whats good?

is their an option (taking cost and performance into account) around £250 other than a pushed Coil Van R for a single pivot?
what are marzocchi roccos like?
Manitou swinger 3 or 4 way?

rc4

?
£400 +

There’s a lot of good shocks on the market. Fox RC4 mentioned above, Elka Stage 5, Cane Creek Double Barrel to mention the top dogs.

Pushed Van R is ok too, missing some adjustment so if you vary where you ride a lot (between trails and DH for example) then it might end up being a compromise, but still better then stock. The Push MX-Tune should do wonders for any Fox shock (don’t know if tftuned do it).

BUDGET IS £250

I’ve recently put a Van R on my Enduro SL and it’s transformed the whole attitude of the bike. Okay so it’s added a few pounds to the overall weight but the downhill performance is a million miles better than it was with the air shock it came with. I’ve not had mine “pushed” or tuned in any way, just rang TF and told them what I was after ( not too soft, decent pedalability) and it has just been a case of fit and forget for me. I’ve kept the old air shock for those longer summer all day adventures though. Would love to try it with a ti spring at some point.

Do you think anyone actually read the OP R_R? 😉

I’d stick with the Fox Van, well tried and tested platform @ that budget.
But if you want another option how’s about Loco’s Diverse Dueler Rear Coil Shocks, assuming one fits your frame? (Heckler?) Though it does push your budget up a little.

Have a look at chain reactions just now, they have quite a few manitou swinger shocks 3 and 4 way on offer, you could get a new shock new spring from them £150-200ish then send it off to be custom tuned to your bike for £250 ish.

I don’t know much about coil shocks to know if the Fox Van R has more or less adjustment than a swinger 3 or 4 way but it could be an option.

Roco WC off ebay.

Secondhand CCDB go for £250-300 at the moment..

You can get a DHX, even DHX RC4 on eBAY for less that £250.

You can’t go wrong with the Fox.

A custom tune is the best option – so yes, a custom tuned Van R (with or without Push) would be top dog for £250 – with hopefully the correct spring and tune for your riding once you’ve spoken to the chosen tuner. My understanding of the Push tune is that it is a worthwhile upgrade as it gives more internal oil flow which helps with small bump sensitivity and recovery from large bumps.

A stock shock on the other hand has to fit many bikes and suit many people, so other options like bargain Swingers or Rocco’s would not be custom tuned and hence almoot cetainly not as good. They may have more adjustments… but if the custom tune is correct you will not need to adjust anything.

Fox shocks are the standard – and there are so many tuning options which are well understood. Getting the same level of support for other shocks might not be so easy – Rocco’s are well known for problems, and I’ve heard older SPV Swingers can be tuned once the internals have been swapped out for shims… I would (and have) stuck with Fox because the chassis is good, and you can get many things done to the insides.

Diverse Dueler looks like excellent value with the Ti spring – if you can stretch the budget.

Has Loco been banned from here for self-promotion (& no advertising) or is he just too busy now his business is up and running?

Would have expected something from da man. (Alway found he gave what I thought was decent advice)

I would like Ti spring, great service & good price so I am wanting

http://locotuning.co.uk/dsp-dueler.html

Cant really go wrong with a standard Vanilla. Good value at 189 i think from tftuned. they will set it up correctly.

will transform the bike, I put one on my remedy and its a different beast now.

They are under £110 from ebay 😉

You could buy say a DHX 4.0 secondhand for £125 – then spend the same getting it serviced and custom tuned… this would allow you to ride the shock and have input into how you want it tuned… but the faults/compromises of one shock fits all are well understood as are the requirements for most common frames.

You also have to get hardware and the correct spring.

A Roco TST for peddaly stuff or a Roco WC for downhilly stuff, a pushed Roco WC feels better to a CCDB IMO (buy my CCDB) 😀

stop being a pikey and invest in the bits that you need !

I’ll bet we’ll see a Heckler and a crap shock (racing_ralph’s) in the classifieds within a month 🙄

Got a recently rebuilt 5th Element 8.5 x 2.5 ( was on my 160, but I think it also fits Hecklers ) its had the platform/SPV valve removed and a shim stack to suit 12-14 stone rider fitted. Very plush, with hi & low speed comp.,rebound and bottom out resist adjustments. 😉

Can I put a theory out there (just a theory):

An Enduro SL (my bike, btw) fundamentally isn’t a DH bike. Putting a good coil on an Enduro SL will make it feel amazing and plush, like a DH bike. But it isn’t a DH bike. So slamming it down steeps and off lips as if it were an Intense BITD will feel great, right up until the swingarm snaps. These bikes aren’t built for proper DH and keeping an air shock on it will remind you that the bike has limits. NB you can still absolutely rag these things with an air shock.

Like I said, it’s just a theory, and I too am considering getting a coil. Why compromise?

That said, those Specialized AFR shocks really are the pits. I put an RP23 on that sucker and that alone transformed the feel of the bike. And it still climbs.