[BigHitComp04]

Alright, my rear shock search continues, and there are the 3 shocks i have narrowed it down to. I am little hesitant with each for different reasons. Right now I am leaning towards the El Jefe. If you guys have any experience with any of these shocks PLEASE let me know what you think/feel about each shock. Ive been shock searching for like 3 weeks and im itchin to ride.

Please dont suggest other shocks, like a 5th or a DHX or an Avy. These are all that will fit on my bike and will fit in my price range.

Thanks a lot

 

[ChrisRobin]

Alright, my rear shock search continues, and there are the 3 shocks i have narrowed it down to. I am little hesitant with each for different reasons. Right now I am leaning towards the El Jefe. If you guys have any experience with any of these shocks PLEASE let me know what you think/feel about each shock. Ive been shock searching for like 3 weeks and im itchin to ride.

Please dont suggest other shocks, like a 5th or a DHX or an Avy. These are all that will fit on my bike and will fit in my price range.

Thanks a lot

Ah ha...I have experience with 2 of the 3 mentioned.

Right now I have an El Jefe. You can check the pic in my signature. It's tad bit heavier and I'm honestly considering getting a Push'd Fox RC just to lighten up the bike a bit. Anyways, on this bike I started with a Romic shock that was awesome. It felt plush with no stickiness. The adjustments worked well too until the thing started leaking because it was from a bad batch of shocks and Romic was going to charge to me to have it rebuilt. So I got rid of it and got an El Jefe. The El Jefe feels like it has a lot of damping when just pushing up and down on the bike in the parking lot. Doesn't feel initially as plush from what I can remember of the Romic. BUT, when you let loose and ride fast it feels just as good. Does it feel better??? Maybe...but not by a lot. The reason for going for the El Jefe is because a) it'll never blow, b) uses standard MX parts and c) you can work on it yourself.

I don't have any info on the Swinger...although a platform shock will feel different from the Romic and El Jefe.

 

[ChrisRobin]

BTW, what bike is it going on?

 

[BigHitComp04]

A 2004 Big Hit Comp...hence the name lol. Thanks for the response though, i actually ended up ordering it, and its on its way.

 

[ChrisRobin]

Let us know how you like it...you can post a little review of it in the DH forum too!

 

[julian_dh]

chrisrobins, why would you want to get rid of the el jefe i tried one today on a super 8 and have never felt anything that even comes near to it. im definatly gonna look at one of those or an avy for my 223 at the end of the season.

 

[ChrisRobin]

chrisrobins, why would you want to get rid of the el jefe i tried one today on a super 8 and have never felt anything that even comes near to it. im definatly gonna look at one of those or an avy for my 223 at the end of the season.

I know they're good but I'm thinking I want to lighten my bike a little bit. The El Jefe is big and heavy. I'll probably end up keeping it anyway.

 

[The Rose]

Keep the El Jefe, I sold my old swinger and put the stratos on and I have never regreted the change. I don't think you'll find a shock with a better feel. And just as a side note I really didn't like the spv for DH.

 

[BigHitComp04]

The shock didnt fit!! The shock body itself is to freakin big, it wont fit in my linkage plate at all. You think they will give me my money back, even though i did attempt to mount it and put the bushings in and everything? I figured i could just pay for the bushings and it would be cool....

Any suggestions?

 

[ChrisRobin]

Do you have the 8" travel Bighit?

Is the spring too wide or is it the actual shock body?

 

[BigHitComp04]

The shock body and spring are both too big. Ive got the Big Hit Comp, its 7.5 inches of travel. But its the same frame as the Expert, just a different shock.

 

[ChrisRobin]

The shock body and spring are both too big. Ive got the Big Hit Comp, its 7.5 inches of travel. But its the same frame as the Expert, just a different shock.

Can you post a pic so I can see where it hits? I'm sure I've seen El Jefes on those frames before.

Did you buy the shock directly from Stratos?

 

[BigHitComp04]

Can you post a pic so I can see where it hits? I'm sure I've seen El Jefes on those frames before.

Did you buy the shock directly from Stratos?

Yeah i did, which is why it makes me so mad. On another site somebody said that they only way people got them to fit is to dremel out the linkage plate to get the necessary room. Which i dont like the sound of at all. I will try to get up a picture later. Thanks for your help btw.

 

[ChrisRobin]

Yeah i did, which is why it makes me so mad. On another site somebody said that they only way people got them to fit is to dremel out the linkage plate to get the necessary room. Which i dont like the sound of at all. I will try to get up a picture later. Thanks for your help btw.

Another thing you can check...

Look at the spring. Does it seem wider or fatter towards the middle of the spring compared to where the spring collars are??? I've seen pics of Stratos El Jefes where the spring is the same size all the way through while mine was wider in the middle.

 

[BigHitComp04]

I finally got a hold of Stratos, they said they would take it back and give me a refund. So i shipped it out this afternoon. I ordered a Swinger 4 way because i KNOW it will fit and i need to ride badly. Thanks a lot for your help though. Ill post up pics of my bike once i get the shock