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Blown Fox RP3

1025 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Homebrew, Jul 13, 2006

macming

Discussion Starter · Jul 8, 2006

I bought a RP3 off a friend, and he only used it for a month and half since new. I was there when he purchased the shock, and I know when he got a new frame.

Now, I put it on my Rocky Mountain Element, and I can't ever get this shock to be plush. I ran anywhere between 90 psi - 150 psi, and the rear end always feel like a hardtail. I have played around with the rebound settings, and they make no difference.

Pushing down on the rear seat shows the shock is slow at rebounding (at the fastest setting), and sometimes when I sit on the bike, it takes a split second before the shock returns to full extension. As well, there is no difference between the 3 RP3 settings at all.

Do I have a bad shock on my hands??

Thanks,

Ming

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Doesn't Matter

· #2 · Jul 11, 2006

It's not "stuck down," is it? Release the air pressure and see if you can cycle your bike's suspension fully through its travel. If you can't, it might be stuck down.

What year Element is it? I don't much about those bikes, but I know the early ones were spec'ed with Vanilla's and other coil-spring shocks. Is the Element a progressive/regressive design? You say it's slow at rebounding, but what are its compression characteristics?

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macming

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 13, 2006

Biking Brazilian said:
It's not "stuck down," is it? Release the air pressure and see if you can cycle your bike's suspension fully through its travel. If you can't, it might be stuck down.

What year Element is it? I don't much about those bikes, but I know the early ones were spec'ed with Vanilla's and other coil-spring shocks. Is the Element a progressive/regressive design? You say it's slow at rebounding, but what are its compression characteristics?

It's actually a 2003 Instinct, but essentially the same as the new elements. The bike came with a Float RL, which was very plush and was fairly efficient. The shock is not stuck down, it holds air perfectly. It's just for RP3s, everyone else are running close to their body weight for air pressure, and if I run anything over 100 psi, the shock will barely move. My riding weight is about 200 lbs so this isn't right. At 90 psi, the shock will sag through HALF of its travel, and it isn't very plush at that.

I'm really split on if this shock is OK or not. It doesn't have any signs of leaking air or stuck down, but it does not ride nicely at all. Any clues?

I am end up sending it in, but then again, I can give the shock back to my friend, send my RL to push, and probalby have a much better shock.

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Homebrew

· #4 · Jul 13, 2006

A lot of OEM shocks are custom valved for the application so it might not be tuned properly for your bike. Maybe think about sending it to PUSH.

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