For an PACE RC405 I have the choice between:

Rock Shox Monarch 3.3 or DT Swiss EX200 rear shock on a Pace RC405 frame.

The DT Swiss EX200 cost additional £166. Is it worth?

The frame was originally designed to work with the DT Swiss shock, but i'm sure the guys at Pace wouldn't spec the RS Shock if it didn't work well.

Depends what your funds can stretch to. I ride a 2008 RC405 with the EX200 shock and love it to bits. 🙂

Following a conversation with Adrian and Pace I decided to go for the DT Swiss XM180. It was a £75 upgrade and felt worth it but I couldn't justify the other £100 for the EX200. The main difference is platform on the 200 vs lockout on the 180. I rarely used the pedal platform on my ETSX and the Pace is stiffer climbing anyway.

According to Adrian, the Monarch gives better big mump performance at the expense of small bump plushness. The Monarch is a special tune for Pace too.

All three shocks have broadly the same spring rates but obvisouly the damping varies between the Monarch and DT shocks.

Thank you for your replies!

I got Feedback from Adrian now: He wrote that in his opinion the DT Swiss EX200 gives the 405 a more sensitive and supple rear suspension character so that the bike gives more grip and drive in low traction situations. However the Monarch is lower cost and also gives good performance but is better at handling more aggressive riding and bigger hits.

Now I have to decide about the color: Did somebody saw the Khaki Color in reality? Here in Germany I never will see any Pace Bikes…
Due to my red brakes and parts Orange is not possible and will hopefully look good together with Khaki..

I've got a monarch with a HV air can on my Nomad, to be honest I can't tell much difference between it and my DHX coil. Take that as a recommendation!