Can someone decipher this guff for me please? Thanks 8)

For one, the shock rate curve provided by the linkage-activated single-pivot rear end mirrors that of Santa Cruz’s pricier VPP bikes – slightly falling off the top, providing a plush feel and ample ‘negative travel’, with a flatter mid-stroke and slight ramp up at the end for bottom-out resistance.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-santa-cruz-butcher-r-am-11-41989

For one, the shock rate curve

The EDIT: incremental force required to further compress the shock at each point in its stroke of travel

provided by the linkage-activated single-pivot rear end

Link actuated shocks mean the deisigner can adjust the shock rate curve using the geometry of the linkage and the relative position of this to the shock pivots.

mirrors that of Santa Cruz’s pricier VPP bikes – slightly falling off the top, providing a plush feel and ample ‘negative travel’,

Im guessing they mean that there’s enough sprung sag to allow the rear wheel to move down into compressions to keep ground contact

with a flatter mid-stroke

In usual riding the shock force required to compress it further is much the same at any point along the middle of the stroke – i.e linear

and slight ramp up at the end for bottom-out resistance.

Force required to compress the shock further gets harder right at the end of the stroke so that if youare coming down on a big smash you dont thump through to the stops quite so easily.

Adding to, not contradicting Stoner’s comments:

It means that the suspension is easier to compress in the intial part of the travel than in the middle or the end.

This makes the bike ‘supple’ over smaller impacts that tend to use just the initial part of travel.

The flatter ratio means the suspension is used at a uniform rate in the middle.

not contradicting Stoner’s comments

I wouldn’t know if you were or not to be honest, his translation means bugger all to me too!

Thanks for clearing it up a bit though – personally I can’t bear the fluff that bike journos use to pad out a review. Can’t they just say “it rides pretty well” etc?

They could and I am sure for some bikes they do. But if you know what the terminology means then it can tell you more about what defines it as ‘rides pretty well’ and therefore whether it’s going to suit you or not.

Thing is that most rear suspensions these days could be described the same way.

They are easier to compress at the start and harder to compress and the end and more or less the same to compress in between.