I've had a chance to ride my new PUSH Elevensix. I've put it through the paces. I've thrown Colorado's Front Range, Moab's Captain Ahab, and some Flow trails in Salt Lake City at it and it devoured them all. I climbed fire roads, singletracks, and chundery rock garden. I think I have run this shock through the spectrum of the types of riding that I do.
My verdict? It's un-f*ing-believeable.
I mean that literally. It is such a contradictory piece of equipment, solving so many seemingly mutually exclusive problems that it is hard to believe that it's this good.
But it is.
I have a more comprehensive review of this shock due to come out this Thursday over at themtblife.com, but I'll give you guys the quick and dirty preview now.
This shock absolutely rips. It slays. It transforms this bike into the bike that I thought it was going to be when I bought it. This shock fulfills the promise of what the Nomad can be.
Let me explain:
Small BumpsThe shock is ridiculously sensitive. Small bump performance is everything you'd expect from a coil spring- and then some. It must be their coatings or bushings or some form of black magic, but I swear this shock will initiate it's movement when breathed on. A heavy sigh will compress it. High-freq stutter bumps (braking bumps, chatter, and small-size trail marbles) are easily vanquished.
Big HItsOn bigger hits this rig totally shines. The faster you go, the harder you push, the better this shock performs. When landing, the rear wheel just comes down gently and sticks to the ground. The bike just recovers so much more quickly than before. So as the bike is attacking hits of various size and speed it is more "ready" to take the subsequent hit faster. Imagine being able to take back all the fractional seconds from the time your bike hits something to the time you regain full control of it. You spend less time fighting your bike and more time controlling it.
Set UpThe shock comes with a card from PUSH that outlines their recommended settings on one side and explains the basic functions of the knobs on the other. I asked for a "climb" mode and a "descend" mode. The control you get back on the descents is really incredible, but I think the way it performs while climbing is equally stellar.
By dialing the small blue dial on the "climb" valve all the way clockwise the shock is almost immune to pedal input, good for sustained fireroads and long hauls. But more significantly, by backing the blue dial out click by click you can incrementally dial up the amount of traction when the going gets chundery, loose, or technical. About 4 clicks out and this bike is a traction monster. But because I can dial it to where I want it I can avoid the suspension "stalling" out against obstacles while climbing.
Headed for a flow trail with manicured transitions and sterile of rocks? Dial the gray High Speed Compression knob to tune on the fly. Losing traction in the corners over wicked bracking bumps? A couple clicks of the blue LSC knob will solve that.. and since the shock is preconfigured for you and for your bike the range of adjustment is applicable. You're not going to get lost in these settings.
I launched this bike with the Elevensix at everything I could on Captain Ahab. I hit every single drop on the line. I manualled around and aimed the rear wheel at squared-off rocks. It ate everything. I wasn't able to overwhelm it. I never felt a harsh bottom-out and I never felt like I was sacrificing small bump compliance to get the bottom-out resistance necessary to protect the bike.
This is a no-compromise, do-everything kind of shock. It fixed everything I hated about my Monarch but accepted because I loved the Nomad. My Nomad with the Elevensix is the bike I dreamed it would be. And more.
For me, this complete transformation of my Nomad easily justifies the price. Yes, it's expensive, but it's also the most significant performance upgrade available IMHO. It's really that good. Your bike deserves this shock :thumbsup:
My verdict? It's un-f*ing-believeable.
I mean that literally. It is such a contradictory piece of equipment, solving so many seemingly mutually exclusive problems that it is hard to believe that it's this good.
But it is.
I have a more comprehensive review of this shock due to come out this Thursday over at themtblife.com, but I'll give you guys the quick and dirty preview now.
This shock absolutely rips. It slays. It transforms this bike into the bike that I thought it was going to be when I bought it. This shock fulfills the promise of what the Nomad can be.
Let me explain:
Small BumpsThe shock is ridiculously sensitive. Small bump performance is everything you'd expect from a coil spring- and then some. It must be their coatings or bushings or some form of black magic, but I swear this shock will initiate it's movement when breathed on. A heavy sigh will compress it. High-freq stutter bumps (braking bumps, chatter, and small-size trail marbles) are easily vanquished.
Big HItsOn bigger hits this rig totally shines. The faster you go, the harder you push, the better this shock performs. When landing, the rear wheel just comes down gently and sticks to the ground. The bike just recovers so much more quickly than before. So as the bike is attacking hits of various size and speed it is more "ready" to take the subsequent hit faster. Imagine being able to take back all the fractional seconds from the time your bike hits something to the time you regain full control of it. You spend less time fighting your bike and more time controlling it.
Set UpThe shock comes with a card from PUSH that outlines their recommended settings on one side and explains the basic functions of the knobs on the other. I asked for a "climb" mode and a "descend" mode. The control you get back on the descents is really incredible, but I think the way it performs while climbing is equally stellar.
By dialing the small blue dial on the "climb" valve all the way clockwise the shock is almost immune to pedal input, good for sustained fireroads and long hauls. But more significantly, by backing the blue dial out click by click you can incrementally dial up the amount of traction when the going gets chundery, loose, or technical. About 4 clicks out and this bike is a traction monster. But because I can dial it to where I want it I can avoid the suspension "stalling" out against obstacles while climbing.
Headed for a flow trail with manicured transitions and sterile of rocks? Dial the gray High Speed Compression knob to tune on the fly. Losing traction in the corners over wicked bracking bumps? A couple clicks of the blue LSC knob will solve that.. and since the shock is preconfigured for you and for your bike the range of adjustment is applicable. You're not going to get lost in these settings.
I launched this bike with the Elevensix at everything I could on Captain Ahab. I hit every single drop on the line. I manualled around and aimed the rear wheel at squared-off rocks. It ate everything. I wasn't able to overwhelm it. I never felt a harsh bottom-out and I never felt like I was sacrificing small bump compliance to get the bottom-out resistance necessary to protect the bike.
This is a no-compromise, do-everything kind of shock. It fixed everything I hated about my Monarch but accepted because I loved the Nomad. My Nomad with the Elevensix is the bike I dreamed it would be. And more.
For me, this complete transformation of my Nomad easily justifies the price. Yes, it's expensive, but it's also the most significant performance upgrade available IMHO. It's really that good. Your bike deserves this shock :thumbsup:
