How To Install Rear Shock Extenders

The Basics to Upgrading the Rear Stupor On Your Mountain Bicycle (Footstep by Step Guide) [Video]

Words by: Liam Woods

What Exercise Y'all Need To Know When Upgrading Your Rear Shock?

Upgrading the suspension on your mountain wheel is i of the best things you tin can do to exhale new life into your bike. Whether it is a fork or rear shock, you will exist amazed at the technology these days in suspension, and how having a quality production gives you the conviction to shred harder than always before. And permit'southward not forget to talk almost the smile it can put on your face! When looking to upgrade the rear shock on your mountain bicycle, information technology may be overwhelming to know exactly what size shock you demand, which kind of shock will fit on your bike, and too which shock will perform best on your specific bike. Here in this web log we are going to cover all of these questions and more.

Stupor Sizing:

Mountain bicycle rear shocks come in an assortment of different sizes and recently fabricated the switch from the older "traditional" sizing measured in inches (8.five x 2.5) to the newer mod sizing that is measured in millimeters (210mm x 55mm), AKA metric.

Now let's break this down. A shock that measures 210 ten 55 means that the daze is 210 millimeters long and uses a 55mm stroke. The length of the shock is measured from eyelet to eyelet, while the stroke of the shock is the amount the shock can physically compress. I thing to keep in mind here is that shocks that are the same centre to eye length may come with different stroke lengths. The most important thing is to make sure you go the correct length and stroke shock for your bike. It'southward important to annotation that only because two different bikes accept the same rear travel (150mm for example), doesn't mean they e'er accept the same stroke lengths. So what works for one bike might be very dissimilar on some other bike.

Along with shock sizing from middle to eye and stroke length, y'all as well need to know your frame mounting width, which is normally sized by shock hardware. Shock hardware adds some other element to getting the new rear shock installed on your cycle. For a rear shock, you have to match upwards the top and bottom for the stupor mounting hardware. There are no standards and every brand chooses what they think works best with their design. And so what's unremarkably best is to either await at the make's website or contact the manufacturer to become the correct shock hardware. If you are upgrading your daze but with the same brand, you lot tin can often employ the same shock hardware equally long as information technology'southward not super trounce upward or worn out. So Play a trick on stupor to new Fox daze, you tin can use the aforementioned hardware, and same with RockShox or other brands. There is besides a Trunnion way shock mountain, which commonly does not use hardware on the top, only bolts direct to the bike. That is a certain type of shock and while y'all exercise not need hardware upward summit, you do need to get a Trunnion style shock if that is what your wheel is designed around.

Each manufacturer and frame may utilize a different size shock and your bike is not guaranteed to function properly without using the correct size. To notice out what size shock is correct for your mountain bike, either bank check the brand'due south website for your model or call us at the store and nosotros volition exist more than than happy to help!

Upgrade Options:

When upgrading your rear shock, one major question is whether to get a roll stupor or an air daze . While at that place is no simple answer to this question, hopefully this information will make it a trivial more articulate.

Left: Fox Bladder X2 (Air) Right: Fox Float DHX2 (Coil)

Showtime, think nigh what kind of terrain you are riding and too what terrain your wheel is intended for. The majority of trail bikes out in that location today come stock with an air daze because they are lightweight, offer a range of tuning options, and tin provide an efficient pedaling platform. For those cross country focused riders, an air shock will certainly practise the pull a fast one on. For those riders looking for a bit more downhill performance, or mayhap even racing an enduro race, you may consider a coil choice. In full general, coil shocks handle the minor bumps on the trail with more ease, giving the passenger supple feedback and more traction. The negatives to using a scroll shock are that your bike now weighs a little extra and they tend to be a niggling more difficult to melody, especially if you lot don't get your leap rate correct.

It'southward of import to note that scroll shocks tend to be more linear while air shocks provide a more progressive ramp upward, so some bikes don't work well with curl shocks as you would bottom out very easily. And so earlier you determine to get a coil shock, make certain it will work with your bike'southward suspension design.

+ Delight ask one of our professionals whether you lot and your bike would be meliorate suited with a coil stupor or an air daze.

There is also the question of what brand and model shock to choose. Most people know the 2 dominant brands Fox and RockShox. Both of those brands have a full range of options from cross country shocks to downhill shocks. Fox has their lineup with DPS, Float X, Float X2, Bladder DHX and Bladder DHX2. That list starts with cantankerous country and goes to enduro and downhill shocks, with both air and coil mixed in at that place. From RockShox, starting with cross country through downhill, you take SidLuxe, Deluxe, SuperDeluxe Air and SuperDeluxe Coil.

If you are looking for something a fleck different other than the 2 big brands, there are a ton of cool small brands to wait at. We comport Ohlins, DVO, Push Industries, Marzocchi, Cane Creek, and MRP. There are fifty-fifty more brands that nosotros don't bear but we think are super cool like EXT, Intend, DT Swiss, more more!

Compatibility:

At that place are pretty much three dissimilar questions you demand to ask well-nigh a rear shock before you buy: What size? What's my preference? And is it uniform? Compatibility is a huge factor. It's important to get the correct stroke, although at that place are sure instances where you may be interested in over stroking your stupor. If you lot do this though, y'all'll sometimes have clearance issues on smaller travel bikes, also as depending on whether you're using coil or air that we briefly touched on.

