Upgrade rear shock?

simmo3801

I bought a Giant Anthem X3 at the end of last year. It has a Rock Shox Monarch R rear shock. It's my first full suss bike having ridden hardtails for years previously. I like the difference the full suss makes and I feel it has improved my riding. I've upgraded the wheels and groupset already and was wondering if it would be worth upgrading the rear shock. I've read a few reviews of the Monarch R and it seems to get slated in general. When I previously switched from a pair of Marzocchi Bomber forks to Rock Shox Team Reba on my hardtail the difference was huge and instantly noticeable. I mainly ride xc at glentress or in the Pentlands. Would it be worth my while to change it to something like a fox rp shock or similar?

poah

but how you feel the shock is doing? does it go through its travel too quickly or is it not very small bump complient. do you use all the travel, do you get too much pedal bob etc etc.

a fox RP23 or a CTD isn't going to make things better

jairaj

I've ridden the same bike one with Fox RP23 and one with RS Monarch R. Only rode it in fully open position so did not use pro pedal etc and found little or no difference between the two. That clearly doesn't make me a world expert but I think if set up right, both shocks will work great.

As per the the above reply, what area(s) do you find your shock is lacking? Maybe you'd be better of getting a custom tune?

simmo3801

It feels fine Tbh anthere's less bob than I expected so no complaints there I was just wondering given the difference I noticed with a better fork

ride_whenever

Get it custom tuned and valved. If that doesn't fix it the don't mess about buy either a cane creek or a BOS can for the back

simmo3801

Thanks for the replies I'll stick with what I have then, money saved!

rockmonkeysc

The Trance has an excellent rear suspension design which is extremely efficient so you won't get much pedal bob with any shock.
The monarch can be custom tuned if there's anything you don't like about it.
A Cane Creek DB air won't fit in the frame (I know someone who tried) and I'm not convinced a BOS air shock will either.

jairaj

The BOS Vipr probably would fit, mine doesn't seem any bigger than a Fox or RS XC air shock.

But its hard to recommend BOS to other people. While the performance of my BOS Vipr is fantastic and noticeable upgrade over the Fox RP23 and Monarch that I tried, their poor after sales support means I couldn't recommend them. Reliability seems to be good but if you are unlucky or even if you need spares for normal wear and tear you could be waiting months before the shock is fixed. They've gone through 3 different distributors in 3 years.

ride_whenever

Four now, apparently things are going to be better this time...

That said mad elk in Ireland have been a distributor for years and are great when you can get hold of them/they're not riding!