
19
0
pittsburgh, pa
determine the overall shock length (eyelet to eyelet) and the total stroke of the shock and you'll know what your options are. My guess is that its a 7.5 length 2 2" stroke, a very common size.

Almost ANY new modern shock will blow the doors off a 13 year old air shock. Maybe shop by budget.
Nick, thanks, am I taking the shock off to make take that measurement?

Thanks,

rif
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
It depends, if you are replacing a pair of decent coil shocks, you may not notice an improvement, but if you are replacing a pair of 5th elements or the manitou clone versions, then yes, you might notice an improvement. To make the issue even more confusing, some newer shocks, like the Fox CTD "Evolution" series are a pretty serious downgrade from just about anything else, as they lack high speed rebound circuits, which coil shocks from even 15 years ago usually have. I do find that some of the air shocks these days aren't as crazy over-damped as 10 years ago, in terms of compression, or at least they let you select the level to some extent, but more often than not, a decent pair of coil shocks will feel "plusher" and absorb the bumps better. More than likely the issue with your current shocks is they are just tired, the nitrogen charge is weak, the oil is contaminated, the internals are a little worn, etc. As old as it is, probably the best idea is to get a new shock, but check out Avalanche's website, they do some pretty amazing mods on things like the 5th elements and Swingers and I know some of those Giant's had Swingers. If you did this, you could end up with something far better than any off-the-shelf shock (custom-tuned is always better than an off-the-shelf shock).