I won’t judge you if you don’t fancy fitting it yourself!

That said if you can change frame bearings etc like you do already then an airshaft change wouldn’t be difficult for you. Sram have full step by step service guides on their website with pictures and specifications.

The only specific tool you really need are circlip pliers. Yari has a 24mm socket on the air side in my experience of having them – although later ones may have switched to a cassette tool (my pike and Lyrik ultimates have this latter option). Bottom bolts are 5mm Allen key.

haha the real question is, what tyres!  I seem to remember that track is alot harder when it’s wet!  how is the weather looking?

Weather looking dry and hot for the rest of week, no forecast of rain.

29er rubber i’m very very limited on. I was running 2 x DHRs both in Maxx Terra, but recently swapped to an Assegai front also in Maxx Terra.. So that’s what i’ll be running this weekend. It felt excellent in the woods last night that’s for sure.

The only specific tool you really need are circlip pliers. Yari has a 24mm socket on the air side in my experience of having them – although later ones may have switched to a cassette tool (my pike and Lyrik ultimates have this latter option). Bottom bolts are 5mm Allen key.

I have a 24mm socket (although not a thin wall type if that’s needed) and Circlip pliers.. But i guess i’m slightly worried about messing it up and then finding out on Sat afternoon in practice that i’ve ballsed it and can’t use it lol. If i get Rotec to do it, then i know it’s right.

(Or i simply leave until after the weekend anyway)

good choice on the tyres. yes let the professionals do it if your first time and before a race, again, one less thing to think about

Tyres you’ve got will be fine on there – it was running really grippy on Sunday just gone. This Friday is forecast hot and sunny – although a small chance of rain Saturday afternoon which could spice things up. Even if it goes get smattering what you’ve got will still be the best option I reckon – a hint of rain might dampen the dust down nicely.

On the messing up the fork perhaps best not to try it for the first time before this weekend – although (famous last words) there isn’t much to go wrong…..

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ns1PoU]2022-06-14_05-18-28[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Went out this morning testing the Specialized Status on the ‘Enduro Line’ at Slanting Hill. Was quite interesting as it has plenty of plusses and a few minuses compared to the Trek.

First off is the suspension, both ends actually feel better and more plush than the Trek, which is slightly weird because both are running Fox 36s and 29er front ends… Even with the arugably worse tyres fitted on the Status of the Butchers, it still felt good. The rear though feels superb on the Status, really nice. The Fox DPX2 i’ve always liked on bikes and it just soaks things up superbly. I don’t mind the suspension on the Trek, but it’s not as plush that’s for sure. I may work a little on the front end, but not sure i can do that much on the rear.
Handling wise the Trek wins in parts but loses in parts, none are a shock. The Status seems to turn quicker, well it would with the 27.5 rear and shorter chainstays along with the front end of the Status feeling a bit ‘wandery’ on anything other than downs. However, all i’m racing on at the weekend is the downs. lol.

The other minor downside to the Status is the levers, they’re integrated so i can’t move them further out, the result is that they touch my hands when i’m gripping the bars and i’m conscious of them being too close to my hands, they have 2 positions and i moved them to the outside one a few months ago, but still too close.

Sadly due to Strava not letting me create a segement for the Enduro line as apparently it’s ‘too short’ i can’t really get any ‘live’ and accurate data on timing. I was thinking about getting my lad to stand at the bottom and time me, but he’s poorly at the moment so can’t. However, i can’t see my actual finishing position changing on either bike in the race lol. So i’m not sure any of it matters.

enjoyed the testing though and happy to once again do both sets of dad-gaps 🙂

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ns3ZCF]2022-06-15_08-29-40[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

That’s slightly interesting…

Status rider rear sag
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ns4b71]2022-06-15_08-52-45[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Trek rider rear sag.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ns9oMv]2022-06-15_08-52-39[/url] by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Now weirdly the Trek had 200psi in it and seems to use 92% roughly when riding hard.

The Status has 225psi in it and seemed to use about 85% of max travel.

