Viewing 30 posts - 1 through 30 (of 30 total)
  • DHX5 air or coil… desicions desicions.
  • robhughes
    Free Member

    Hi gang.
    I,m upgrading the RP2 on my spicy and would like some views on which to choose out of these two.
    Coil lyriks on the front so i know in theory i should go coil/coil but is it worth the extra weight to go with the coil version.
    Both boost valve flavor .
    Thanks all

    anto164
    Free Member

    coil shocks perform better than air, but the tradeoff is the weight.

    What riding do you do? If you use lockout on the shock a lot, then i’d keep with an air with lockout. If you never use it, then just get the coil.

    BTW, get a BOS or a CCDB. For the same price-ish new, they’re muccchhh better than a dhx5

    robhughes
    Free Member

    Hi.Use the spicy as a mini D/H bike as i have a trance X1 for XC duties.

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    kudos100
    Free Member

    coil all the way

    Liftman
    Full Member

    Coil with ti spring 🙂

    robhughes
    Free Member

    Ooooo.It,s looking like the coil then… 😀

    coogan
    Free Member

    Coil. And a Ti spring.

    messiah
    Free Member

    If you want to stay air tune the RP, or buy a Bos vipr. If you want better than air go tuned coil… or ccdb Stoy. Avoid the DHX air.

    jedi
    Full Member

    i been riding a dhx air on the bottlerocket and it feels ok. i want to try coil and ti on it like i had on the demo9

    robhughes
    Free Member

    messiah.
    When you say tuned coil.I take it you mean a pushed 5 coil shock?

    Hadge
    Free Member

    Coil all the way. My first 5 Spot came with a DHX Air shock and it felt totally dead, really not impressed at all. Had it serviced and checked over and it was still just as bad. I then bought a DHX coil with a ti spring and it was fantastic!
    When I bought my second Spot many years later it came with a Pushed RP3 and as good as it was it still didn’t feel as plush or as controlled as the coil shock. Forget the weight penalty, it’s how it rides and you will enjoy it far far more.

    messiah
    Free Member

    Tuned… not necessarily push… would you buy a one size fits all t-shirt?

    Burls72
    Free Member

    Coil, tuned for you and the bike be that pushed or mojo/loco shim stacked or what ever magic they weave.

    robhughes
    Free Member

    Ahh.That old trick
    It’s black magic they use 😉
    just had loco tweek up the RP2 on the Trance.

    walleater
    Full Member

    I wouldn’t call the DHX Hair and upgrade over any RP shock.

    robhughes
    Free Member

    All ready convince to go coil.
    I,m on to a new one as we speak..
    Superb advice as per usual..I expect nothing less 😉

    walleater
    Full Member

    Superb advice as per usual..I expect nothing less

    Have you considered using a sausage instead of a shock? I find that Black Pudding is a little bit too much like an old elastomer shock, but Chorizo has just the right qualities, and as a bonus, you get a tasty snack at the end of a ride.

    deanfbm
    Free Member

    People who dislike the DHX air, what do you dislike about them?

    Same adjustments and whatnot as a DHX 5 coil, just an air can instead of coil.

    An air can where you can get exactly the correct spring stiffness and tune the progressiveness of the air spring, via altering the volume of the exterior, secondary air can.

    The linearity stuff with a coil i’ve never got, your leverage ratios on whatever frame you’re running don’t vary linearly throughout the stroke, so how is it possible to detect linearity, when linearity isn’t what you’re getting?

    Or is it the stiction in the air spring?

    I have a DHX Air, haven’t run the coil, so can’t give a valid comparison between the two. however, i like my DHX air.

    mudfish
    Full Member

    BOS VIP’R, weight of air, feels like coil. Really excellent damping, OK, I didnt ride one yet, not many have, but, I’m told it’s a great match to the Deville which I have and love. Sublime damping. Have a chat with Shinny at shinnyracing.com. He da man for BOS.
    Dont like the idea of BOS?
    I’d go for a Marzocchi Roco, TST / coil. I did and have had good results (supplied and tuned for my bike etc by Dave at Stendec) but I am now looking longingly at the VIP’R. Is it a 222 eye to eye? I’d sell mine.
    The fox RP23 is a far nicer shock than the “impossible to set right every adjustment affects another” DHX air (DHX coil is tough to set up too). Simple is better. If you must have coil how about a BOS S**toy?

    Roger, BOS UK runs a LaPierre, he’d know. Nice guy.
    Any Q’s please email me, see profile.
    N
    N

    AndyA
    Free Member

    Run a coil dhx 5 on my spicy and I’m very happy with it. Previously had a fox float R which was too wallowy and had too light a compression tune for my weight. Also tried a rp2 with a firmer compression tune which was alot better than the standard float. For me I prefer running a coil shock as it generally feels better for my 15st weight.
    Its currently standard set up with a ti spring, but when it needs serviced I’ll get it tuned while it’s away as apparently it feels a fair bit better again.

    retro83
    Free Member

    deanfbm – Member

    People who dislike the DHX air, what do you dislike about them?

    Same adjustments and whatnot as a DHX 5 coil, just an air can instead of coil.

    An air can where you can get exactly the correct spring stiffness and tune the progressiveness of the air spring, via altering the volume of the exterior, secondary air can.

    The linearity stuff with a coil i’ve never got, your leverage ratios on whatever frame you’re running don’t vary linearly throughout the stroke, so how is it possible to detect linearity, when linearity isn’t what you’re getting?

    Or is it the stiction in the air spring?

    I have a DHX Air, haven’t run the coil, so can’t give a valid comparison between the two. however, i like my DHX air.

