Hi all. I have built up my Giant NRS now (cheers, Finbar!) but I was wondering if anyone had experience with the Shock setting?

I couldnt wait for an original NRS one, so opted for a bog standard Fox float without adjustment. (cheap)

Now I guess the idea is to build up pressure until you get the magic zero sag tipping point..trouble is, i am 93 kg, and up to 250psi and I still get a bit.

My question is: Will I achieve giant’s zero sag without their shock?
Also, If I buy a shock with propedal, could I run with regular sag?

…or am I misunderstanding the setup?

if you are 93 kg you will need the bike in short(er) travel mode. this is the hole closer to the seattube i think.

i was always borderline and ran on the longer travel setting but with a little sag – always ran ok.

sorry if this is all a bit ‘waffly’ it was a while since i had the nrs – nice bikes though. i still would like another.

My pivots only have the one setting (might be aftermarket or early)

I guess Ill lose a few more KG…(I was 109KG when I first got on a bike 18Months ago so bring it on..!)

scrap that plan then 😉

the nrs relies on having an air shock with adjustable positive and negative air chambers.

Fox shox don’t have the ability to balance the two by varying the pressure difference between the two chambers as one is set automatically.

Fox did do a special shock for the NRS for a while but I guess yours isn’t it.

Your best bet is to find a pressure that wokrs for the type of riding you do (in terms of no bottoming out but still being reaosnably responsive) with the fox or keepign an eye on ebay/in here for an old rockshox or giant shock (I got a brand new shjock for £60 from here for my nrs). I’m not sure pro-pedal is going to help you, tbh.

I’ve no experience of runnigna standard fox shock on an nrs but I think you may find it a bit bobby as it won’t be int he No-Sag sweet spot that fights chain tension.

be interested to know how you get on though.

In theory though you don’t need the ability to set a -ve pressure assuming that you don’t end up with a spring that’s way too hard to actually be any use.

I’d suggest upping the pressure a bit more (275?) – I’ve certainly run those sorts of pressures on Fox shocks without any problem even if it’s a bit above the rated pressure but I’d be amazed if there’s not a reasonable tolerance built in.

ill give it a go. will service the air chamber too first. (see other post!)

In answer to your propedal question the answer is yes.When my bike was off the road I used my son’s NRS with my RP23 shock & did excactly that.It rode better with a little bit of sag across bumpy stuff too…..

i always set my NRS with a bit of sag anyway, by adjusting the +ve and -ve air pressures in the RS shock.

The trouble with an NRS being run with some sag is that in theory at least (since I’ve not actually tried it), it should be quite bouncy when pedalling – particularly when pedalling hard because the suspension is designed to extend when pedalling – hence by setting it up as per the Giant instructions just with zero sag, it’ll stay locked out when pedalling but allow movement when hitting bumps while not pedalling (or hitting big bumps while pedalling).

in reality though, although you feel it’s not quite as stiff, it feels much more plush as a suspension system

Sorry to poo poo you clubber,
I have had my NRS since about 2001 and have run it zero sag and with about 15 percent sag i would have to say that the bike is far more active with sag there is no noticeable bob ,the suspension system still jacks up to full extension when climbing and when the rear wheel hits a bump the suspension is still active.
This also makes the suspension far more active over rough terrain and i have never bottomed it out
I do have the original works frame with rockshock wich TF once told me was far superior to any of the aftermarket shocks to the point that i loaned the rear shock to my friend who had a later frame with the in house shock and was so blown away with the performance compared to his own when he couldn’t get the rockshock he sold the frame on

Hope this helps

I too have run with a little sag but it does bob for me, but then I am a low-revs-high-torque sort of person. I’ve bottomed the standard RS unit out several times even when set to no sag 😀

Theres no reason why you wont achieve zero sag, unless the shock is designed to run with a frame that produces vastly different forces than the NRS, which seems unlikely.

On my old NRS I found it best to run with approx 2mm of sag (on the shock), this prevented any bobbing (105kg bodyweight) and allowed the suspension to be quite plush. I have used both the Giant NRS shock and the Rockshox SID and this works equally well with both.

Good advice chaps. I am currently playing around with pressures to get a nice balance between plushness and bob (bobism? ) I have tried big pressures which cuts the bob out, but it seemed to firm up the ride loads.
Of course I am judging suspension performance on drains, speedbumps and kerbs. It may be that what feels hard on the road is just fine offroad where the fun is!

Ill have a better setup when my seals come and i can rely on my shock not loosing pressure (hopefully) but it is looking like ill try about 240 psi for the inaugural singletrack jollies next week. (if my cursed front mech and panaracers come by then, but that is another story)

Thanks for all your help

Hello I was told you can use these three fox shocks A RP23, RPL or Float R
on the NRS has anyone tried any of them

You can use any 165mm i2i shock, so RS MC/Pearl/Monarch, Manitou Swinger with SPV, as long as it's the right length. I still have an original RS Sid with dual air and it just works, no fancy platforms etc so will stay on until it dies.

I'm also curious if there is a lot of a difference if the frame is run with a shock that has some sort of pro pedal/motion control damping as it already pedals really well with a standard shock.

Wow! Old topic revival..

The bog standard float sort of worked, but I ended up buying an RP2 165mm. I set it to sag (about 8mm) and got used to flicking from open to Propedal on climbs. trying to set it up to zero sag didnt really work though. I found at less than 8mm sag it would bob about all over the place until the pressure was stupidly high.

I kept this setup until I got rid of the bike. My first FS…happy days

hang on..that was only 10 months ago . I bought a Commencal Meta since then, and recently a 456. Crumbs this mountain biking lark really gets you doesnt it? No wonder I am so broke 🙂

This link might help
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=129093