Let's dive a little deeper into the over stroke topic. When metric shocks came out I quickly realized that the minor steps with the stupor stroke would allow for lots of tuning and mods. For reference, a Yeti SB130 comes stock with a 210x52.5 rear shock, pregnant there is 52.5mm of rear stroke. I wanted to meet if I put on a shock with the aforementioned 210mm eye to centre but with a 55mm stroke if the frame would articulate on bottom out causing frame on frame contact or tire on frame contact. I establish out that Yeti was already making these small modifications in stroke length. They had something called the SB130 Lunch Ride where the rear daze is extended to the full 55mm stroke length. And then the SB130 is a bike where the manufacturer has said you can modify that stroke and non void the frame warranty. Other times you might be going against what the manufacturer recommends, then exist careful and err on the more reserved side if looking to change your shock stroke.

Left: RockShox Super Deluxe on a Santa Cruz, which is designed to take a coil but a tight fit. Right: Ohlins Coil on Specialized Demo that has very tight clearance to the frame

Moving into clearance bug, there are 2 clearances you should look for. One is the frame/shock clearance, which you might see a little more oftentimes with smaller travel bikes when you are looking to add a larger daze (i.e. moving from Play a trick on DPS to Play a joke on Bladder 10). The piggyback reservoir might be a tight fit or not clear certain bikes. On some other bikes like the Santa Cruz Hightower and similar designs, the daze runs through the seat tube in a "tunnel" so there is a size max width. The Hightower does not permit for larger shocks like the Fox Float Ten, Cane Creek DBair or most coil shocks, so make sure your frame will clear a larger air can or piggyback daze if you are looking to upgrade your shock in that way. The other clearance to watch out for is simply making sure nothing hits. Normally if the seat stays have a caryatid, it could hit the seat tube if you over stroke the shock. Also to sentinel out for with over stroking the stupor is the rear tire striking the frame. On a Revel Rascal, for instance, y'all cannot over stroke the shock every bit on bottom out the tire will hit the seat tube. You might think well it'due south only ii.5mm of stroke, and I take over 5mm of clearance, but the reality is that the 2.5mm of stroke is a ratio. For example, the bike has 130mm of rear travel with 52.5mm stroke, simply when taking the stupor stroke to 55mm the rear end gets about 136-137mm rear travel at the dorsum cycle, making those clearance measurements difficult to predict. So it's all-time to err on the safe side, or at the very least check with the manufacturer before going to a larger shock or a longer stroke.

Ringlet versus Air, the forever topic that nosotros here at Worldwide Cyclery withal go dorsum and forth about. Coil versus air is about one-half preference and half what your bike is designed around. We have a full blog going way into detail so nosotros will keep it lite here. If your bike does not piece of work well with a coil stupor, you are kinda stuck with an air shock. There's also the fact that some suspension designs that have a yoke, shock extender or clevis put too much side load on a coil shock and are also not recommended. So if that is the case, it doesn't actually matter nearly your preference since y'all are sticking with air.

Left: Play tricks Float X (Air) Right: Play a trick on DHX2 (Right)

Adjacent is preference, and some riders definitely have one they like over the other. Coil gives a very smooth, very consequent feeling and once you ride gyre and are not a weight-weenie or care about max pedaling efficiency, yous might stick with roll. If yous are jumping a lot or like a progressive pause feeling, the air might be what you lot like. Like I said, nosotros go back and along, depending on riding style, trails, and season. Coil might be fun for 6 months then you suddenly want to jump back to air. If y'all are more of a straight line boom blazon of rider, you lot might have a preference for ringlet shocks more. The traction and small bump the rear shock gives you really cannot be browbeaten. If you similar to spring around, take all the side hits, or ride a huge range of different trails the air shock might exist more than your style. Having the power to add air pressure or add tokens to tune makes the air shock a more versatile tool.

WWC favorite stupor options:

Some of our favorite shocks come from brands similar Fob , Rockshox , Marzocchi, Cane Creek , Button Industries , and DVO . While each has its advantages and disadvantages, finding a shock with good tunability and reliability will improve your riding feel on the trail. Personally, i of my favorites for a smaller travel bike is the new RockShox SidLuxe rear shock. For how small the shock is, its functioning is insane, and so polish and works perfectly. If you're looking for a bigger travel air stupor, the Fox Float X2 and RockShox Super Palatial are some top picks yous will find on our bikes. And final but certainly not least is the Push Industries ElevenSix rear coil shock, tuned and made specifically for each model wheel it goes on. It's a piece of work of art that is also a meridian performing daze in its form.

Words of Advice:

So when looking to upgrade your rear stupor, in that location are so many things to consider and wait at for rear shocks, from finding information to what feeling yous want and how you would like your suspension to handle or modify the way your cycle rides. Below is a list of data you should await for and questions you should answer earlier looking to upgrade.

• Shock Size (centre to eye and stroke)
• Hardware Size (summit and lesser width and bore)
• Compatibility
• Stock stroke or over stroke
• Clearance (frame clearance and over stroke clearance)
• Bike designed for coil or air
• Curlicue or Air shock (half bike blueprint/one-half rider preference)
• Brand and Desired Daze model

Retrieve to never hesitate to phone call united states of america at the shop with whatever questions. Nosotros give recommendations on rear shock upgrades all the time! Mountain bikes are our passion and we love assisting our customers with anything cycling related. Feel gratis to send us a picture of your cycle, use our alive chat on our website or bring your bike into the shop. We are here to help!

This commodity was written / authored by Liam Woods. Liam has been in the bicycle industry for over 10 years equally a racer, professional mechanic, service manager and as of tardily, media and content creator. Liam has ridden thousands of different bikes, ridden countless components, tested endless MTB apparel of all kinds and written reviews on information technology all. He'south a key piece to the Worldwide Cyclery "All Things MTB" content creation puzzle. He also makes consistent appearances on the Worldwide Cyclery YouTube channel and Instagram.

Source: https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/blogs/worldwide-cyclery-blog/the-basics-to-upgrading-the-rear-shock-on-you-mountain-bike

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