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Home | Product Reviews | Rear Shock | Manitou Swinger SPV Coil | ||||
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Submitted by
Eric
a Weekend Warrior
from Henderson Nv.
Date Reviewed: 1/29/2008 8:17:25 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Anything I can ride. |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | Came on bike. |
| Strengths: | Has taken a beating around Bootleg for two years and still works. Doesn't leak down air from the SPV chamber. Easy to adjust. Easy to get springs for it. Bushings have lasted for thousands of miles of riding. |
| Weaknesses: | None that I know of when set up properly and used for all mountain type riding. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Fox Floats and Manitou Swinger Air. |
| Bike Setup: | 06 Mountain Cycle San Andreas Classic, set up for all mountain. |
| Bottom Line: | Mine is a Swinger 3-Way. It's been a very reliable shock for me. It has endured severe summer heat and sub freezing temperatures here in the Mojave. The way my bike frame is set up, the shock sees lots of rock hits and has lots of gunk thrown up onto it while riding. Despite this, it has made it two years without an overhaul. The pedaling platform works as advertised and like all shocks with some kind of platform, it doesn't absorb small hits as well as those that are fully active. My bike is a Six inch travel all mountain set up and I can really tell the difference between Platform and no platform. The bike is much more fun with the SPV chamber aired up. It makes my San Andreas feel a lot like my old 2000 Stumpjumper FSR xc, instead of a downhill bike. I recommend the 3-Way to all mountain / trailbike users. As a last comment; service from Manitou has been great for me, when I have needed new springs or tech advice. |
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Submitted by
Aaron
a Downhiller
from Orange
Date Reviewed: 12/29/2007 3:10:55 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | came on the bike |
| Strengths: | Not quite sure. I suppose it has been OK. |
| Weaknesses: | it rarely works. the third run after I bought my DH comp the O-rings on the compression adjust knobs blew. The distributor fixed it and 12 months later they have just blown again. Wondering if it will be covered under warranty. Also, no rebound adjust. If you like really slow rebound, then you would love my shock. |
| Similar Products Tried: | various Fox and Fifth Element |
| Bike Setup: | DH comp stock standard |
| Bottom Line: | Don't buy one unless you enjoy being frustrated by a dysfunctional bike. My family Xmas shindigs are generally more functional than this shock. |
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Submitted by
nick
a Downhiller
from lancaster. Ca
Date Reviewed: 12/26/2007 11:58:25 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Purchased At: | came with frame |
| Strengths: | ERasy to setup, i come from a vaja racing bnackground and the shock is easy to setup and tough, great ramp up as it goes through travel |
| Weaknesses: | hi speed compression knob leaks oil a tad but no biggy |
| Similar Products Tried: | fox dhx 5 |
| Bike Setup: | raliegh ram 3500 marzocchi 888 avid codes sram x9 all over |
| Bottom Line: | great shock. east to setup and handles hits. small bumps used all the travel almost and i was worries but on big drops like 12 feet it doesnt bottom out and feels great |
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Submitted by
Aaron
a Cross Country Rider
from Simi Valley Ca
Date Reviewed: 9/25/2007 10:46:25 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $350 |
| Purchased At: | ebay |
| Strengths: | Came on the raleigh xt 3500 frame that I bought. But Has great peadling efficiey and usually only bobs when you jump or push down on it. |
| Weaknesses: | It is a heavy shock, and it is hard to tune. |
| Similar Products Tried: | none |
| Bike Setup: | Raliegh xt 3500 |
| Bottom Line: | It is a strong shock thus far and worth the price I payed for the frame. |
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Submitted by
Justin
from Toronto,ontario canada
Date Reviewed: 5/1/2007 4:57:30 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Strengths: | spv is good for pedaling.... rebound is somewhat effevtive... broad tuning range |
| Weaknesses: | strength.... this is the most unreliable product on my bike.... after blowing it 3 times and breaking off the rebound knob once i would never ever buy a swinger again |
| Similar Products Tried: | DHX, VAN RC |
| Bottom Line: | if you are a freerider this is a good shock, but only if your not going big for dhers and guys who are more interested in reliability over pedaling efficency steer clear of this shock... id recomend either a roco or dhx (dhx more so then the roco) |
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Submitted by
Dustin
a Downhiller
from CA
Date Reviewed: 4/2/2007 5:27:28 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $170 |
| Purchased At: | ebay |
| Strengths: | Awesome looking shock, lots of adjustability. Very smooth/plush over stock manitou mentel. |
| Weaknesses: | Takes some time to set up |
| Similar Products Tried: | Manitou mentel, which came on my bike |
| Bike Setup: | iron horse 7point |
| Bottom Line: | offers all the adjustability of many other high end shocks out there |
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Submitted by
VIktor
a Weekend Warrior
from Bratislava
Date Reviewed: 10/4/2006 3:43:17 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Podkonice |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $250 |
| Purchased At: | Kaktus bike |
| Strengths: | This is for the 3way. Solid build, no worry about bottoming unlike the Fox Vanilla RC. Will fit any frame cause nothing sticks out. |
| Weaknesses: | Not nearly as plush as Fox, even at 50 psi. Actually I think its stuck from the start maybe mine was poorly manufactured and the stiction can be removed, because the 4way I had before was slightly better. Good enough for XC and Freeride anyway. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Swinger 4-way - a little plusher FOX Vanilla RC - plushest shock ever 5th Element - manitou has still got a lot to learn |
| Bike Setup: | Norco A-line w/Shivers, DH specs |
| Bottom Line: | Go with the FOX or Romic, their products are better. |
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Submitted by
john holmes
a Downhiller
from kansas
Date Reviewed: 9/14/2006 1:28:17 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | axe mark |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $375 |
| Purchased At: | halfords |
| Strengths: | adjustability, radical visuals, reliability |
| Weaknesses: | heavyish but that's known from the start anyways |
| Similar Products Tried: | stratos, dh5, romic twintube |
| Bike Setup: | halfords hellcat, rockshox judy c, rigida rims/grimeca shimano cable disks and other trick bits |
| Bottom Line: | this shock cranks compared to the others I've used. Super adjustable to get my Hellcat beating the sh*t out of all the trails me and me wife ride. Totally wasted if put on a sh*t bike though needs to be mated on a quality rig to fully apprieciate how good that badboy is. Buy it and rip up the axe mark.! |
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Submitted by
Cole
a Downhiller
from vancouver
Date Reviewed: 7/4/2006 9:42:16 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | CBC |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $4500 |
| Purchased At: | came with frame |
| Strengths: | Very smooth, plush, adjustments actually work good ramp out near end of travel |
| Weaknesses: | none so far |
| Similar Products Tried: | DHX 3.0 'nilla R |
| Bike Setup: | kona stinky, juicy 5s, mavic 321s, easton bars |
| Bottom Line: | This is a great shock, it beats the pants off of the vanilla R and feels smoother than the DHX 3.0, pretty easy to set up, good adjustments too, this thing can take literaly anything you throw at it. Great product! |
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Submitted by
Jon
a Weekend Warrior
from Regina, sk, canada
Date Reviewed: 6/27/2006 9:33:38 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Very good pedalling efficiency, even for a freeride bike. The spv works well. Takes drops and jumps well and even handles my urban riding. |
| Weaknesses: | Just a personal thing but, I like a little less rebound damping than this shock allows. I like a little more bounce. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Fox vanilla r, Fox vanilla rc, 5th element, Manitou swinger 6-way |
| Bike Setup: | Trek session 7 - stock for now |
| Bottom Line: | Great shock. I have the 4-way and the 6-way, and I like how they feel. In most situations, you really don't need the extra adjustments of the 6-way. If you set the 4-way in a similar way, it feels almost exactly the same. Save your money when considering a swinger - go for the 4-way. It's just as good. |
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Submitted by
Rowan Robinson
from melbourne
Date Reviewed: 6/3/2006 7:08:50 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Purchased At: | came with bike |
| Strengths: | feels great when it works |
| Weaknesses: | you feel s**t when it doesn't, which is most of the time |
| Bike Setup: | 06 DH comp, m4, xtr, xt... |
| Bottom Line: | The shock feels great and works great when it feels like working. i purchased a DH comp NEW at the end of 2005, and within a week my shock was being sent back to manitou because it was leaking oil, and i was assured it would only be a couple of weeks to get it back. well, a few weeks went by and, alas, no shock. lucky for me manitou sent the shop a 4 way for me to use (which they told me to kill) during my time without a 6 way. WELL, 6 months flies past and i get a call from the bike shop- my 6 way is ready! i then get a call from the shop a couple of days later with the audacity to tell me to hurry up and return the 4 way... manitou want to charge them for it. needless to say a few days later i went to pick up my 'rebuilt' 6 way. i put it on my desk and went about my business, and had a look at it the next day and guess what... there's oil all over my desk. not a thing had changed with the shock, and i had wasted 6 months. well, goodbye manitou and you absolutely dismal customer service nd quality. what is wrong with simply replacing the part, since it was brand new in the first place. unfortunately after 6+ months of owning a swinger 6 way i can't say i've actually used it much. the 4 way worked ok, i guess... |
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Submitted by
Michael Dudley
a Downhiller
from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Date Reviewed: 6/2/2006 7:23:58 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | t-bar |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $300 |
| Purchased At: | FTR |
| Strengths: | Feels fine when it chooses to work. |
| Weaknesses: | Blow's far too easily. Leaks. No service manuals are provided to local bike shops, so when (not if, when) you have a problem, it needs to be sent off to manitou themselves. Leaving you bikeless and penyless for an extended period of time. |
| Similar Products Tried: | 5th, DHX and 4way. |
| Bike Setup: | Demo9, Swinger 6way(regretful), 888's, XT, hozfeller,729's ect. |
| Bottom Line: | This shock is simmilar to a balloon. Astheticly pleasing when it's functional, but will pop (or blow as the case may be) with the greatest of ease. The shock is made by manitou, this means that if ever you have a problem, expect alot of down time. If you can avoid it, stay away from manitou as customer service is an oxymoron to them. For the money that's involved in one of these shocks, you're alot better off investing your money into something like a fox. Something that will take a beating. |
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Submitted by
pete
a Weekend Warrior
from santa rosa
Date Reviewed: 5/27/2006 5:47:33 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Stable. No pedal-induced bobbing on the climbs. |
| Weaknesses: | None yet |
| Similar Products Tried: | 5th Element Air |
| Bike Setup: | '06 Heckler, Marz. Z.1 Light, XT Cranks, SRAM x.9....etc. |
| Bottom Line: | When I climb in granny-gear, the rear shock is stable and doesn't bob like my 5th Element Air did on my SC Blur. I'm pretty impressed with the Swinger 4-way coil shock. |
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Submitted by
joe hoe
a Downhiller
from new jersey
Date Reviewed: 4/19/2006 7:47:33 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | skyline drive |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $500 |
| Purchased At: | pedal sports |
| Strengths: | works for the first month |
| Weaknesses: | does not work right after really rocky runs |
| Similar Products Tried: | dhx sid metel r vanilla |
| Bike Setup: | kona with downhill parts |
| Bottom Line: | Definatley do not get this if you are a downhiller. Espeacially if you are a racer. A lot of guys say they almost got hurt because it blew out during a race. When I go riding it works for the first part of the run. But then later it starts to get a little stiff later. GReat for begginers. And beginner freeriders. dont get manitou forks with air assist. Only get double coil. Their air technology blows. DEFINATLY GET DHX IF YOU GET A CHANCE TO. WAY BETTER THAN THIS CRAP ON A STICK. |
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Submitted by
joe hoe
a Downhiller
from new jersey
Date Reviewed: 4/19/2006 7:44:59 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | skyline drive |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $500 |
| Purchased At: | pedal sports |
| Strengths: | works for the first month |
| Weaknesses: | does not work right after really rocky runs |
| Similar Products Tried: | dhx sid metel r vanilla |
| Bike Setup: | kona with downhill parts |
| Bottom Line: | Definatley do not get this if you are a downhiller. Espeacially if you are a racer. A lot of guys say they almost got hurt because it blew out during a race. When I go riding it works for the first part of the run. But then later it starts to get a little stiff later. GReat for begginers. And beginner freeriders. dont get manitou forks with air assist. Only get double coil. Their air technology blows. |
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Submitted by
Pierre-Alexandre Blanche
a Downhiller
from Liège, Belgium
Date Reviewed: 3/6/2006 12:25:08 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | every |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Strengths: | Works well when it works |
| Weaknesses: | Oh my gosh, does this shock has ever work a single race |
| Similar Products Tried: | none, till now |
| Bike Setup: | Demo 9, 1995. So it comes with this usless shock |
| Bottom Line: | Save your money, do NOT buy this thing. My concern is the rebound which came out of control after a few moments. First it performs well, but quickly, it do not work any more on the fist few millimeters then centimeters then at all! This shock goes back for inspection under warranty 4 times! it came back working properly under "garage inspection" but after a single downhill, the rebound fail each times, becoming dangerous and slaming loudly. They try to change de piggy bag 3 times but it fails. Changing valves and oil fails too. I heard this problem occure on several 6 ways SPV's and the 4 ways is safe. Please if you fix this type of problem write me the trick! My only option now is to uy a DHX! |
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Submitted by
Dave
a Downhiller
from Georgia
Date Reviewed: 1/29/2006 6:42:14 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Bull Mountain |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $240 |
| Purchased At: | local bike shop |
| Strengths: | SPV damping, strong 12mm shaft! vs. 9mm on the Vanilla R |
| Weaknesses: | 3-way : none for a non-reservoir shock! 6-way : none! |
| Similar Products Tried: | Vanilla R. |
| Bike Setup: | '04 Spec. BigHit w/6-way on the back and Jr.T up front. |
| Bottom Line: | Manitou shocks have worked great for me (I can't say the same about their forks). My bike originally came with a 3-way shock on it. That shock was a trooper! I have hit many 10-12footers to flat and I haven't had the first problem from my 3-way - and that's in a 2 year period. I have since upgraded to the 6-way shock and that shock is awesome. I've only ridden the 6-way for about a week now, but it's like I have a whole new bike. High/low speed compression helps me trail ride/downhill sooooo much smoother and the bottom out control helps me go bigger with more confidence. The 3-way is still a great shock. I am going to keep it around just in case I have an issue with the 6-way, because as we all know....nothing's perfect. I read in a previous review that one guy had a bad experience dealing with Maniou's cust. service. Ever try dealing with Fox?..........it's a true nightmare! |
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Submitted by
LoRdDeSt
a Weekend Warrior
from NYCITY
Date Reviewed: 1/20/2006 7:36:29 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $150 |
| Purchased At: | EBAY |
| Strengths: | SPV. great shock can handle anything u jump off of |
| Weaknesses: | none... |
| Bike Setup: | cannondale prophet swaped out reg air shock and put in the swinger |
| Bottom Line: | great shock if ur into freeriding can handle anything. worth every penny |
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Submitted by
Tom Williams
a Downhiller
from Wales
Date Reviewed: 12/21/2005 1:43:14 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Cwm Carn |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $300 |
| Purchased At: | Alf Jones Cycles |
| Strengths: | Handles big hits easily and can take a real beating. |
| Weaknesses: | Wears easily |
| Similar Products Tried: | Club Roost shock |
| Bike Setup: | Club Roost DH8, manitou 4-way, Marzocchi Monster-T, mavic deemax on bulb hubs, easton stuff and maxxis tyres |
| Bottom Line: | Awesome Shock if you are looking for a shock that can hold up for extremely big hits and shoot downhill tracks on sight! I highly reccomend it |
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Submitted by
daniel
a Weekend Warrior
from sydney
Date Reviewed: 12/3/2005 6:26:50 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | given up |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $300 |
| Purchased At: | Wooly's Wheels |
| Strengths: | anti-bobbing was good while it lasted |
| Weaknesses: | Regardless of usage, it seems that this product is destined for the rubbish bin in roughly a year's time (i.e. after warranty lapses). I started out taking my bike on some rough rides then used it locally as a cross-country/street bike. So overall, very limited heavy use of the shocks. After about a year of intermittent use, i noticed the shock pressure was down to 0 before going for a ride. My bike had been sitting there through the winter without any use and over that time the shock just collapsed. I have Sherman Firefly SPV forks and they are fine. |
| Bike Setup: | Giant AC2 cross country setting |
| Bottom Line: | When buying any SPV shocks DON'T expect them to last for years, even if you don't put them to heavy use - their design isn't sturdy enough!!! You WILL need to replace them probably each 1/2 years (just in time for the new product range...) |
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Submitted by
Jesse McCollum
a Downhiller
from Kansas City, MO
Date Reviewed: 10/10/2005 2:51:27 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Paid'n Full |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $200 |
| Purchased At: | Came on bike stock |
| Strengths: | supports the swing arm of my bike, making it rideable |
| Weaknesses: | it blows up |
| Similar Products Tried: | too broke to buy anything else |
| Bike Setup: | Cannondale Gemini (2005 Gemi 3000) |
| Bottom Line: | this shock blew out on me during race and d@mn near got me hurt. Upon landing a SMOOTH 30 ft. gap at a race, the shock came apart, loosing all rebound control, when I landed the bike pogo'ed like a bucking bronco sending me flying through the air...... save your money and buy a DHX5.0..... by the way, manitou's customer service sucks balls..... working in a shop I deal with them a lot, and dealing with any companies customer service a lot, is never a good thing. |
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Submitted by
Jammin Bakar
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbouren, Australia
Date Reviewed: 8/14/2005 5:41:49 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Death Canyon Toolangie |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $175 |
| Purchased At: | I found it on eBay! |
| Strengths: | Does what it's supposed to when set up correctly. Positive clicks on rebound adj. Looks and feels like a quality item. Makes a nice audible Psss on the rebound stroke. So I know it's working. |
| Weaknesses: | Trade off slow bump for better pedalling. Rebound seems to be progressive, however the top end 12 clicks in, it's so slow I thought I'd busted it! Dont like the idea that if I ride the shock with less than 50psi I could kill it. Means I'm taking another pump out on the trail with me. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Fox Vannila. |
| Bike Setup: | Stinky, Sherman's, 321's, Gizmo. Shocks a '05 4way 7.875" / 2" |
| Bottom Line: | Dont know about the early units but the '05 rebound works great. At 220+ Lbs, I needed to up the std spring rate to 550lbs to get my prefered sag without having to resort to any preload or fudging it with the spv. I think this is important. Also opted to fit a longer travel Spring, 2" 450lb to a 2.5" 550lbs to prevent any coil bind. Comming from a Vanilla, I found initially the back end would skip around a little more than I prefered but overcame this by running the spv at (50%)100-110psi. This seems to be a nice trade off. Pretty happy for now. Will wait and see how it lasts. |
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Submitted by
Rudi Gale
from Logatec
Date Reviewed: 7/30/2005 12:51:24 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Adjustabilty (Rebound, preload, piggy back - SPV volume, pedal bob - SPV), works great if you tune it right |
| Weaknesses: | None yet, maybe weight |
| Similar Products Tried: | None |
| Bike Setup: | Gaint Faith 2 |
| Bottom Line: | So far I had no problems with this shock. It makes a funny noise when it bottoms out. It's not that easy to set it up... |
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Submitted by
Simon
a Downhiller
from Seoul, Korea
Date Reviewed: 7/13/2005 10:22:35 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Strengths: | Spring only |
| Weaknesses: | Everything from oil leaking to topping out really bad and I mean really bad. thu-kunk, thu-kunk.. squeeze squirt.. soggy mess. |
| Similar Products Tried: | DHX 5.0, Progressive 5th |
| Bike Setup: | bullit |
| Bottom Line: | 3 shocks pumping full of oil with "thunk." Should I say more? Piece of turd. Buy one and you'll be sorry. With this shock, it's like playing mindfield. You never know when and which one will blow. The sorriest shock I've ever used. Get DHX5.0 No scam just a great shock. |
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Submitted by
Nick Latta
a Downhiller
from Wellington, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: 7/6/2005 10:57:11 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Long Gully, Maidstone |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $200 |
| Purchased At: | Pack and Pedal |
| Strengths: | Plush, strong, spv is pretty good |
| Weaknesses: | none |
| Similar Products Tried: | fox rc, vanilla r |