For any given travel is it better to have a long shock?
I have 2 marin mount visions.One with a 190 shock and one with a 165.The 190 feels a lot better even though the 165 has been pushed and tuned for me.
My third bike has 165 shock and even though it has linkages ,is 11 years newer and pushed it’s still not as good as my 190.
Thoughts please.My next potential bike runs a 165.

Is a longer shock better?

That’s what I’ve been told.
8)

The length of the shock is largely irrelevant, whats the stroke of it (how much does it compress by)?
I suspect you’ll find the longer shock has a longer stroke, thus its likely that the bike will have more travel, which is possibly why it feels better.
Although better is pretty obtuse in descriptive terms. Smoother? More controlled?

Supposedly better in that for the same travel, a longer shock has a lower leverage ratio. IF you’re getting 160mm travel from a 200×57 shock, it has to work harder and run higher pressures than the same travel form a 216×63 one.

I know nothing about shocks but i’d have thought for the same given travel on the frame, more ‘travel’ on the shock would allow a more controlled compression & work better/more efficiently?

I know nothing about shocks but i’d have thought for the same given travel on the frame, more ‘travel’ on the shock would allow a more controlled compression & work better/more efficiently?

Yep, pretty much spot on there.