Yep, got one. I personally cant see any performance advantage with the DHX Air unless you are doing big drops. Its worth noting that the stock DHX A on the 09 Nomads has a special high compression tune. Even though the shock doesn't blow through its travel, to me, it seems a bit over dampened on rocky fast descents.
2009 -2010 Santa Cruz Nomad with FOX DHX 5 Air
I have heard a lot of complaints about the combining the 2008 and earlier Nomads with the Fox DHX Air Shocks. People seemed to say that it blew through its mid travel way too easily. Is this still an issue on the new Nomads with the revised VPP rates? Does anyone have a 2009 or 2010 Nomad with the Fox air rear who can comment? I am going to be ordering my Nomad soon, and I would like to keep it as light as is reasonable. The other option is the Rock Shox Monarch 3.3. Is this a better option for this bike. I have also considered just getting the Fox air shock and getting it PUSHed if I have any issues. I live in the Sierras and I do a lot of day long rides with lots of climbing and pretty rough descending. Thanks for your input!
-Ben
-Ben
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Do you think the rock shox monarch 3.3 would be better?
If you get the regular tune DHX-Air, for me, it's like the bike was designed around it. Rides absolutely fantastic. If you shuttle, then maybe the RC4.
Never ridden one but i never have heard any complaints either.benmtb44 said:Do you think the rock shox monarch 3.3 would be better?
I think that with all of the uphill riding I will be going with the DHX Air. I will let you all know how it works out for me. I am 6'4" and 185 lbs. If anyone else has this combo please let me know what you think.
Aren't the newer DHX A'z a lil better at NOT blowin thru their travel than te older onez??
I agree 100% with other aardvark. The dhx air is fine but feels harsh over fast bumpy descents. After riding the dhx air for a year on my 09 nomad I have just fitted a rc4. What a difference. Even with a spring thats a tad to firm for me the back wheel stays connected to the ground and tracks better. The bike also feels like it has a bit more pop out of corners. There is no notable difference in pedaling and its very tunable. This is the shock I would recommend.
It sounds like everyone really loves the RC4. My only hesitation is the weight, but then I was looking on the Fox website, and according to them the weight difference is only 4 grams. Is this really the case?? I would think that the coil would quite a lot to the overall weight. When I use the bike builder on Santa Cruz's website the difference between the two is about a pound. I am leaning towards the RC4. Does anyone use an air shock that they think is comparable performance wise to the RC4?
You are almost right... only 4 grams difference but this weight is without reducers and spring! A steel spring weights somewhere between 300 - 450 grams.
So the quoted weight is without spring. HAHAHA... Awesome. Well it does add about one pound to the bike. Anyone have any luck with an air shock out there. It sucks to spend a ton of money getting your bike as light as possible and then put a big chunk of steel on it. If that is what I have to do for the best performance than I will, but I would rather put on a good air shock.
The DHX-Air works very well on the Nomad. If I get a vote, that's what I would vote for. Either that or get a FloatR and push it.
Ah... It says right on Fox's site no reducers or spring. I just need to read the fine print.
If I was you I would just take the cheapest option at point of sale cause I have feeling that both Fox and Rockshock will have new air shock designs specific to DH and AM sometime late this year. Also, i believe couple of the boutique suspension manufactures are also on the verge of releasing air shocks.benmtb44 said:So the quoted weight is without spring. HAHAHA... Awesome. Well it does add about one pound to the bike. Anyone have any luck with an air shock out there. It sucks to spend a ton of money getting your bike as light as possible and then put a big chunk of steel on it. If that is what I have to do for the best performance than I will, but I would rather put on a good air shock.
Ben - a number of us have had great results with the Manitou Evolver ISX6 on the MKI nomad... you might want to see if you can get feedback from anyone running the Evolver on the new nomad.
I to have considered the Evolver but its not sold in Oz and there isnt any local Tec support.benzology said:Ben - a number of us have had great results with the Manitou Evolver ISX6 on the MKI nomad... you might want to see if you can get feedback from anyone running the Evolver on the new nomad.
benzology - how does the Nomad behave with the Evolver? I've got a Blur 4X vpp1 bike and am looking at getting a new rear shock, just trying to figure out what characteristics each offers.
Thanks
Thanks
RC4 + Titanium Spring might be worth thinking about, if you don't want to rule out a coil shock altogether. Personally, I'd always try to find my weight savings somewhere else on the bike so I could have a coil shock on the bike, but that's just IMO.benmtb44 said:So the quoted weight is without spring. HAHAHA... Awesome. Well it does add about one pound to the bike. Anyone have any luck with an air shock out there. It sucks to spend a ton of money getting your bike as light as possible and then put a big chunk of steel on it. If that is what I have to do for the best performance than I will, but I would rather put on a good air shock.
I have a 2010 Nomad with a pushed Float R and it feels better than the DHX coil shock I had on it in my opinion.
I have a 08 nomad with a DHX 5.0 AIR, and it does blow thrue its travel, i have tryed a DHX 5.0 coil and what a difference, it is like a complete different bike. I am now ordering a RP23 2010 with boostvalve to save some weight...
1 - 20 of 28 Posts
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