Has anyone changed or tuned their shock on Spicy or Zesty AM and improved the rear end chatter?

I ride a 2014 Zesty 727 AM with 160mm forks, so is a Spicy really. But since it was a warranty replacement frame I still have the Fox RP2 with M/L tune. I believe the none El version comes with the Fox Float CTD shock.

The RP2 is ok but I don’t know any different. Although I do dread heavily rutted out or rocky sections as the back end does bounce around a bit even though I have backed off the rebound so it is not massively damped.

So what have you non EI Zesty or Spicy owners changed or tuned and does it make your ride any plusher?

Cheers

I’m on 2014 zesty. It has the basic CTD Evo shock which will get replaced when I have a bit of spare cash. In the meantime I have mine working pretty nicely now by setting the air pressure so it works well on all terrain in the Trail mode (so softer than it should be), I never bother with the other settings as switching to descend and back just gets forgotten, and off road the bike climbs better with the suspension active rather than locked out.

Not sure what I’ll get further down the line. CCDB inline or fox kashima I suspect.

Got a 2014 Spicy Team, junked the troublesome Ei for a CCDB inline. Love it, and more adjustability than an adjustable thing. Don’t need to use the climb switch much if at all, it just works. Which is more than can be said for the Ei.

Also got a zesty AM with a 160mm fork.

Got rid of the ctd evo about a month ago and bought a CCDBinline. Much improved. Takes a little time to get it dialled in (and I don’t think i’m quite there yet) but incredibly good, especially in the rough stuff.

Brother got his Spicy RP2 shock tuned by J-Tech. He is very, very pleased with the change in performance. His retune request was to reduce the ‘wallow’ in mid-stroke and make the shock sit higher in travel at lower pressures. James did a brilliant job.

Thanks for your replies.

I’ve decided against the Inline as I don’t have the time to dial it in properly and I reckon the other less expensive options will be fine for me.

I’m really tempted to buy the Monarch RT3 Debonair. The 2015 model is available from ze Germans for £175 or £205 for the 2016 version.

But a custom tuned shock is also tempting too….

I’ve been running a Spicy shick shuttle and CCDbAir on my Zesty for two years now (for 160mm travel)

It took just a couple of rides to set up (from scratch as no one had fitted one to a zesty back then, so no “base” tune existed) and haven’t really touched it since!

It’s been to the alps twice, done North wales, inc Snowdon and Cadir Idris, been to the peaks, South Wales, Fod, Lakes, even the bad lands of Swinley 😉 and it just works.

The only change i make is to add or remove a bit of air pressure depending what i’m riding and how much kit in carrying or the terrain i’m riding. Never really touch the damping tbh, as once it’s set, it’s set.

I’m really tempted to buy the Monarch RT3 Debonair. The 2015 model is available from ze Germans for £175 or £205 for the 2016 version.

Interested to see how this goes if you do this.

I’ve got a 2013 zesty with spicy shuttle so 160mm each end.
Tf tuned pike up front and debonair plus at the rear…
If I’m honest I preferred the feel of the monarch plus. The debonair is a very different beast. Run both ends at 30% sag and feels bullet proof…
I’ve got a works comp head set to take it down to 65 degrees head angle.
I’ve never felt it’s been out of its depth.

I’ll keep you posted Razorrazoo.

A class winner at last weeks Cwmcarn Enduro used a stock RT3 Debonair shock. If I could get within a minute of his time, I’d be a happy man.

Of course the counter argument is, I’m sure his result would not be too different on my 3 year old RP2!

Nevertheless, I’m not convinced spending the extra money on a Cane Creek Inline will make me significantly quicker. (and apparently piggy back shocks don’t fit the lapierre AM normal size frame!)

Can’t believe your frame is still going strong Maxtorque!

Custom tuning’s definitely worth a look, used to suffer lot’s of chatter on my RP23 at one time. I was lucky enough to be able to work with Simon at Loco to tune mine, and it’s made an enormous difference.