[Closed] Is PUSHing rear shocks still worth it?

My opinion: Cheaper ones definitely, top-end shocks not so much.

Yes. Or at least its made a huge difference to the way my bike rides. I guess it depends on the bike and rider but for me it was the best investment in a longtime.

chakaping - Member

My opinion: Cheaper ones definitely, top-end shocks not so much.

I guess an RP23 is mid range? Dunno. Sounds like it's still worth it anyway. Just a bit galling when the price to get it done could nearly buy a brand new DT Swiss carbon jobbie 😆

Cheers chaps

Custom tune then rather than a Push then maybe certainly cheaper

I guess an RP23 is mid range?

I've got a 2012 RP23 (high volume), it was a bit wallowy but with the medium volume spacer installed it works really well, I'm not feeling the need for any further tweaks.

Shocks don't need to be PUSHed to be made better. Speak to Loco/TF/Mojo/Whoever about what you want and see what they suggest. In my experience TF only suggest the PUSH upgrade when they percieve a benefit.

Agreed on the above some shocks may only need an air volume spacer to increase 'support' in the spring system and the damping will be fine as standard.
Quite often shock come in for a tune to rectify issues, but only need a full service due to them not working properly as they're so cavitated.

LoCo - Member
Quite often shock come in for a tune to rectify issues, but only need a full service due to them not working properly as they're so cavitated.

Yeah, it could be that I suppose, but I think it was like it from new, plus it's not making the squelchy noise they usually do when cavitated. I'll drop you an email about the tuning.

Cheers

So what does a Push involve then? I just idly thought it was a company that did tunes.

And cavitation? Sounds like cavities but surely a full service wouldn't sort.

The Push tune from TF tuned made a huge huuuuge difference to my NP Mega's Monarch. Night and day, it was a bag of wallowey yet unresponsive shit before. It would dive into it's travel but at the same time wasn't very sensitive to small bumps, to get just some grip I had to bump the rebound adjuster up so much that it had an unnerving tendency to bounce around through hard hit's. So I asked the guys to service the shock and give me a firmer, poppier shock with a slightly faster ending stroke rebound.

The push upgrade included a higher flow piston and a few other bits (I think) which reduced friction and allowed the TF tuned guys to play with the shims, something about the standard version that makes the latter a pain in the arse.

The TF guys went with a whole different approach compared to loco, they upped the compression damping (instead of using the spring rate for support) as much as they could before rear grip was compromised and bumped up the ending stroke rebound. They sent me a few internal volume spacers and said I probably wouldn't need them....I didn't...and despite the aggressive compression tune the shock is more supple than ever.

Anyway I figure they got it right... instead of getting the mid stroke support by making the shock more progressive through the spring rate (and thus increasing harshness on big hits)....they gave me a shock that sits up in the midstroke through upping compression (for g-outs in berms etc) and ending stroke rebound (to keep it sitting high in repeated medium hits) whilst keeping the beginning stroke rebound a bit slower so that I don't feel like I'm being bucked.

Erm right. As said already nasty shocks like the monarch need it. Better shocks only need air etc adjusting. Personally I'd have ditched the monarch.

Always found the rebound kicks back too much on my 2010 RP23 even with the dial turned to the slowest setting, so I think I need to get the shims or whatever changed.

That sounds like it just needs a service to me. On full rebound the return speed is usually best described as "glacial," taking a couple of seconds to fully extend.

On an old rp2 it was definitely worthwhile. They played with the compression using shims so I was able to run less air without using all of the travel, it made it more compliant over the smaller stuff.

PeterPoddy - Member
That sounds like it just needs a service to me. On full rebound the return speed is usually best described as "glacial," taking a couple of seconds to fully extend.

I agree, and that's what my previous shocks have been like. This one has been like this from new though, which is why I thought it might be the wrong tune for the bike/my lardy arse.

Some of the above isn't quite right, with a tune there are a number of different factors that are taken into account as they all work toward how the shock performs, we don't just adjust the air volumes or the compression or rebound, we'll adjust anything that needs doing to make the shock work better. This may also include porting of pistons to increase the flow of the shock.
The Monarchs are actually quite good shocks now too, you'll be noticing quite a few more OE fitment from various brands this year.

Erm right. As said already nasty shocks like the monarch need it. Better shocks only need air etc adjusting. Personally I'd have ditched the monarch.

In that case, RP23's are nasty as well. As they've been even worse, the main problem with my Monarch is that Nukeproof never picked the right tune for the bike and that I outgrew a shock that was set up for all weights and riding abilities.

Fair enough loco.

The Monarchs are actually quite good shocks now too

+1 Demoed a Transition Bandit with an RP23 and a Monarch and found no difference. Both felt nice but no real difference after riding each for a day.

My BOS Vip'r on the other hand is much better than the other too

I think the Monarchs just get a bad rep because the RP23 is fashionable.

I've had a couple of shocks pushed and have felt it was well worth the money/time. The most recent was an rp23 high volume off my nomadc - I asked them to make it feel like a coil for downhill with the propedal off and a tight xc air shock with it on for the rest of the time which I thought was a tall order at best but to be fair to them they got pretty close to achieving it.
Very happy with the sevice also G