[Closed] Has anyone had a Fox RP23 PUSHED by TF?

me too!!

I've had it done, it's hard to narrow down what's specific to having it Push'd as opposed to what comes simply from having the shims/oil weight etc tuned to match your weight as Mojo might do.

1. Yes
2. Other than the tuning as above, it seemed to be able to flow more oil on big hits so reduction of spiking. Big bumps go from being 'dulled' by the shock, to being completely erased, if that makes sense?
3. Dunno, but it was very good on a meta 5, which is broadly similar I suppose

I borrowed a pushed RP23 and put it on my heckler for a week and didn't want to give it back. I wanted to compare it to the standard (and excellent) non pushed RP23. The control over repeated bumps (roots, drops etc) and the support in the midstroke was unbelievably good at the expense of the propedal lockout not being as effective - but I rarely used the lockout anyway. I can definitely recommend that it is worth it if you care about performance upgrades.

I've got all my rear shocks pushed as a matter of course since 2005. As has been said, more support in the mid stroke, generally better bump compliance and especially better square edged hit and deep compression control.

Prior to Push being available, I had my VanR custom tuned by Mojo, that felt slow to return, sagged further into its travel and generally wasn't as good. That said, they didn't replace the piston with a dual port system, they only modified the shim stack, so it was hamstrung by the limitations of the shocks internal hardware anyway.

1) Yes, to me it's like a completly different shock and a much better ride. Its a HV rp23
2)When I set the sag to suit my riding weight I found it sat too far through the stroke, hence blew through the remaining stroke to easily (it pushed off the rubber O-ring a lot). If I put more air in it sacrificed the small bump sensitivity and made any sort of xc stuff seem hash, but on the jumps and drops it was great.
3) Running a 2010, had it pushed after a lot of messing about trying to eliminate the harshness but got fed up with the compromise, had it serviced and Pushed at the same time and now its mint, they stiffened the mid stroke and back end without altering the initial part of the stroke to much. I had a 2008 till it got nicked and that had a standard sized aircan rp23 and was much better even without Pushing. Apparently blowing through the travel when the correct sag it set is one of the HV can traits.

Its 50 quid but imo well worth it.

I was advised by a quite a few people to just "pack the aircan with grease" and to fit some "coke can shims" to save the cash, the internet is full of good advice (maybe) but for specialist stuff you need to speak the specialists.

All imo/ime of course

Carl

I wondered for a long time about the same thing, and eventually took the plunge at the start of the year. I'd suspect the difference it makes depends on the frame it's fitted to.

Mine was a Rocky Mountain Slayer (06), and the shock felt really great on the downhills, but soggy and wallowy in the midstroke on everything else. Even on the DH's, it would blow through the travel on anything.

So I sent it off to TFtuned to be PUSH'ed, and waited.

What a difference it has made. It's now way better than I could have imaginged. The shock is now supple, measured and responsive. No more blowing through the mid-stroke, and it has made the bike climb much better than a 6" bike should do.

In summary, highly recommended.

Kevin

kevin1911 - Member

I wondered for a long time about the same thing, and eventually took the plunge at the start of the year. I'd suspect the difference it makes depends on the frame it's fitted to.

Mine was a Rocky Mountain Slayer (06), and the shock felt really great on the downhills, but soggy and wallowy in the midstroke on everything else. Even on the DH's, it would blow through the travel on anything.

So I sent it off to TFtuned to be PUSH'ed, and waited.

What a difference it has made. It's now way better than I could have imaginged. The shock is now supple, measured and responsive. No more blowing through the mid-stroke, and it has made the bike climb much better than a 6" bike should do.

In summary, highly recommended.

Kevin

Right, but how much of that is down to Pushing it, and how much is down to it having the right shims/oil/valves fitted for your weight & frame?

Interesting to see what a tuned shock from TF, MoJo or LoCo etc would be like compared without the Push gubbins, compared to one with it.

Do Mojo push them? my RP23 is going back to them as its cavitated i wonder if they can push it while its there, do you loose propedal totally?

godzilla - Member

Do Mojo push them? my RP23 is going back to them as its cavitated i wonder if they can push it while its there, do you loose propedal totally?

No but they do custom valving
http://www.mojo.co.uk/servicing.html

No but they do custom valving

I had a 2008 till it got nicked and that had a standard sized aircan rp23 and was much better even without Pushing. Apparently blowing through the travel when the correct sag it set is one of the HV can traits

This in it self is an interesting point. I would love to know what proportion of shocks are high volume and what proportion standard volume that get Pushed. It always seems to be the mid stroke 'wallow' or 'blowing through' the travel that people don't like about the HV cans (including all of the Dhx range).

