Hmmm...Pama, when I consider a harder or softer rear shock, I usually think of it in terms of damping level or a designed pedal platform in the shock. I'm getting that you're referring to boost chamber pressure and adjustments as paired with the coil spring. If I recall, you have/had a 5th E coil on your Bullit, so you realize how the more aggressive damping and SPV influence required a lower spring rate. That was very good IMO on a Bullit and other long travel single pivots, but not a good combo on a Nomad.
The DHX coil doesn't have as comparitively an aggressive pedal platform in its Propedal, so it requires a stronger spring. The DHX doesn't have as adjustable a compression damping as the 5th coil, and while I wasn't too hot on the DHX coil on my Bullits, I think they work quite well on the Nomad. The DHX has very solid mid-stroke compression support which compares nicely to the Nomad's suspension design. A PUSH'd DHX coil for a Nomad is supposed to be a whole level higher in its performance. The DHX will allow you to play with boost chamber pressures which do affect progressiveness, but it doesn't take much to start negatively affecting small bump compliance. It's a fine line. I actually preferred the high/low external compression adjusters on the 5th E coil in this area, but regardless, the DHX coil's compression characteristics seem to be a good match for the Nomad.
The Nomad, for most riders, doesn't seem to need much if any pedal platform, so keep that in mind when selecting or setting up a shock. Stronger pedal platform shocks like the Manitou SPV models may not be a good choice either, which is probably why Manitou is now also offerering the newer non-SPV Intrinsic Evolver models for pedal efficient designs like VPP, Maestro, DW, and others.