    Same here, I just don’t get it. I had a DHX Air and loved it.

    Somebody’s posted up that it isn’t an upgrade over any RP shock. Don’t know where to start with that really. Completely different shock with completely different ride characteristics.

    Munqe-chick
    Free Member

    DHX Air had a reputation for blowing thru midstroke (possibly due to volume of can?) and is slated by the tuners, I suspect because the internals are too complex for them to successfully tune (I’ve read before that TFT recommend the most basic Float/Vanilla R as its so easy for them to add value to).

    I had a DHXAir on a VPP Nomad, which was a design that needed midstroke support and generated a lot of internet ire against the Air. I bought a coil for it, but before fitting it I decided to RTFM for the Air 😀 . Increasing the boost chamber pressure and fully winding in the bottom out adjuster at the end of the chamber made a vast improvement, effectively giving more compression damping and supporting the bike midstroke. I ended up selling the coil without fitting it.

    I think a lot of the hate is because it is a fickle shock to set up, which is amusing as that is seen as a selling point for the CCDB. I now ride a single pivot with a CCDB 😆

    nickf
    Free Member

    I had a DHX5 air on a 5-Spot, which worked, but never felt great. The replacement, a DHX5 coil, PUSHed and Ti sprung, is fantastically better.

    Just my 2p, but I’d not go air again for anything other than the most XC of bikes, and even then I’d ride a hardtail in preference.

    walleater
    Full Member

    I commented on the Air not being an improvement over an RP, and I’ve ridden loads of bikes with both and to me the bike just feels better supported with an RP. And yes, I own a MK1 Nomad which came with a DHX4 coil, and I’ve short shocked it with a mid tune RP2 and I don’t feel the suspension being much worse, even though I’m missing around 1/2″ travel. Conversely, every Nomad I’ve ridden with a DHX Air feels like a wallowy piece of shi’ite. The Air also weighs quite a bit.

    Oh and as for the Air being too complicated for tuners to work on….LOLWTFETC? They seem to be able to manage every other shock on the planet OK? Tuners over in BC don’t exactly rave about them either, so it’s not just Flooks. Sure you can swap the air chamber out for an RP one / fill it with Float Fluid etc but you might as well just get a shock that works.

    deanfbm
    Free Member

    I also don’t get how a DHX air is considered more wollowy than the coil, when an air spring is more progressive and should give more mid stroke support.

    The wallowy feel with the DHX air is due to the volume being too big for that given frame, the progressiveness of the spring not being high enough to match the higher leverage ratios some frames have have at mid stroke.

    The stock air can is optimised for more linearity, so a more coil like feel. As suggested above, this linearisation may mean lack of support mid stroke for some frames, of which is an easy fix. Optimisation of the air can volume is another adjustment you are free to make and just as important as making sure you have the correct rebound speed, IMO it’s just part of setting things up.

    With an standard RP can, you’re guaranteed to have all the mid stroke support you need, but again you may have too much, which would mean backing off the compression damping, you maybe finding hard to hit full travel.

    It’s all swings and roundabouts though, different people want different things. I need/want the adjustments of a DHX air over a RP for setting up for different locations, with an RP, it’s tuned, then you can’t adjust for different types of riding and locations.

    jeff
    Full Member

    I had a DHX Air on my last bike and I was happy with it, but it did take a lot of RTFMing and tweaking to get it working right for me.

    If I had the cash, I would always go coil, but custom tuned and with a Ti spring.

    Best shock I’ve had was a TFT custom tuned Vanilla with the correct coil spring for my weight, no adjustments possible at all, not even rebound. The more adjusters I’m offered, the more likely I am to cock things up.

    retro83
    Free Member

    deanfbm – Member

    I also don’t get how a DHX air is considered more wollowy than the coil, when an air spring is more progressive and should give more mid stroke support.

    The wallowy feel with the DHX air is due to the volume being too big for that given frame, the progressiveness of the spring not being high enough to match the higher leverage ratios some frames have have at mid stroke.

    The stock air can is optimised for more linearity, so a more coil like feel. As suggested above, this linearisation may mean lack of support mid stroke for some frames, of which is an easy fix. Optimisation of the air can volume is another adjustment you are free to make and just as important as making sure you have the correct rebound speed, IMO it’s just part of setting things up.

    With an standard RP can, you’re guaranteed to have all the mid stroke support you need, but again you may have too much, which would mean backing off the compression damping, you maybe finding hard to hit full travel.

    It’s all swings and roundabouts though, different people want different things. I need/want the adjustments of a DHX air over a RP for setting up for different locations, with an RP, it’s tuned, then you can’t adjust for different types of riding and locations.

    Good post, +1 on that.

    walleater
    Full Member

    I’m not convinced that swapping out the air can on a DHX would be classed as ‘easy’, based on the logic that most people outside of internet forums have trouble changing a gear cable. Also, I run an XV can on my RP, and it doesn’t suffer the same issues as the DHX, yet is pretty plush. Sticking a standard can on a DHX and running higher pressures seems to be the wrong way of going about things.

    LoCo
    Free Member

    It’s the stuff going on inside the dampers that makes the difference between the two as well as the air can size.

    mrplow
    Free Member

    My DHX has been unreliable with it suffering cavitation and inconsistant rebound. A simple Van R coil seems to out perform it in every area apart from stand up sprinting where the DHX PP is better. Reducing the air volume on the DHX did make it feel better on my 06 enduro.

    The DHX was serviced at the start of the year and is cavitating again. I think this may be one of the reasons TF don’t like it.

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