Are air shocks any good?

[S2Andy]

Just rebuilding my trusty Marin and thinking of upgrading from the original shockworks coil sprung shock (which weighs pounds) to an air shock. Is it worth it and what do you recommend at a sensible-ish price (say £200 quid new or good second hand)? Thanks Andy

[plfrench]

Short answer... yes!!! I was sceptical like yourself as to how much improvment there would be, but after the first ride yesterday with my new RS Reba Team's, the difference over my old coil sprung psylo xc's was night and day. Air sprung is so smooth and responsive, it rode very uneven ground with complete precision. I'm not sure what fork to recommend for 200, but definitely go for air

[S2Andy]

Thanks

Should have said, its really the rear shock unit I'm interested in. Thanks Andy

[plfrench]

Woops! I half thought that after I'd replied! Still worth it though especially given how rediculously light they are.

[Parsnip]

A good air shock will do the job nicely. A good air shock will be lighter, but will not feel as nice as a good coil shock.

You don't mention what bike you are riding, so its hard to recommend a specific shock. If you are doing lots of XC/AM stuff then a fox RP23 would do you nicely for just over £200 new. If you are doing a bit more AM/DH stuff then a second hand DHX air is what you are after. If you are riding lots of DH, planning on doing any long alpine descents quickly or you are more bothered about feel than weight then a DHX coil is perfect.

I have only ever ridden fox rear shocks, so i can't recommend anything else - but worth getting alternative options.

[mk1fan]

Fox Van R coil shock - custom valved - would perform exactly the same as a coil DHX 5.0.

Fox RP23 air shock performs really well, if you can get a large air can version then it'll be even smoother but still, ultimately, not as good a coil shock.

Rockshox's new Monarch air shocks are cheaper than Fox's offerings and perform just the same.

[S2Andy]

Thanks guys. The bike is a '98 Marin Mount Vision single pivot which I have owned from new. Use is X Country non competitive. Have been looking at the Monarch shocks as it seems hard to get Fox in my size (165mm eye to eye). Andy

[pdV6]

S2Andy said:

Thanks guys. The bike is a '98 Marin Mount Vision single pivot which I have owned from new. Use is X Country non competitive. Have been looking at the Monarch shocks as it seems hard to get Fox in my size (165mm eye to eye). Andy

Fox do the Float and Float-R in 165x38mm

[ratbane]

S2Andy said:

Thanks guys. The bike is a '98 Marin Mount Vision single pivot which I have owned from new. Use is X Country non competitive. Have been looking at the Monarch shocks as it seems hard to get Fox in my size (165mm eye to eye). Andy

I'm looking at a '99 MV Pro at the moment.

What's your honest verdict on the MV for XC/Trail Centres?

[S2Andy]

Hi, I don't really know how to comment. I'm not the fastest or most adventurous cyclist but do some quite arduous X country. My Marin is the single pivot design and it has been completely reliable with no bearing troubles in 11 years. I suspect its a bit heavy compared to modern designs and a '99 may not have rear disc mounts. Most of my mates appear to have moved on now to 4 link designs eg Specialised FSR which do seem lighter. However mine suits me well but would just like to lighten it up a bit. Andy

[mk1fan]

Nowt wrong with a single pivot - Orange Five, Alpine, 224, Commencal Meta's are all single pivots. Coil shocks do tend to suit single pivots better due to the physical differences of how air springs and coil springs work.

The main reason that all the different linkages cam about was to compensate for the inherrant spring problems of [early] air shocks.

Fox are going to be releasing the Vanilla R coil shock in all shock sizes in a couple of months - currently there are some sizes that are only available to manufacturer's (how dumb is that?). I would be tempted to stick with a coil shock as that's going to suit the bike better - albeit with a slight weight penalty.

Give TFTuned or Mojo a call about the Van's and use the time to save up the extra monies you may need.