E160s and a Megneg upgrade!

[Mr President]

I’ve actually just removed mine from my v1 e150. Did exactly what it was advertised to and gave really good mid stroke pop. Unfortunately even with all four negative bands and no positive spacers I couldn’t achieve full travel even on the biggest stuff I hit. Fiddled about with a few combinations of spacers but running 30% sag it wouldn’t go past 2/3rds travel. Caused a few rim strikes and tyre burps that I’ve never had on the same trail before, despite running the same tyre pressure.

Hmmm. Lot to think about. I bought a high pressure shock pump to enable me to get to 30% sag. Needed around 310 psi. Then I stopped getting full travel. I'd had full travel prior to that with 280-290 psi and 35% sag. 2 pos 2 neg bands. I'll continue to experiment. Was having too much fun at the weekend to pay much attention to the shock.

 

[Clubby]

That's interesting are you quite light? I am 70KG in my kit my megneg setup is one in the positive and one in the neg running 30% sag I can use all of the travel.

No, quite the opposite. I’m 90kg so was already running 240psi. With Megneg and 4 bands fitted I needed 290 to get 30% sag. Never got more than 65-70% travel so was effectively running the whole time in the mid stroke despite hitting the biggest trail features I ride.
The fact I started having rim strikes despite running the same tyre pressures was also disconcerting.
It’s maybe just the megneg isn’t a good match for the v1 e150.

 

[Maxb]

No, quite the opposite. I’m 90kg so was already running 240psi. With Megneg and 4 bands fitted I needed 290 to get 30% sag. Never got more than 65-70% travel so was effectively running the whole time in the mid stroke despite hitting the biggest trail features I ride.
The fact I started having rim strikes despite running the same tyre pressures was also disconcerting.
It’s maybe just the megneg isn’t a good match for the v1 e150.

I am running my megneg on my V1 E150 for me to achieve 30% sag I’m running 205 psi can use all of the travel on bigger hits. I’m not really sure why your not able to use full travel running no positive tokens it must be something to with the higher pressures the megneg needs to achieve the same sag values.

 

[Mr President]

Hmmm. Lot to think about. I bought a high pressure shock pump to enable me to get to 30% sag. Needed around 310 psi. Then I stopped getting full travel. I'd had full travel prior to that with 280-290 psi and 35% sag. 2 pos 2 neg bands. I'll continue to experiment. Was having too much fun at the weekend to pay much attention to the shock.

MegNeg still going well for me. I am getting full travel if I ride large (for me) drops. That earlier ride mentioned above was relatively easy so not getting the full travel at that time - which is what you'd want.

 

[MrSpoon]

MegNeg still going well for me. I am getting full travel if I ride large (for me) drops. That earlier ride mentioned above was relatively easy so not getting the full travel at that time - which is what you'd want.

I’ve been playing with mine too. Dropped down to 305psi, 2 +ve spacers and 2- ve. Similar story to you, I don’t get full travel on easier rides but I do when I go to the bike park.
I did open it up to tweak it a few days ago but I emptied the air pressure too quickly trapping some in the -ve chamber. Needless to say I needed a new pair of pants after that.

 

[JohnnyP]

I’ve actually just removed mine from my v1 e150. Did exactly what it was advertised to and gave really good mid stroke pop. Unfortunately even with all four negative bands and no positive spacers I couldn’t achieve full travel even on the biggest stuff I hit. Fiddled about with a few combinations of spacers but running 30% sag it wouldn’t go past 2/3rds travel. Caused a few rim strikes and tyre burps that I’ve never had on the same trail before, despite running the same tyre pressure.

What do you weigh please. I weigh 62kg probably 64kg in kit. I've been experimenting but like you, have lots of travel still to use. Currently using no post tokens and 3 neg bands. Somewhere around 210 psi to get 30% sag. Feels good at that but just want to use more travel. However I don't do big drops at my age (71). Any tips appreciated.

 

[JohnnyP]

Forgot to add I ride a Turbo Levo.

 

[Clubby]

At that point I was over 90kg. Just couldn’t get a balance I was happy with, either before or after meg meg. Down to 85kg now and standard shock feels better but not amazing. Doesn’t help I’ve just put a Smashpot coil in my Lyrik. Tempted to go coil rear as well now.

 

[EchoLima21]

I e-mailed Whyte about sticking a coil in my E-160 S. I had imagined they would poo-poo the idea, but no…

From Whyte: “

I’m glad to read that you are having a good experience with your E-160. It is certainly possible to fit a coil sprung suspension unit to your bike.
Sadly, I don’t have any specific recommendations for a particular shock as the development team didn’t experiment with them much during the bike’s development.

I have heard of riders fitting Ohlins TTX or EXT units to their E-160’s and having good results so they might be worth a look. The leverage curve is quite linear on the E-160 frames so it might be worth seeing if you can get a shock with a tune that ramps up towards the end of the stroke for support on bigger hits.”

So I might be in the market for another Marzocchi CR and Cane Creek progressive spring.

 

[Singletrack Scene]

I e-mailed Whyte about sticking a coil in my E-160 S. I had imagined they would poo-poo the idea, but no…

From Whyte: “

So I might be in the market for another Marzocchi CR and Cane Creek progressive spring.

Essentially, Don't put a Fox Coil on.. - They've been blowing repeatedly.

 

[EMTBSEAN]

Just finished Installing the Megneg upgrade onto the Standard Delux shock. I personally found the standard shock very poor. I'm currently running 2 +tokens, and 2 -bands in the neg chamber. - Its already a lot more supportive in the mid travel, and has kept a nice compliance off the top. -I'll be tuning this further.. just to experiment as much as anything. Do any of you use the Megneg, what weight, pressure and set up do you use?

View attachment 52145

Any chance you could post a link for this please, this is another one of the upgrades I’m planning but didn’t know what to buy, thanks.

 

[deertrackdoctor]

I'm looking to fit a coil toy Whyte e160
Has anyone fitted a coil and what worked and what did not .
I'm 17 stone so what in you guys experience would you recommend (other than a diet )

 

[EchoLima21]

There are a few shock manufacturers who who guarantee (Marzocchi/Fox for a start) coil shocks attached via a yoke like the E-160 uses. The yoke design puts too much stress, they say, on the shaft and they therefore won’t honour warranties. I have seen folks use, for example, the Marzocchi Bomber coil and it be fine, but…I think some manufacturers (DDO and Ohlins) build the shafts stronger in any case.