2010 Marzocchi roco coil vs fox dhx 5.0 coil?

For 2010 Fox doesn't offer the DHX 5.0, only the DHX RC4. It offer seperate HSC and LSC and has a bigger piston so more oil flows through those adjusters.
In 2009 the ROCO was comparable or better. For 2010 it looks like Fox took a step up.
However, with the travel of your bike and "mild downhill" and "5ft max" in your descriptions I'm not sure you'd push either of these enough to really tell a difference. They were designed for 8" travel bikes that see much faster chop and bigger hits.
My advice is to buy a Fox Float R, RP2, RP23, or RPL (plenty on Ebay for sub $100) and get it custom tuned by Push ($160). You'll be stoked with the feel on downhills, carry less weight, and spend less money than with these DH shocks.

For 2010 this is what Specialized is putting on the new Enduros.

totally agree, you are not riding hard enough to fully utlize those shocks. what are you running now and why do you feel the need to upgrade?

b-kul said:

totally agree, you are not riding hard enough to fully utlize those shocks. what are you running now and why do you feel the need to upgrade?

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I have the stock specialized afr shock which is too firm for my liking. Too much air and its too stiff, take air out and it becomes too easy to bottom out. I want a more plush shock going downhill, that can handle the small stuff as well as some jumps.

My max speed on most of the trails I ride is between 25-30mph, I ride very hard. Over rock gardens, jumps. I rode a bike with a coil shock and I just like it much better than air.

I can get either on for $350.

camarosam said:

I have the stock specialized afr shock which is too firm for my liking. Too much air and its too stiff, take air out and it becomes too easy to bottom out. I want a more plush shock going downhill, that can handle the small stuff as well as some jumps.

My max speed on most of the trails I ride is between 25-30mph, I ride very hard. Over rock gardens, jumps. I rode a bike with a coil shock and I just like it much better than air.

I can get either on for $350.

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i dont wanna tell you what to get but i still think you would be better off with a float. i would try and demo one if possible.

b-kul said:

i dont wanna tell you what to get but i still think you would be better off with a float. i would try and demo one if possible.

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Ok, ill go test ride a new enduro cause they have a fox float on the rear.

And while you're riding it remember that if you get a used Float and have it Pushed it will be even plusher.

Lelandjt said:

And while you're riding it remember that if you get a used Float and have it Pushed it will be even plusher.

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Totally agree, it´s much better to buy a used 100% working shock and let it tune according to your weight and riding style.
You won´t believe how plush is SR Suntour Epicon when it got tuned:thumbsup:

With regards to changing over to another air shock, isn't the riders weight an important determining factor? That's kinda what I gathered from his inital post. I'm 210lbs fully loaded and there's no way in hell i'm ever giving up my coil-oil for no air sprung disaster.

I do very similar riding to you but am a devoted single pivot man. Had a DHX 5.0 on a Heckler and it was ok, not awesome, just ok. It was reliable, though like all Fox products, required regular servicing. Ride a Foes FXR with Curnutt now and it's pretty harsh but climbs like a mtn goat and really shines on the DH; absorbs the big hits better than the DHX.

I have always been very impressed with the performance and reliability of Marzocchi products (guess I've been lucky of late) and would love to try the Rocco coil. Even if I was light and could actually use an air shock I would still go for the Rocco, simply because it's a buttery plush Marzocchi of the tried and true coil-oil design.

What did you end up going with? I've got the exact same bike and am in a very similar situation. I weigh 185lbs and when I setup the bike to feel decent over the small stuff (20% sag or so) it bottoms out off pretty much anything -- talking 1-2ft drops, even a high bunnyhop. I'm planning on taking my bike up to BC this summer as I'll be staying with a friend up there for a while and rentals are $$ so I definitely want to figure this out. I'd love to be able to take small drops without bottoming out while still having a shock that has some sag. It seems like the AFR on these SLs is either way too firm or way too soft and never ramp up at the end of the stroke.

TXPhisher said:

What did you end up going with? I've got the exact same bike and am in a very similar situation. I weigh 185lbs and when I setup the bike to feel decent over the small stuff (20% sag or so) it bottoms out off pretty much anything -- talking 1-2ft drops, even a high bunnyhop. I'm planning on taking my bike up to BC this summer as I'll be staying with a friend up there for a while and rentals are $$ so I definitely want to figure this out. I'd love to be able to take small drops without bottoming out while still having a shock that has some sag. It seems like the AFR on these SLs is either way too firm or way too soft and never ramp up at the end of the stroke.

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Exactly, I had to put too much air in it for trails that had bigger hits, but by doing that it couldnt soak up any of the small stuff. Take too much air out, it soaks up somewhat the smaller stuff and bottoms out on 2ft drops.

I ended up going with a fox dhx 5.0 coil/500lb spring. I rode the fox float and a dhx 5.0 coil and liked the feeling of the coil better. I got a new dhx 5.0 shipped for $300. So I couldnt pass it up. I should have it by wed. I think. I'll be posting a review up with pics on the "Specialized" section of this forum, I'll post a link here when I do.

From what I read from guys that have this same setup on an enduro sl... they say night and day difference, much better. With this shock you can have small bump copmlience while still being able to take bigger hits. From what I read, so we'll see.

camarosam said:

Exactly, I had to put too much air in it for trails that had bigger hits, but by doing that it couldnt soak up any of the small stuff. Take too much air out, it soaks up somewhat the smaller stuff and bottoms out on 2ft drops.

I ended up going with a fox dhx 5.0 coil/500lb spring. I rode the fox float and a dhx 5.0 coil and liked the feeling of the coil better. I got a new dhx 5.0 shipped for $300. So I couldnt pass it up. I should have it by wed. I think. I'll be posting a review up with pics on the "Specialized" section of this forum, I'll post a link here when I do.

From what I read from guys that have this same setup on an enduro sl... they say night and day difference, much better. With this shock you can have small bump copmlience while still being able to take bigger hits. From what I read, so we'll see.

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Quality of travel over quantity of travel. I'd never put an air shock on any bike with over 4"s of travel, but that's just me. You originally said you don't really climb, so you'll never feel the slight weight gain. I can't comment on the Fox DHX 5.0 since I havn't owned one since 2007, but I didn't like the 07, even after it was pushed with the now defunct, Race Factory Tune. I havn't tried a 'Zoke coil over since 1999 now that I'm thinking about it.

Vader said:

Quality of travel over quantity of travel. I'd never put an air shock on any bike with over 4"s of travel, but that's just me. You originally said you don't really climb, so you'll never feel the slight weight gain. I can't comment on the Fox DHX 5.0 since I havn't owned one since 2007, but I didn't like the 07, even after it was pushed with the now defunct, Race Factory Tune. I havn't tried a 'Zoke coil over since 1999 now that I'm thinking about it.

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It was a 09 model I think, the dhx 5.0. I bought the fox becuase everyone that I talked to said that it was your reliable choice, the roco Ive heard is more plush but also has a better chance of having issues with it. I want it to ride good but I also dont want to have any problems with it. Thats why I chose the dhx coil.

On the other hand I do climb with the bike but nothing serious, the bike that I rode that had a fox dhx 5.0 on it climbed pretty well. Nothing like the AFR shock I have on my bike now, but coming back down was where the coil was totally worth it.