I'm certain that what is going on in many cases is that the HV can is more 'in fashion' with the bike/frame manufacturers, so they fit these to most of their frames. Whereas a few years ago the standard can was the norm.

Now, I think that most of us who like the feel of an air can actually like the traditional ramp-up effect, and this, incidentally, suits the suspension characteristics of many bikes - but not all. The thing about a HV can is that it doesn't have such an obvious 'ramp-up'. There seems to be an obsession with trying to get an air can to feel linear like a coil over shock, and this is where I think the bike makers have messed up.

My basic understanding goes like this: Some suspension designs are falling rate, some are rising rate. Falling rate is generally held to mean that it takes less effort to move it the further into its travel, whereas rising rate means that it takes more effort to move the suspension the further it is into its travel. So, if a bike is falling rate you could fit a standard air can, which ramps up more readily, to counteract this characteristic, but if you fit a HV can it may make it feel like its either 'trap-dooring', or blowing through its travel. I seem to recall this was a criticism of the early Rocky Mountain slayers.

Mildred, yes I have read people on other forums saying that swapping the HV can for a normal one solved some of the problems with the slayer wallow. However, now that it's been PUSH'd, it performs as well as if not better than any other RP23 I've had, so my conclusion so far is that the original shocks on the slayers of that year just had the wrong valving and oil for the bike. Or at least had the shock optimised for downhilling/north shore rather than trail riding.

Retro - I too would be curious about the difference between TFTuned custom valved and PUSH'ed shocks. I'm sure I previously read on their website that they reckoned they could get very close to the PUSH feel just with custom valving. Just had a look at their website and it seems that they only do custom valving on a very small number of shocks

Had my rp23 pushed by Push here in the USA, it was on a turner flux and i didnt get enough difference in the 3 pro pedal sttings and it felt harsh, now its smooth, feels plush and the pro pedal settings actually make a difference, the guys at Push knows Dave Turner so they knew how he invisaged the shock working, and they asked questions re my weight etc and riding stlye and tuned the shock to that, well worth it

On the standard versus HV can - I recently had to send my RP23xv away under warranty, and in the meantime fitted a Monarch standard can to my 2011 5; it instantly felt better - it got back some of the spark I think is missing from the current incaranation of the 5. It just felt livelier, and guess what... it didn't blow through its travel as readily.

Having had a shock tuned to me by Loco and Mojo, I do believe there's a lot of benefits to this option. However, I can't help thinking that a lot of the issues people have are more that the shock doesn't suit the suspension characteristics of their bike in the 1st place.

I stuck a 2010 with Boost Valve on an RP23 on a Pace RC405. As standard it just blew through the mid-stroke too easily with the specified sag and if I upped the pressure enough to stop it doing that, it was too harsh over smaller stuff.

If you send a shock off to TFT to be Pushed, they ask you what the issues you have with the standard shock are and tailor the upgrade accordingly. I'm very happy with the results. I the bike rides well overall with the standard ST Swiss shock, it's floatier but less damped if that makes any sense, but the Push tune sorted my issues with the mid-stroke performance of the RP23 and feels really well controlled and supple with it. Very happy with the results.

With the standard RP23, the effect of the Pro Pedal was barely detectable, I asked TFT if they could modify it to have a more pronounced effect and they did that too. Then I slackened the head angle by 2?, but that's another story.

So, I suspect it depends on whether you're happy with your shock's performance as standard and if not, can describe what you don't like about it. The Push thing isn't just a stock change, they can tweak it to suit your preferences.

I'd have a chat with TFT before sending it off. In my experience, they're really helpful and happy to talk through the pros and cons with you on the phone.

My basic understanding goes like this: Some suspension designs are falling rate, some are rising rate. Falling rate is generally held to mean that it takes less effort to move it the further into its travel, whereas rising rate means that it takes more effort to move the suspension the further it is into its travel. So, if a bike is falling rate you could fit a standard air can, which ramps up more readily, to counteract this characteristic, but if you fit a HV can it may make it feel like its either 'trap-dooring', or blowing through its travel. I seem to recall this was a criticism of the early Rocky Mountain slayers.

There's probably some truth to that, I dunno, how would I or you, but TFT, when I spoke to them, implied that the mid-stroke thing was a characteristic of the Boost Valve version of the RP23 generally.