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If it’s any use I have a ‘21 DHX2 (new style) in a 205x65 setup. I think I even have the adapters to make it 62.5/60/57.5mm stroke, which are literally plastic spacers which bolt onto the underside of the shock.
It was serviced about a month ago.
That shock would be perfect but sadly I don’t have that cash spare right now as the car needs a service and £500 of road tax about now - hence was looking for something on 0% finance.
Banged the float x up to 200% psi (23% sag)and backed off the lsc to its lightest setting and rode Cwmcarn / Risca today. I lost the rubber band off the bottom of the shaft so I must have bottomed it out somewhere - pretty sure on the Y Mynnyd downhill or final stretch of the Twrch on way back to the car. So I might actually need to add some more tokens.
Overall it felt much taughter at the back on the uphills and flow trails. Definitely not as plush as a coil but it felt more efficient than it did before.
Depends how it felt, bottoming out happens way more than folk think, it’s the reason most shocks have large bump stops on them.
Been riding the ohlins today and oh my what an imprudent. The bike feels just perfect now. Didn't notice the extra weight and it feels just perfect.
Been riding the ohlins today and oh my what an imprudent. The bike feels just perfect now. Didn’t notice the extra weight and it feels just perfect.
You rubbing it in for Joe ;o)
Nope, just providing friendly enthusiasm to pay a little extra
Plus I really need to remember to proof read before i post. Imprudent? Stupid phone should have put improvement
Lol - cheers lads 🙈
I will say the ohlins coil did massively improve the way the bike felt for me. It blew the standard x2 out the water! Granted with time I probably could have got that x2 feeling better
Get saving for the ohlins joe!
Sigh, I hate saving and waiting, I can be so impatient!
On this occasion sensibilities will have to take priority.
Tbf the bike was epic yesterday - I don’t like the final bit of Y Mynnyd because it just huge jumps I can’t clear so I go down the final stretch of Twrch. I was definitely the fastest I’ve ever been done there - absolutely flying - you can feel the 29er wheels skimming over rocky bits rather than hanging up on them. Just my bottle holding me back going faster - there was quite a bit of loose gravel on a few corners.
Down the techier stuff like wacko at Cwmcarn it was fantastic too. If I can get a bit more grip on the back wheel via a coil shock it’s going to be scary fast.
So I found a good 0% deal on a Cane Crek Kitsuma coil - the thing is outrageously good! Better climb switch by miles than the DHX2 factory I had on the last bike. I think I need to go up to a 450lb spring though - the 400 might be just a bit too much sag / a touch too soft. Plush as you like though - so much better than the float x on the one ride I did today.
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Give it a try on something a bit more than Leigh Woods to dial that shock in 😁
Rode the Sentinel round some twisty / pedally trails at Ashton Court / 50 acre wood / Leigh Woods last night and got pbs all over the place. I took 11 seconds off my pb on one horribly nadgery sort of descent in 50 acre woods and a chunk out of another twisty / pedally section in Leigh woods.
There’s more rear traction with the coil shock and it seems to still pedal really efficiently. The climb switch is genuinely amazing — either in the middle or basically totally locked setting the bike is going well up climbs - it doesn’t hurt that I’ve done a decent amount of hilly rides / turbo training recently too.
Still waiting on Singletrack Bikes to dispatch the 450lb spring - I think I bottomed out a couple of times yesterday on relatively tame trails so looking forward to see how the 450 spring goes.
Awesome, the kitsuma was my other option if i couldn't have got the ohlins.
Looks right on the bike
The only downside so far is my normal sized fidlock water bottle doesn’t fit anymore as the dials on the shock are so chunky. Played around with a di2 adapter and can just fit in the smaller field lock bottle but it’s very close to the underside of the top tube and the adapter looks a bit ugly.
Got a zee cage and small ish normal bottle on order to try and see if that fits better. Fidlock sits quite high off the downtube I think.
The Ohlins shock looks really nice but the Kitsuma has more adjustments and was £200 cheaper give or take
Nice.
Ohlins coil shocks are very good, but they insulate you from the trail more than anything else I've ridden.
The Cane Creek might be a better option for a trail bike, in that sense.
Yeah it’s interesting the different characteristics. I’d say the Kitsuma seems to be better than the DHX2 factory I had on my last bike although my current bike has 20mm more rear travel so it’s not completely like for like.
I’d say it feels more sensitive over roots and stuff with less chunder coming through the pedals - plus the climb switch is way more useful. I don’t like the chunkyness of the dials - I would have been happy with Allen key adjustments that meant I could have carried on running a full size water bottle. Although they are very easy to adjust by hand obviously. Once setup I doubt I’ll be changing them though so it’s not that much of an advantage.
Shocks are always a personal thing, I found my transition was quite an active frame with the shock anyway, so was always stiffening it up a little just for feel and doing jumps and my terrible landings 😁
It’s all just a learning curve, only perfected the day before a new bike arrives!