Anyone want to swap their DHX2 for an airshock and make some $$?

[The Flying Dutchman]

Longshot but is there any Trance E+ SX owners out there who would be open to swapping rear shocks with me and making some money in the process? I'm thinking a few hundred AUS/NZ/USD your way

I'm really eager to try a coil shock but thought a swap would be a good idea.

I'm in NZ

Any takers?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

Hey, we're all friends here... it's a great forum. So I'm not dissing your proposal. I'm sure there's someone out there with buyer's remorse and prefers to go back to an air-shock and exchange a coil spring unit - so I do hope someone chimes in and makes the swap.

But I naturally tend to think in pictures and what I saw in my mind made my laugh. I saw a young boy exchanging a cow for some magic beans - although I'm not sure if the coil unit is the cow or the magic beans.

- - -

I don't know how familiar you are with coils (it's all we had back in the day, and the early air-shocks were syringe pigs) so we stuck with coils. But like anything, setting up a coil shock properly is just as important as setting up a modern air shock properly. Set-up is key, so you need to compare apples with apples.

• Spring rates: You need the right one not only for your weight but also to match how aggressive you ride. I needed several springs in 50 pound increment ratings to try each one in order to find out for sure. $$$
• Spring material: Not all springs are created equal. Regardless of load rating printed on the side of the coil, some brands feel harsh and some brands feel buttery smooth mainly because of the type and quality of spring steel they are made of.
• Pre-load collar in relation to Sag: You can tighten the preload collar to pre-compress a spring so that you can fine tune the sag. But this also affects your mid stroke characteristic. If you end up preloading a coil too much to get the right sag, that means the spring rate is too low and need to get a harder spring or you'll bottom out too quick. If you've only just barely clasped the coil with the collar and your bike already feels harsh, your coil spring rate is too high.
• Coil Winding Pitch: Some coil springs are wound with equal spacings (linear spring rate). Some coils are would closely at one end, but then are wound further apart at the other end (progressive spring rate). It's this second type that lands like a feather - provided the suspension linkage on the bike is designed for that.
• Compression Damping: The ideal spring rate is when you just clasp the coil (so it doesn't rattle) with the collar and the sag and support through the stroke are perfect. That's just gonna land like a cat. But some suspension linkage designs were made for linear compression, and others for progressive compression. So then you may need to use hydraulic damping to tailor and fine tune the mid-stroke behaviour. (On air-shocks you can sculpt the mid-stroke by adding or removing air volume spacers inside the chamber, and rely less on hydraulic compression damping).

I cringe when I started to hear the latest fad blanket statement being thrown around - "coils are better... or they're so plush that when you drop the bike onto the ground it just sits without a sound and doesn't bounce back." That's all true I guess, but do people really know what's actually involved to get a coil unit tuned to that point? Then it may all come to nothing when a heavier or lighter person has to ride that bike.

All I'm saying is some riders would benefit from a coil unit... others, not so much. Personally, if I wanted or needed to upgrade my rear shock I would go for a more sophisticated air shock and learn to tune it well.

Or go get a coil unit, and learn to tune it well also - learning is as they say, the spice of life. Just don't expect to bolt someone's coil unit onto your bike and expect it to start laying golden eggs. But then again, you might get lucky.

.

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

Hey, we're all friends here... it's a great forum. So I'm not dissing your proposal. I'm sure there's someone out there with buyer's remorse and prefers to go back to an air-shock and exchange a coil spring unit - so I do hope someone chimes in and makes the swap.

But I naturally tend to think in pictures and what I saw in my mind made my laugh. I saw a young boy exchanging a cow for some magic beans - although I'm not sure if the coil unit is the cow or the magic beans.

- - -

I don't know how familiar you are with coils (it's all we had back in the day, and the early air-shocks were syringe pigs) so we stuck with coils. But like anything, setting up a coil shock properly is just as important as setting up a modern air shock properly. Set-up is key, so you need to compare apples with apples.

• Spring rates: You need the right one not only for your weight but also to match how aggressive you ride. I needed several springs in 50 pound increment ratings to try each one in order to find out for sure. $$$
• Spring material: Not all springs are created equal. Regardless of load rating printed on the side of the coil, some brands feel harsh and some brands feel buttery smooth mainly because of the type and quality of spring steel they are made of.
• Pre-load collar in relation to Sag: You can tighten a preload collar to pre-compress a spring so that you can fine tune the sag. But this also affects your mid stroke characteristic. If you end up preloading a coil too much to get the right sag, that means the spring rate is too low and need to get a harder spring or you'll bottom out too quick. If you've only just barely clasped the coil with the collar and your bike already feels harsh... your coil spring rate is too high.

I cringe when I started to hear the latest blanket statement fad being thrown around - "coils are better... or they're so plush that when you drop the bike onto the ground it just sits without a sound and doesn't bounce back." That's all true I guess, but do people really know what's actually involved to get a coil unit tuned to that point? Then it may all come to nothing when another person has to ride the bike.

All I'm saying is some riders would benefit from a coil unit... others, not so much. Personally, if I wanted or needed to upgrade my rear shock I would go for a more sophisticated air shock and learn to tune it well.

Or go get a coil unit, and learn to tune it well also - learning is as they say, the spice of life. Just don't expect to bolt someone's coil unit onto your bike and expect it to start laying golden eggs. But then again, you might get lucky.

What can I say I'm a curious tinkerer! haha

I come from a moto background so I am semi-familiar with coils and the joy of trying numerous springs before finding the goldilocks.

I want to test my theory that a coil can be beneficial to a larger rider like me (120kg). Currently, my shock is sitting at 350PSI for 25-30% sag and the shock seems to struggle on smaller bumps but does fine on the bigger jumps and drop, using most travel. I've tried adding more tokens with lower pressure which works better on the small stuff but rebounds like a pogo stick on the big terrain. I understand a coil could offer more shock absorption during the initial part of the stroke.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

What can I say I'm a curious tinkerer! haha

I come from a moto background so I am semi-familiar with coils and the joy of trying numerous springs before finding the goldilocks.

Wrong kids book mate... we're still on Jack and the Bean Stalk!

I want to test my theory that a coil can be beneficial to a larger rider like me (120kg). Currently, my shock is sitting at 350PSI for 25-30% sag and the shock seems to struggle on smaller bumps but does fine on the bigger jumps and drop, using most travel. I've tried adding more tokens with lower pressure which works better on the small stuff but rebounds like a pogo stick on the big terrain. I understand a coil could offer more shock absorption during the initial part of the stroke.

A coil unit is a very sensible option and could very well be a better alternative - even if the coil spring rate isn't super race-tune perfect.

Hope you get one at a good price or even a swap!

 

[Farmernz]

My dhx2 is away for repair, if I read this before labour weekend it may have happened!

 

[Uppy]

I have a DHX2 on my trance e+ sx pro 0..got the bike last month.
Coil springs are very new to me, when I brought the bike I had to change the coil spring for my weight as I'm a touch on the heavy side..
To be honest it's harder to set up than air..but at the minute, I seem to really like it..