coil over or air shocks???

frankieboy

Right i see that more of the hardcore full sussers are starting to run air shocks.

so which is better?????

whats the benefits of both air shock or coil over shock????

cheers

dirtbiker100

Air shocks are much much lighter but originally were not as robust for DH style stuff. but now with the fox DHX and others this has changed and shocks like the DHX are more suitable for the constant compression and abuse.
Coil shocks still give a nicer feel apparently though.
(I only have a fox float on an all mountain/ aggressive XC bike)

/that was a non professional view so don't take my full word!

nicklouse

i would still say that Air is not up to long DH runs yet. too much heat generated.

the above post could be confusing due to the fact that there are many DHX shocks. some with coils and others with air.

So back to the OP what do you want to use an air can for?

rob cole

depends what kind of riding you do?

I have just changed from a Fox DHX 5.0 Coil shock to a Fox DHX air shock and i like the reduced weight, easier setup (shock pump instead of buying a new spring) and firmer feel of the air shock, it suits the freeriding that i do

I always ran my suspension pretty firm, so the air shock suits me fine

for downhill racing, extreme freeride and serious downhill riding you can't really beat the control, ground traction and small bump sensitivity of a good coil shock - if you look at high end shocks like a tuned Fox DHX 5, the Avalanche shock and Cane Creek Double Barrel then there is no air shock that can touch these in terms of downhill performance

but for general freeride and especially all-mountain and cross country its hard to beat the overall gains of using a good quality air shock like a Fox RP23 or DHX Air

regarding heat, the best air shock for freeride is the Manitou Evolver ISX-6 as the oil resevoir does not sit over the air can, like with Fox's DHX Air

benneally

Why is the heat a problem? Surely the heat generated cannot be that great?

nicklouse

benneally wrote:

Why is the heat a problem? Surely the heat generated cannot be that great?

you obviously have never taken an air shock on a DH course. air Cans can get very hot.
Air has this great property in that as it gets compressed it heats up. It is also a great insulator so does not lose heat well.

it used to be a problem in oil shocks. heat that is, as there was not enough oil to get rid of the heat as there is still a lot of heat generated through pushing oil through small holes.

benneally

nah dont do downhill. Im a proper cyclist and ride XC (in other words, dont have the balls! lol :oops: )

on a serious note, how the hell do u guys ride off drops like u do :shock:

rob cole

on a serious note, how the hell do u guys ride off drops like u do


what you mean stunts like this?

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/342965/


its magic

dave_hill

benneally wrote:

Why is the heat a problem? Surely the heat generated cannot be that great?

Ever pumped a tyre up rapidly from flat? How warm does the pump get? Pretty warm huh?

The problem with air shocks is that as the air in the spring heats up, it expands. This effectively means that the warmer the shock gets, the higher the pressure inside it gets until either a) it just won't compress, or b) BOOOM!!!. The latter is actually highly unlikely as the seals will give way first.

Air shocks/forks are sometimes criticised for having too much inertia - that is to say it usually takes a fair old wallop to get to get them moving. However, this problem can be surmounted by having positive and negative springs such as RockShox' Dual Air system. The positive spring props the shock or fork up, whilst the negative spring can be set to pull it slightly into it's travel and increase small-bump sensitivity.

In general...

Air shocks - easier intital setup, lighter weight; less small bump sensitivity, not suitable for repeated and/or sustained heavy use.

Coil shocks - better small-bump sensitivity, plusher feel, better for sustained big-hit use; heavy, spring rate change means physically changing the spring

benneally

rob cole wrote:

on a serious note, how the hell do u guys ride off drops like u do


what you mean stunts like this?

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/342965/


its magic

nah thats rubbish. ok ok its quite good :oops: