I'm looking for a cheap coil shock for my pitch pro and there are a couple of old school vanilla RC's on ebay that would fit. My thinking being if I get a cheap shock I can get it tuned to my weight etc and a Ti spring for not too much money. They were always good shocks in the old days,but has technology left them behind? Also does anyone know how they compare in weight to the modern versions?
its what i just put on my bike to replace the dhx air
Don't some of the older Vanillas take a smaller diameter spring than most modern shocks? Just thinking you may struggle to find a suitable ti spring..
Are you pleased with it then jedi?
Great option and plenty of old coils about - as mentioned you may struggle for Ti though. Custom tuning is a great way to go.
The old Van RC's were the shock to have a few years ago, Ti springs will be an issue due to the smaller ID than the DHX and newer Van's.
Custom tuning as always will get them working really well, which I can do for you 😉
The un-sung hero of the FS world IMO, just be aware that there pretty damned reasonabley priced new.
So when buying an fleabay bargain, factor in the cost of a service and price of a new spring & compare it to a new price.
One of the techie's @ TF Tuned comments to me where, that unless you really knew what you were doing or doing massive DH, the a Van or an RP was the way ahead (i was asking about CCDB and RC4's).
There's a fair difference between the old and new Van's.
LoCo, money is tight at the moment, so my options would be an out of the box Van R or possibly a tuned old Van RC with Ti spring. How would these two options compare?
Tim Flookes has very high praise for the RC especially if fettled/pushed.
He said it would be better than a Pushed Van R
For performance per £ a Ti spring scores really low – so many better places to waste the money on almost any bike. I’ve promised myself a Ti spring many times but have not gotten that far down the list of upgrades yet.
I picked up a cheap DHX4.0 shock – feels okay on the bike but I know it can be better… next stop is a custom tune ?
I think the new Van which is an RC would be the better option, as it will allow you to tune it when money allows giving better performance in the long run, also it's easier to get Ti springs for them.
What bike is it going on? as I'll do you a STW forum deal on a Dueler if it's the correct size(which comes as standard with a Ti spring) and will be cheaper than a New standard Van RC. Mail me for more details 😉
I have a pushed Van R its the best riding shock I've had. Even with a ti spring I got second hand, its way of the lightweight of an air shock. I'd not get a Ti spring unless you can get it second hand - as messiah says, they're not really worth the money new.
My Van has been in my spares box for years as a standby/replacement until recently, so its cost doesn't really come into any factors for me. However, if I was looking at buying something from scratch, these days, air shocks are so close for most riding, I'd spend the cash on a second hand air unit and a service.
It's for a pitch pro, I'm selling my DH bike as it doesn't get used enough, but I still want to do occasional upift days and like to get my wheels off the ground.
I'm still at the mulling stage at the moment, but will likely be in touch soon for either tuning or a STW deal. My forks now feel great with the new bushes and seals by the way.
Hmmn, those Duelers look pretty hard to beat, but no 200 x 57 option.
Glad to hear the forks are good! The shortest the Dueler comes in is a 2.5" (at the moment!) so is too long for the Pitch. As regards the New Van RC give me a shout when you've got some prices and I'll see what I kind of deal I could sort out for you on one of those 😉
Cheers in advance.