The DRCV shock on the Trek Remedy is fantastic. It's the closest air shock to a coil I've ridden. It is head and shoulders above any air can that I have ever ridden. It's still not a coil though. I've found that if you set it up stiff enough to handle big drops, dirt jumps and fast aggressive riding it is chatter on the small stuff. Sketchy. If you set it to 35% sag it wallows and bottoms out excessively. It seems like there was not a happy medium.
Being a big fan of coil and oil suspension I set out to convert my remedy to a coil rear shock. I even talked to a couple of custom shock builders and no one had a solution. Trek has 10mm bearings for the drcv shock so it's not just a bolt it on and go endeavor. To my knowledge no one has done this conversion on a 2010-2011 to date. This is my journey through the conversion. I imagine it would also be possible to convert any standard air can using similar parts to a DRCV as they sell them now to the public.
There are two different ways to do this. One is with a reducer and the other is with The RWC needle bearing kit. I did this the hard way first. With needle bearings top and bottom. What I found was that there was two much play in the double needle bearing kit top and bottom. There are bearing in the top anyway, so there was no need for the needle bearing kit up top.
Parts List
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NEEDLE BEARING CONVERSION KIT 39.88mm part number NBKRWC3988. This kit fits the top and bottom shock mounts
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ENDURO® MAX FULL-COMPLEMENT BEARINGS part number 608 2RS MAX 8mm x 22mm x 7mm. These bearings will convert the 10mm bearing to 8mm.
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Fox Rear Shock Hardware Kits part number 803-03-046
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Homemade press
Step 1
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Remove the cranks, you will need to get to the bottom pivot.
Step 2
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Loosen the bottom pivot. The bottom shock mount is under pressure from the main pivot.
Step 3
Remove the top and bottom shock bolts and remove.
Step 4
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Press the bearings 10mm bearing from the outside in. You can use a socket. I used an old stem spacer.
Step 5
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Press the new 8mm bearings from the outside in. If you don't the you could have the bolt you are using for a press stuck in between the bearings. (Don't ask)
Step 6
Bolt the shock up. You will need two 1mm shims for the top. You can get those from a local hardware store.
Do not tighten. The main pivot should be torqued down first.
Main pivot 300 inch pounds
Lower shock mount 85 inch pounds
Upper shock mount 150 inch pounds
Done.
More pictures
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This is when I had it built with needle bearings on the top and bottom. I found it had some play in it. That is when I decided to go with the reducers on the top.
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There are still bearing up there. There is not a single hint of restriction
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Bottom mount with the RCW needle bearing kit. I would highly recommend getting this kit. The main bearing on all the trek FS are so tight that the shock wasn't even moving in the DU bushings. There was huge restriction in that bottom mount, so much so that it was shearing the paint. Basically built in low speed compression.
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Suspension settings.
I weight 190lb and like a pretty firm setup. I went with a 500lb coil and run about 28% sag. I also tried a 450lb coil and ran about 30% with it. I preferred the 28% sag much better. It is all down to personal preference though. These are the settings I liked for both. I started at the trek recommendations for the scratch, and then tweaked them from there.
190lb
450lb coil, 1.5 turns of preload. rebound 8 clicks out, lsc 6 clicks out
500lb coil, .5 turns of preload, rebound 7 clicks out, lsc 7 clicks out
My problem with the rear was that it seemed to get overwhelmed in really rough fast terrain. I love this bike, and the coil has made it even better. I don't notice the weight at all. It pedals amazing, I actually prefer it over the air. I still have that stiff pedaling platform that stays high in it's travel how I liked the air setup, but now the small bump compliance is amazing. A huge upgrade. It rips
I can go out with my XC buddies and hang with them on the climbs, hit dirt jumps without slamming the bump stops, and the next day go keep up with all the dh guys with their sleds. It does it all.
Can't wait for an MX Tune from Push.
Being a big fan of coil and oil suspension I set out to convert my remedy to a coil rear shock. I even talked to a couple of custom shock builders and no one had a solution. Trek has 10mm bearings for the drcv shock so it's not just a bolt it on and go endeavor. To my knowledge no one has done this conversion on a 2010-2011 to date. This is my journey through the conversion. I imagine it would also be possible to convert any standard air can using similar parts to a DRCV as they sell them now to the public.
There are two different ways to do this. One is with a reducer and the other is with The RWC needle bearing kit. I did this the hard way first. With needle bearings top and bottom. What I found was that there was two much play in the double needle bearing kit top and bottom. There are bearing in the top anyway, so there was no need for the needle bearing kit up top.
Parts List
NEEDLE BEARING CONVERSION KIT 39.88mm part number NBKRWC3988. This kit fits the top and bottom shock mounts
ENDURO® MAX FULL-COMPLEMENT BEARINGS part number 608 2RS MAX 8mm x 22mm x 7mm. These bearings will convert the 10mm bearing to 8mm.
Fox Rear Shock Hardware Kits part number 803-03-046
Homemade press
Step 1
Remove the cranks, you will need to get to the bottom pivot.
Step 2
Loosen the bottom pivot. The bottom shock mount is under pressure from the main pivot.
Step 3
Remove the top and bottom shock bolts and remove.
Step 4
Press the bearings 10mm bearing from the outside in. You can use a socket. I used an old stem spacer.
Step 5
Press the new 8mm bearings from the outside in. If you don't the you could have the bolt you are using for a press stuck in between the bearings. (Don't ask)
Step 6
Bolt the shock up. You will need two 1mm shims for the top. You can get those from a local hardware store.
Do not tighten. The main pivot should be torqued down first.
Main pivot 300 inch pounds
Lower shock mount 85 inch pounds
Upper shock mount 150 inch pounds
Done.
More pictures
This is when I had it built with needle bearings on the top and bottom. I found it had some play in it. That is when I decided to go with the reducers on the top.
There are still bearing up there. There is not a single hint of restriction
Bottom mount with the RCW needle bearing kit. I would highly recommend getting this kit. The main bearing on all the trek FS are so tight that the shock wasn't even moving in the DU bushings. There was huge restriction in that bottom mount, so much so that it was shearing the paint. Basically built in low speed compression.
Suspension settings.
I weight 190lb and like a pretty firm setup. I went with a 500lb coil and run about 28% sag. I also tried a 450lb coil and ran about 30% with it. I preferred the 28% sag much better. It is all down to personal preference though. These are the settings I liked for both. I started at the trek recommendations for the scratch, and then tweaked them from there.
190lb
450lb coil, 1.5 turns of preload. rebound 8 clicks out, lsc 6 clicks out
500lb coil, .5 turns of preload, rebound 7 clicks out, lsc 7 clicks out
My problem with the rear was that it seemed to get overwhelmed in really rough fast terrain. I love this bike, and the coil has made it even better. I don't notice the weight at all. It pedals amazing, I actually prefer it over the air. I still have that stiff pedaling platform that stays high in it's travel how I liked the air setup, but now the small bump compliance is amazing. A huge upgrade. It rips
I can go out with my XC buddies and hang with them on the climbs, hit dirt jumps without slamming the bump stops, and the next day go keep up with all the dh guys with their sleds. It does it all.
Can't wait for an MX Tune from Push.