I guess that’s the difference between a DPX2 shock and the Fox performance float evol. I’d consider swapping the Trek shock but it’s some weird bottom end mount with the ‘Reactive’ and Thru Shaft version which i don’t think uses the same eyelets, even under the mounting kit.

Now weirdly the Trek had 200psi in it and seems to use 92% roughly when riding hard.

The Status has 225psi in it and seemed to use about 85% of max travel.

I guess that’s the difference between a DPX2 shock and the Fox performance float evo

Suspension performance depends on more than just the type/make/model of shock fitted, the leverage curve of the linkage plays a massive part in how the rear suspension feels. if the leverage curve is progressive then it means the force required to compress the shock a given amount increases as the bike moves through its travel.

Also the size of the air chamber in the shock determines how easy it is to bottom out the shock regardless of the air pressure used, its why some shocks have the option of fitting air volume reducers to give more ramp up at the end of the shock stroke..

I would guess that the status has a more progressive leverage curve than the trek. if you want to make the trek bottom out less, it might be worth seeing if you can add some volume spacers to the treks shock.

@julians

Indeed mate yeah… it’s something i’ve been considering. At the end of the day, the Trek is awesome for 99% of things i can do…. it can arguably do the other 1% along with 50% more… .but of course i’m the limiting factor. It would be nice to be able to get it a bit more plush though, but it’ll still only be 130mm of travel compared to the 160mm on the status.
At the end of the day i don’t expect to be racing again anytime soon, but of course i will be at places that require a bit of bouncy.

The Trek feels more ‘neutral’ i guess to ride compared to the slightly ‘out there’ front end of the Status…

But i could honestly ride either on a regular basis.

Well that’s interesting… Apparently you can’t get spacers to fit the Reactive Thru-shaft shocks.

is thats why its for sale…..?

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3361444/

what have you got your eye on next?

is thats why its for sale…..?

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3361444/

what have you got your eye on next?

It’s not exactly for sale, it was more out there in a potential swap scenario, the pricing i’ve put it up for i wouldn’t realistically expect to see, so was more hypothetically up for swap.

I currently have an offer of a swap for this.
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3360828/

But don’t know how much he’d want his way yet…

I guess i’m kinda thinking that now the enduro side of things has gone a bit pear-shaped, then a bit more bounce. However since i posted that i’ve now ordered the 150mm air-shaft for the Trek which is currently at my LBS being installed as we speak… So i really need to make my mind up here 😀

He wants £500 to jump to the Megatower. It’s an interesting thought… but… Mmmmm

Isn’t your Trek a better spec than that mega tower? Also probably newer / seen less use etc. Both have nice expensive carbon frames. Mega tower is meant to be a little bit plough I think – but if that’s what you’re after it’s a really capable bike.

3 months ago:

After sitting, thinking, listening, reading advice on here and deciding, i thought “well, the stuff i’m riding, i can/should be fine on something less massive than the big blue bouncy G170.

Now you want to swap to a megatower?

Also odd that he wants to swap to your Trek when he states:

JUST A DO IT ALL RIG ONLY MARKS ON BARS FROM STRAPS FEW ON BRAKES COMES WITH DOCUMENTS MIGHT TAKE A TRADE ON OTHER BIKES IF TAKES MY FANCY IE EBIKE , ENDURO , DOWNHILL 29ER PREFERRED

I take his advert being all in capitals as a bit of a warning sign the seller might be a total berk. Also that he’ll swap for almost anything is a bit odd.

Don’t we all do the “maybe i should….” then 3 months later “maybe i ought to…..”

Maybe it’s just me…. At the time of swapping to the Trek, it seemed the right plan and in many ways it still does… but i do wonder if for some stuff i need some more bouncey…

But maybe the 150mm will give that tiny bit more anyway.

I’m not sure adding 10mm travel to the fork will revolutionise it

I love a shorter travel bike, and I love tweeking them.
Not saying I’m right, just that I have one possible solution.
I think I’m similar to you in riding for fun primarily, occasional race not taken seriously. No massive jumps or drops.
I’ve currently got a fairly low sag percentage, no volume spacers in the fork, coil (therefore linear) at the rear.
Rode Swinley last night following hardtain on the weekend, pumping through the rollery bermy bits, felt like rolling on a cloud.
25% sag means I’ve got 75% left to play with, and I’ll regularly use nearly all of it.
Others stuff a load of tokens/bands into a long travel 170 bike, run it at 30% sag, and never use the end of the travel because its so progressive. Check the maths, and we have pretty similar travel used.
Of course they have a bit more negative travel for some ground hugging traction, and a safety net for when they finally build up to hitting that drop and cock it up. But day to day riding…

Different geo, thats a whole new kettle of fish though.

I’m not sure adding 10mm travel to the fork will revolutionise it

I absolutely agree… but then again, it’s not £500… it’s £75 all in and i can live with that for a potential small gain.

TBH i’d happily throw a coil in this, but i’ve got some weird funky setup on the bottom of the shock with a weird mounting.

So i don’t know what or how would actually fit it… There’s nothing i’ve found online about replacing it.

Weirdly TFTuned told me the spacers can’t be used like in a normal shock because of the ThruShaft, but then a google search implies it can….

Shocks though i do like ‘squidgy’…. more so than most, 40% i’m happy with that on a DPX2 for example and they do run quite soft at the early part of the stroke.

That’s a weird ass shock lower mounting

So i don’t know what or how would actually fit it… There’s nothing i’ve found online about replacing it.

Looks like there’s plenty of space around that lower mount though? And google suggests it’s a standard-ish shock size (210×52.5). I’d be surprised if a coil shock wouldn’t physically fit even if it needs TF to make you a really long spacer kit.

Weirdly TFTuned told me the spacers can’t be used like in a normal shock because of the ThruShaft, but then a google search implies it can….

Is it just the photo or does that look like a really small air can for a 210mm shock? Have they done something clever and taken length from the air can and added it to that wierd lower mount which is why it cant be reduced further?

That’s a weird ass shock lower mounting

It’s only because Trek use their proprietary thru-shaft design.

The Fuel EX uses a stock 210 i2i size shock (52.5mm stroke from memory of my old one). You can actually fit a 55mm stroke shock on it, which will give you ~137mm travel.

You just need a mount kit to make it work.

I guess the issue would be to get the threaded mounts at the bottom end. Top end liiks standard trunnion.

I’ll email TFT again about the volume spacers and link them the article.

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/volume-spacers-for-2020-fuel-ex-rear-shock.1129721/

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/trek-fox-thru-shaft-shock-review.html

But that one is a bit different to mine

Treks suggested settings.

So i didn’t go with the Megatower, despite the fact that in the 5% of situations it’ll probably be better than the Trek, in the 95% the Trek will blow it out of the water..

So i’m just waiting for the LBS to shout me and will collect my forks.

Sadly, it seems we’re unlikely to be racing this weekend due to an A&E visit for the lad all night, it’s ended up being nothing serious but he’s barely eaten for 3 days and can’t even get out of bed. So the odds of him making it to FoD on Sat/Sun are pretty damn low. I could of course go race on my own, but the reality is, i was only racing for the laughs and banter with my lad rather than for a result in the race.

@hobnob it seems you’re very much correct mate. Thanks for the pointers

Chatted with TFTuned who tell me you can fit a standard eyelet shock.

https://www.tftuned.com/tf-tuned-mount-kit-127mm-trek-bikes/p3791
you need some of these.

https://www.tftuned.com/trek-rear-shock-pin-to-trunnion-hardware/p3518
some of those..

and of course a shock… it then runs a standard type shock 210*52.5. Hmmm interesting..

Sounds good if you can stick a normal shock in there.

If going air I’d be inclined to look at a Cane Creek Kitsuma Air probably

If coil then there are loads of good options – I like my CC Kitsuma coil (I’m still working on the settings / coil weight side of things) – it seems to pedal well and on road / fireroads the lockout lever is actually insanely locked out vs other shocks I’ve had. Fully locked it feels like a hardtail.

