Submitted by
BlackDiamond-1
a Downhiller
from Space Coast, FL Date Reviewed: February 18, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Fruit Trail, Santos
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Came with MTB
Strengths:
Plain and simply a great shock for FR/DH! Takes big hits and big drops with ease and smoothly. I love the ease of the rebound adjustment and dampening controls. Most people I have talked to that have used this 5th Element cvt 5 say if set up right it is as good if not better than the Fox DHX.
Weaknesses:
A little confusing at first learning to set this shock up correctly, but once a buddy showed me how to do it, it was easy after that and the shock worked much better.
Similar Products Used:
Fox DHX, Rocco
Bike Setup:
Custom Built Yakuza K
Bottom Line:
Great shock if set up correctly.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Fredericovich Strovaalds
a Downhiller
from bombertown, southeast shore, phi Date Reviewed: August 9, 2007
Favorite Trail:
breakneckrocky trail
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
stable and bottomles feel
Weaknesses:
adjustablity its like a freakin puzzle or something
Similar Products Used:
van r, and manitou's
Bike Setup:
fourbar, sixtysaiz,saint,avid,and 5th elemunt
Bottom Line:
got a nice deal for it but so far it hasn't given me any headaches yet i think 5 chillies for now
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tod Hippa
a Downhiller
from California Date Reviewed: March 24, 2007
Favorite Trail:
downhill with drops
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$299.00
Purchased At:
performance bicycles
Strengths:
-The rebound adjustment is great, very noticeable -easy to adjust -kinda looks like fox dhx 5.0 if you color the spring black -Soaks up drops well
Weaknesses:
-Too plush -Damping system broke the second day I rid it.
Bike Setup:
2005 iron horse 7 point 3
Bottom Line:
-Its ok but kinda low quality so you should spend just a 100 bucks more and get the fox dhx 5.0 because fox is high quality. -Gave it a two flamin chili because broke on the second day.
Can be custom set to your weight. looks great and rides very well.
Weaknesses:
hard to adjust the intake and rebound.
Similar Products Used:
fox vanila, DHX, 4-way swinger.
Bike Setup:
06 SC Bullit, 66Rc, E13 DRS, Deity bar, Race face diablos real seal headset, Azonic A-frame pedals, Azonic Love seat, DT swiss Onyx rear hub, white industries front hub.
Bottom Line:
hands down the the best coil rear shock I have ever used.
Can be custom set to your weight. looks great and rides very well.
Weaknesses:
hard to adjust the intake and rebound.
Similar Products Used:
fox vanila, DHX, 4-way swinger.
Bike Setup:
06 SC Bullit, 66Rc, E13 DRS, Deity bar, Race face diablos real seal headset, Azonic A-frame pedals, Azonic Love seat, DT swiss Onyx rear hub, white industries front hub.
Bottom Line:
hands down the the best coil rear shock I have ever used.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Alexander
a Downhiller
from Buellton, CA, United States Date Reviewed: March 6, 2006
Favorite Trail:
tunnel
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
came on BB7 frame
Strengths:
light, extremely adjustable, looks sweet
Weaknesses:
on my BB7 I have to take one side of the shock off the frame to adjust the air, but that doesn't really have to do with this shock
Similar Products Used:
vanilla rc, avalanche resevoir, stratos helix DH
Bike Setup:
BB7, juicy carbon, sram X.0 drivetrain, chris king, boxxer world cup, saint, 5th element, maxxis dhf
Bottom Line:
This shock is siiick. I have never ridden anything like it before. The people who gave it bad reviews are just idiots who don't set it up right. If you thoroughly read the manual, it is a breeze to set up. The beauty of it is that you can fine tune it for any type of trail you are riding. I weight 160 pounds and put 75 psi, the volume adjuster 2 clicks from fully clockwise, beginning stroke in the middle, but loosen a little if a very rocky trail, and tighten a little if a lot of pedaling, I usually keep the end stroke al the way off. Rebound I keep just above half way and compression very low. This shock when paired with a world cup is absolutely unstoppable
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jonas
a Downhiller
from Aachen, Germany Date Reviewed: January 11, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Whistler
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Great adjustability, good quality, sharp design.
Weaknesses:
Maybe a bit on the heavy side
Similar Products Used:
DHX 5.0 ROCO 6 WAY
Bike Setup:
Vp Free, 66 RC, XT Drivetrain, RF EVOLVE X-Type, Truvativ Parts, Gustav M, Ringle Hubs ´n Rims
Bottom Line:
A good shock adjustable for every terrain and riding style. Once you understand how all these adjustments work together, you don´t wanna miss them. The shock came with a hard spring, after i changed it to a softer spring the shock worked well on small bumps. Better use a soft spring and decrease the CVT chamber size to minimum and run it on 50 PSI. This will give you a good feeling on small stuff and good bottom out safety. The rest can be dialed with Hi Low compression. I recommend this shock for single pivots i thing it has the most effective platform damping. For 4 Bar linkage and VPP i would take the ROCO.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jord
a Weekend Warrior
from bc Date Reviewed: December 6, 2005
Favorite Trail:
whistler boneyard
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
l
Strengths:
super plush, sucks up the small stuff but absorbs the big stuff, really adjustable
Weaknesses:
well i blew the rebound the first week i had it but progressive rebuilt it for me for free no questions asked...good customer service
sweet shock, i was running fox but progressive got the best of me, good customer service too
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Justin
a Downhiller
from Keene NH USA Date Reviewed: November 27, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Drummer Hill /Mount Snow
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$430.00
Purchased At:
www.universalcycles.com
Strengths:
Very strong , plush , while still having a stable platform . also rebound is adjustable on the fly . Fantastic customer support. It's rebuildable for a small cost. Lots of different spring weights make getting the set-up perfect.
Weaknesses:
Difficult to understand directions. There should be a set-up sheet for each popular bike out there.
Similar Products Used:
Fox vanilla rear shock and manitou 6 way that I hated.
Bike Setup:
2002 Kona Stinky , Deemax wheelset , XT components , Hayes El Camino brakes. Z1 drop off 1 fork by Marzocchi. Chris King Headset.
Bottom Line:
This shock gives you someting to grow into . Once you realize what you like and don't like with your suspension . This shock has 5 adjustments to make your suspension perfect for your riding style. I love it , the customer service was fantastic at helping me set-up what I wanted for ride. I ride Downhill at Mount Snow (ski slope) and all sorts of freeriding. I follow the maintence outlined in the users manual and it works flawlessly. It was expensive but I think it's the last shock I will own due to it's fully rebuildable design. Anyone looking for a highly tuneable shock and something that will last a very long time look here.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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