SK6
06-25-2007, 08:56 AM
Now note, I'm no expert per se, so these are strictly my own opinions and thoughts.....
Well, with all of the massive debates about rear shocks, and the “Cult”, of which I am a proud member, I also realize there are other alternatives. Well, I took my new (to me) Mountain Cycle Shockwave out for her maiden voyage. The suspension is as such, 888 Works (RC) up front and the Fox DHX 5.0.
After all of the questions and all of the reading I’ve done to learn as much as I could about setting up the shock, I had a really good handle on what to expect and how to adjust it. Ok, at 230 lbs, I had a 500# spring (Single pivot bike), 140 lbs of air, and the bottom out in the middle, rebound set as needed. After tooling around with eh pro-pedal, I liked it between 2 and 4 clicks in, but ended up settling on 3.
I have to say it felt as thought the rear just stuck the ground. Dartman, Gspot and HokieRider and me went to Wintergreen for a day trip to dial in, knock dust off for the first race at Snowshoe this coming weekend. Conditions were DRY! Hulkamaniac told me the MC would be sluggish at slower speed and in corners, and man was he right. Wintergreen has some real techy stuff, lots of fun. But when I was able to let her open up holy crap, she just loves to go fast. The best I can say about my riding was best put by Dartman, “SK6 did a real good job of hanging on.” LOL
The Fox was a very pleasant surprise. I can see where some people may think the Avy is over dampened, and I attribute that to the different style of shocks and set ups they both have. The Avy is not over damped IMHO, just a different feel. The Fox seemed to me to be more “active”; in other words, I could feel the shock working more as opposed to the Avy, tough to describe. The pro-pedal debate or discussion is simply a feel thing. After all of the reading and debates and arguments, I decided I would add some pro-pedal, and change it to the other end of the spectrum until I felt a distinct difference. Between 2 and 4 clicks seemed to be the best for me,depending on terrain. I left it on 3 and balanced it out that way.
To compare the two is simply a feel thing as opposed to which one is better. I would love to have an Avy on the MC, simply because I am tough on equipment and feel it can take a beating better than the Fox. The Fox though, for me, only after one day of riding it, edged out the Avy by only a VERY small margin, simply because I could feel the responsiveness of the shock a bit better. The best test will come on a REAL DH run at Snowshoe where I can really through some stuff at it.
All in all, the bike and the suspension was such a HUGE improvement for me. I rode everything at Wintergreen, and hit stuff I wouldn’t before. It turned into a day of over 20 runs between 10:30 to about 3:30 -4:00ish. This was because when we got off of the lift, it was like, “What do we ride next”, no breaks, and then we went. Thanks for all those who have helped thus far! I do however; have some questions on the MC version of break therapy….that’ll be my next research
It was nice to ride my bike, and the feeling of not have to worry about not being able to ride a particular section.
Well, with all of the massive debates about rear shocks, and the “Cult”, of which I am a proud member, I also realize there are other alternatives. Well, I took my new (to me) Mountain Cycle Shockwave out for her maiden voyage. The suspension is as such, 888 Works (RC) up front and the Fox DHX 5.0.
After all of the questions and all of the reading I’ve done to learn as much as I could about setting up the shock, I had a really good handle on what to expect and how to adjust it. Ok, at 230 lbs, I had a 500# spring (Single pivot bike), 140 lbs of air, and the bottom out in the middle, rebound set as needed. After tooling around with eh pro-pedal, I liked it between 2 and 4 clicks in, but ended up settling on 3.
I have to say it felt as thought the rear just stuck the ground. Dartman, Gspot and HokieRider and me went to Wintergreen for a day trip to dial in, knock dust off for the first race at Snowshoe this coming weekend. Conditions were DRY! Hulkamaniac told me the MC would be sluggish at slower speed and in corners, and man was he right. Wintergreen has some real techy stuff, lots of fun. But when I was able to let her open up holy crap, she just loves to go fast. The best I can say about my riding was best put by Dartman, “SK6 did a real good job of hanging on.” LOL
The Fox was a very pleasant surprise. I can see where some people may think the Avy is over dampened, and I attribute that to the different style of shocks and set ups they both have. The Avy is not over damped IMHO, just a different feel. The Fox seemed to me to be more “active”; in other words, I could feel the shock working more as opposed to the Avy, tough to describe. The pro-pedal debate or discussion is simply a feel thing. After all of the reading and debates and arguments, I decided I would add some pro-pedal, and change it to the other end of the spectrum until I felt a distinct difference. Between 2 and 4 clicks seemed to be the best for me,depending on terrain. I left it on 3 and balanced it out that way.
To compare the two is simply a feel thing as opposed to which one is better. I would love to have an Avy on the MC, simply because I am tough on equipment and feel it can take a beating better than the Fox. The Fox though, for me, only after one day of riding it, edged out the Avy by only a VERY small margin, simply because I could feel the responsiveness of the shock a bit better. The best test will come on a REAL DH run at Snowshoe where I can really through some stuff at it.
All in all, the bike and the suspension was such a HUGE improvement for me. I rode everything at Wintergreen, and hit stuff I wouldn’t before. It turned into a day of over 20 runs between 10:30 to about 3:30 -4:00ish. This was because when we got off of the lift, it was like, “What do we ride next”, no breaks, and then we went. Thanks for all those who have helped thus far! I do however; have some questions on the MC version of break therapy….that’ll be my next research
It was nice to ride my bike, and the feeling of not have to worry about not being able to ride a particular section.