Been offered a 2nd hand DHX 4 and a 5, and know very little about them.
[Edit: DHX 4.0 & 5.0 air not coil btw]
Very little is coming up on google… other option is a pushed Rp3
(which if it wasn't pushed I should/would have jumped at, but believe "Pushing" is set specifically to the user weight [and may well already be sold now])

Any horror stories? I know they used to be affected by the "stuck down" issue.

Don't know what to do, just know if I bought one and ended up having to serviced, it'd be a long way towards the cost of a brand new RP23 or past the price of a Vanilla R… what to do????

(for a Prophet btw)

They're good shocks and you can actually adjust the comp damping unlike float series ones to make it firm or plush etc.

Personally I'd go for the RP23 or the Vanilla. I've just swapped out the one on my bike as I was never that happy with the performance. I never experienced the "stuck-down" issues, it just never felt that good, despite playing around with the set-up.

It was fine on drops, but on fast, rough sections it seemed to struggle in the mid part of it's travel.

Well i found mine better than a float r and an rp23 on my meta5.
Lack of midstroke damping just sounds like more boost valve pressure required to me.

Tried all that. I'm sure it does also depend on the bike and the suspension design.

Well yes and a lot is down to personal taste. I still think they're the best shock that fox makes. (And the only one with adjustable comp damping?)

ive got an 06/07 dhx 5 air on my heckler and i really like it. im a pretty heavy load and its performing very well so far (had it since Jan 10).

oh – and the stuck down issues happened on the older shocks – due to naff/poorly looked after seals i believe. any that have been serviced since 06 onwards will have had the good seals put in – just keep em clean and lubed and you'll be fine.

I have a DHX 4 air on a Reign X. In my opinion the stock shock is awful. It was then custom valved at Mojo and it is a completely different beast. I check the pressure when I remember and other than that it's left alone. Pro pedal is never touched as the beginning and mid-stroke low-speed compression is brilliant with the mojo tune.

If you're going to run it stock: no. If you're prepared to get it serviced and valved: definitely yes.

Mind you, we could be comparing apples and walnuts, as you want to run it on a prophet.

I would go for a new Vanilla from TF. That way for only £189 you get the shock already tuned to you and your bike. Unless you are getting the DHX for under £100 its really not worth the risk of the service cost.

You're suggesting he puts a coil shock on a falling rate frame?

Others on here have done it and loved it.

TBH I havnt had enough experience riding different fs designs to know how it would feel.

And anyway your suggesting he pust a HV shock on it and in my limited experience that wouldn't work. I have said before that I think a DHX with a low volume sleeve would feel so much better than it does as a HV.

Others on here have done it and loved it.

TBH I havnt had enough experience riding different fs designs to know how it would feel.

And anyway your suggesting he pust a HV shock on it and in my limited experience that wouldn't work. I have said before that I think a DHX with a low volume sleeve would feel so much better than it does as a HV.

Well you say a HV won't work, but it still has a rising rate, unlike a coil.

Can you get a LV DHX air? I was under the impression that you couldn't (also with the 2010 RP23 boost valve shocks)

Depends on the age of the shock and age of the frame.
to get the best out of the frame you should get the same
age of shock designed around the frame or a newer shock.

Cant get one but I think a LV sleeve will fit on it. The main problem I had with the DHX air I had was it blowing through the travel too quickly this went away when I got a custom shimmed Van R on the bike.

Admittedly the bike was a 05 Enduro and the DHX I had was only a 3 but I firmly believe that getting a LV sleeve for probably not much money will transform the way it works.

Ok, but again i can't believe you were blowing through the travel with if the boost valve pressure is set right, you can make it really well controlled. That's why i think its such a versatile shock. 🙂

I_A, the feeling of blowing through the mid stroke travel was my biggest problem with stock DHX. From what I've read around the internets it's a common complaint with the DHX air.

Like I said above, a re-valve massively improves the performance. If anyone has ridden a stock vs valved DHX you'll know what I'm talking about.