On roots and stuff it’s so plush – down corkscrew / ski run / sheepskull I’ve never ridden it so fast and so much in control as I did on Sunday. My bike has 150mm of rear travel though.

air/coil/external res or not… all decisions i need to consider.

I need to borrow an external type to make sure it’ll give clearance for water… i’m pretty hopeful looking as the frame, but i’d need to be 100%.
I absolutely loved the feel of the Bomber CR on the G170, but obviously at 850gr it’s a bit weighty… but the Trek is light anyway so may not be a major issue.

After chatting with TFT it’s possible a couple of volume spacers may work too.

But in honesty i’m a little scared to do it… I think doing volume spacers previously i’ve actually caused more issues than i’ve resolved, although i still can’t understand how or why.

I did the bands on my RS Monarch RC3+ and that broke soon after, i did another Fox which then failed and then another Fox which then failed soon after… But i can’t see how or why me fitting spacers would do that. One of them was working perfectly until i did it, i don’t think i even swapped any on that, i just released the air, checked and then re-inflated, with incremental compressions to cycle it etc. Once inflated it then wouldn’t hold air and squatted.

I know that’s all a little irrational, but hey that’s where my head is sometimes.

It cant be that long till your Alps trip. have you decided which bike you will be riding

If it was me I would run what I have, until after then. At least you know what you have and any limitations. I think the extra travel in the fork you are doing should be a good move for the type of riding involved.

I’ve seen too many peoples holidays spoiled as they have done changes too near or for the trips and found out too late that its made the bike worse.

Just finished the final fettle for ours next week. New tyres on one as they should have been swapped 12 months ago and have very little tread left. New saddle on the Enduro curtesy of the classifieds and a front brake blead on the Stumpy, again should have been done last year.

For us holidays should be as little fettling as possible and repairs if necessary

Excellent point. I’ll be on the Trek in the Alps as I’ll leave the Status set up for the lad and over the majority of my trails the Trek will suit me best anyway.

Re any shock upgrade have you actually considered how it  would suit the suspension kinematics? If the frame is specifically designed for air shocks you could find a coil too linear and blowing through travel, a progressive spring etc may help but your starting to blow a lot of cash chasing something you may not get (which has happened before).

Outside of my knowledge levels on how to even begin with that mate.

I did consider a dpx2 on PB at £275 which if it doesn’t work I could sell on again so I’m then only out of pocket the price of fitting kits

You’ve been deliberating about the travel of the Trek from pretty much the first ride, despite telling us how happy you are with it. I think in your own mind, you will never really be happy with it.

Just sell it and buy another Status 😉

Worth factoring in another £150 for a custome tune. Always worth factoring in the cost of a service on a second hand shock anyway, so a little extra to get it setup nicely for you and the bike just makes sense. I got the DPX2 I bought of you tuned after a while and it made quite a difference (admittedly the suspension on the G160 is an oddball, but still . . . )

STR, apart from the swap, no one showed any interest, plus, I have status.

Or look for a shock that you can tune to suit, eg DVO Topaz. You have positive air chamber volume adjust, negative air chamber volume adjust and an air bladder instead of an IFP in the piggyback to shift the spring curve up or down. Then you can get into the shim stack if you want, but the first 3 tuning variables are very easy to adjust.

I did consider a dpx2 on PB at £275 which if it doesn’t work I could sell on again so I’m then only out of pocket the price of fitting kits

I’d err on the side of getting something new* and custom tuned even if it doesn’t have the resale value. IME getting my very basic Fox RP2 on my Pitch custom tuned turned it from a horrible bike to faultless (apart from I then apparently blew it up twice, but the tune was fine). Getting another shock with the same factory tune won’t make a difference unless you’ve found a fundamental fault with the current one, like you do need adjustable air volume, or it spikes, or you want adjustable LSC, or you find you need H + L rebound dampers (even if ones internally set).

*or 2nd hand, and get it serviced and tuned if it’s a bargain.

the other option is £500 and get the Megatower lol