Fork and shock upgrade in the future

[themonkster]

I own the Trail 5 at the moment with the

160mm Rock Shox 35 - 44 Offset

RockShox Deluxe Select+, 230x57.5 mm

What would be a good upgrade for both of these. Not Fox Factory sort of money. Fox or Rockshox.

Would the offset of the front fork have to be the same so it doesn't affect the head angle ?

Thanks.

 

[Pabs]

I'd hazard a guess a charger damper would slip in those forks, along with slippery seals and thin oil. Not seen it done yet as they are so new, so cant be 100% sure it works.

Meg neg in the rear might be enough to make a difference for not much money along with spacers of your choosing.

 

[R120]

I dont believe that the 35 can be upgraded.

The next logical step within the RS range would be the Yari, or Lyric. They both share the same Chasis, so if you go with the Yari over time you could upgrade it with Lyric internals.

Perhaps the sweet spot would be to get a basic Lyric (there are several models) and then you could upgrade it as and when.

The meg neg is a good option, but it is complex to set up correctly, and I would advise getting a suspension specialist to help out with it, but I would have thought just getting the OEM shock set up well would do fine

 

[R120]

I am a big fan of RS, but putting that aside they are also much cheaper than the equivalent Fox forks, and often you can find great deals on them.

 

[Doomanic]

A Lyrik Select is just a Yari with a Charger 2 damper which can be improved with a Charger 2.1 so I'd get a Yari unless the Lyrik is a proper bargain.
Depending on frame size you may be limited with what shocks you can fit; the external reservoir may impact the frame on full compression on Large frames and definitely will impact the frame on Medium and Small. That being said, you may be able to pick up a shock from one of the higher spec Rails if the owner upgrades.

 

[Orangie]

Meg neg is a cheap and very effective shock upgrade. Set up is easy. Start with 3 bands , add 4th if you can’t use full travel. And 20% more pressure. Yari or Lyrik. Whatever you can afford. Both great forks

 

[R120]

Meg neg is a cheap and very effective shock upgrade. Set up is easy. Start with 3 bands , add 4th if you can’t use full travel. And 20% more pressure. Yari or Lyrik. Whatever you can afford. Both great forks

I would disagree with that - there are a lot of variables with the Meg Neg, and it needs to be tuned to the rider and bike by altering the bands, the tokens, and the pressure in the shock, and dismantled and tested each time to make the alterations - you have to be very familiar with how your shock works, how the meg neg works and the effects it has on the bike, as its very easy to ruin the handling of the bike by installing one with a poor set up.

It is also not per say an upgrade to the suspension, just a tuning option - it alters how the shock behaves which some people might like, another's might not, and IMO is primarily aimed at people riding the bikes hard and fast. I like it on my EMTB, but I wouldn't run it on my other bikes.

 

[Stray cat]

One thing,it’s that bad the stock shock? I mean the RockShox Deluxe RT3, DebonAir, RE:aktiv