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Rear Shock Suggestion!!!!!

wilbywise

Chimp
Feb 10, 2008
10
0
Charleston, SC
Yeah I totally understand, but do to limited funds to buy a very expensive FR-DH frame im trying to trade mine and maybe plus cash. But if I have other options like I posted that would be nice too! I have hit plenty of drops bigger than 1' w/o problems lol.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
Yeah I totally understand, but do to limited funds to buy a very expensive FR-DH frame im trying to trade mine and maybe plus cash. But if I have other options like I posted that would be nice too! I have hit plenty of drops bigger than 1' w/o problems lol.
You probably don't want to hear this, hell I didn't when I first got into the sport, but ride what you got and deal with it for the time being. If you are pushing your riding style and the limits of your bike, you will be soooo much better off saving up some coin for something later on. Honestly, upgrading your rear shock is basically throwing away money.
 

ultraNoob

Yoshinoya Destroyer
Jan 20, 2007
4,504
1
Hills of Paradise
... Honestly, upgrading your rear shock is basically throwing away money.
I disagree. Two of my bikes felt soo much better once I upgraded the shock.

Bike 1: Ironhorse Warrior SE, the original shock was a fox vanilla coil with rebound adjustment. Felt ok, but as soon as I upgraded to a vanilla RC (piggy back), the bike felt much more responsive, pedaled better, and felt more in control on drops and rough stuff. Heck, even swapped the fork out and DH'd the bike for a season. If that IH warrior benefited from a shock upgrade, then the GF should too.

Bike 2: Nicolai mPire, the shock I had on there was a manitou evolver ISX6. The bike felt super plush but would bottom out on drops over 2' and g-outs regardless of how much air I put in it. Swapped it to a Revox (coil shock with the same basic dampening and adjustments) and the bike is 3x better. It pedals great, hasn't bottomed out yet and is sooo much smother over the rough stuff.
 

ultraNoob

Yoshinoya Destroyer
Jan 20, 2007
4,504
1
Hills of Paradise
...Not knowing much about my options, would switching to a coil help me out? The rear is supposedly 2.8 to 4.1 adjustable? Help anyone?
FYI, when using a coil shock on a bike with adjustable suspension travel, the required spring rates change as you change the travel. That is where one of the biggest benefits of an air shock come in. You can adjust the air spring with a couple pumps. Also it may take a few tries with different springs to dial in what your ideal spring rates may be for your weight at different travel adjustments, or you may be lucky and find a spring rate that works for you regardless of the travel adjustment. Go with what feels good and not necesarily what people say you "should or shouldn't" do. Good Luck, happy riding, and welcome to Ridemonkey!
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
I disagree.
The guy who you're disagreeing with's point is that if the OP is freeriding, he should have a freeride bike. Trying to turn his Sugar into a FR bike is not going to end well. He should save his money, and buy a bike that's appropriate for the riding he wants to do.
 

wilbywise

Chimp
Feb 10, 2008
10
0
Charleston, SC
Thanks Ultra! I think thats just what i needed to hear. However would switching to a coil how much more travel,responsiveness, and preventing bottoming out would i get? I do use this bike as a freeride bike and I just want to make as much out of it as I can! It just seems like the rebound is so slow and dealing with the air pressure is just a pain!

I really just want to beef up the rear as much as the front
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Seriously, it's not worth buying a new shock for that bike. It's not a very strong frame, and you're going to break it if you're doing any real freeriding on it. Save your money, and buy an appropriate frame. There are deals to be had if you look around. Trying to make your Sugar into a FR rig is like trying to make a monster truck out of a sprint car. It's just not the right frame to be starting with. Spending money on a rear shock for it just isn't worthwhile.
 

w00dy

In heaven there is no beer
Jun 18, 2004
3,417
51
that's why we drink it here
You might want to sell that bike before you break it and try to pick up a used bike in the classifieds. No, that's not a shameless plug, I'm only selling hardtails.