Most horizontally mounted shocks have the air can at the front.Am i right in thinking that having it the other way round doesn’t affect performance,just looks slightly odd.Am thinking of doing this to mine as the pro pedal lever catches on the water bottle and swapping round would add a bit of clearance.

Pete,

I have fitted Magura Odin rear shocks in both directions and it made no difference to the functionality.

This was for ease of access and some protection from the filth.

Do not bother with a Lizardskin to protect the shock…it merely stores and hides the mess and corresponding corrosion.

PaulD.

Makes no difference to functionality, only to the clearance..
My old Gemini frame had shock (Piggy back Van RC) fitting instructions dependant on the size/clearance of the frames.

Cheers for that,thats what i thought.I’ll see how it goes backwards.

Do not bother with a Lizardskin to protect the shock…it merely stores and hides the mess and corresponding corrosion.

But a Lizardskin protects it from upflying rocks which can chip the anodising and be very costly to repair.

The more serious threat is chipping the anodising which a lizardskin is very effective against.

if you use a lizardskin, periodically remove it to clean the shock shaft. A shock boot only risks a shock or uppydowny seatpost if you use it as an excuse to neglect it.

I thought the shock could be positioned so that there is less unsprung mass (ie the heavier end of the shock isn’t having to move about)
I can’t quite work out whether the shock body/dial end is heavier than the shaft with other internals in or not
The weight of rear tyre, (tube,) rimstrip, rim, nipples, spokes, hub, skewer/axle, rear stays/swingarm/rocker, brake caliper, rotor, rear mech, casette and partially the chain, brake hose, gear cable inner/outer, bearings, bolts and so on will presumably dwarf any difference in weight between shock orientation hence so noticable difference?
Unless having the damping oil/cicuitary largely still or being moved with the bumps makes a difference?

air can upwards so muck drains away from the seals, probably makes nob all difference though

Ideally, the heaviest part should be set to move the least (eg usually attached to the main frame) to reduce unsprung mass. In the real world it really doesn’t matter.

But a Lizardskin protects it from upflying rocks which can chip the anodising and be very costly to repair.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a rock fly up quite that high! Sure they jump up and at worst strike your shins, but hitting a damper on a bike is a bit far fetched.

Quite why you would want to add to the stiction of any damper but sliding a stiff rubber boot over it is beyond me anyway. You may as well not bother with rear suspension at all.

The more serious threat is chipping the anodising which a lizardskin is very effective against.

I’ll respectfully disagree with you there, 100%. Having worked in a shop for too long I saw vast numbers need new air sleeves because the anodising had worn. The number that had been dented by a rock… erm… none.

A dirty Lizard Skin, even containing one ride’s dirt, is rather like holding sandpaper against your shock. The seals are designed not to need one, don’t bother.

I’ve swapped it round now,wait and see how it rides tomorrow. Won’t be fitting a lizard skin though.