[Fasttrak]

I know these are the kind of posts that make some folks nuts but what ya gonna do? I need some guidance here

I have had my 5 Spot for a couple weeks now and have basically come to the conclusion I prefer coil based oil damped suspensions to air charged ones. At least I like my dirt bikes feel to this Cane Creek Cloud 9 or the Marzzochi AM SL. Played with all kinds of different air settings and nothing really changes how mushy the fork or shock feel. Either bouncy and under suspended or stiff and unforgiving..

Had a chance to ride a medium sized 6 Pack with a DHX-C and a Pike 426 Coil and even though it was not dialed in for me and a size smaller then I ride it felt a whole lot better. Not near a trail but used some rail road track ties to see how it felt in rapid mid-speed bumps and it felt good.

Read a ton on this website and think I know what I want for a ride type and which shock\fork will give it. So I am certain I have the information correct, when AC is referred to are they speaking about the Axle to Crown length? I believe so and would really like to find a fork that maintains more of the aggressive head angle over a slacker DH feel. If I remember correctly that would be an AC of around 475-500 mm on a 5 Spot?

The two forks I am considering at this point are the Pike 426 Coil and the Fox Vanilla RLC. Curious if anyone knows what the AC is of the Fox? I was told the Pike could be dialed anywhere between 95-140 mm which makes the AC irrelevant not too sure about the Vanilla. The Pike having a 20mm through axle is enticing if not a bit more costly for a new front wheel but willing to bite the bullet.

The rear shock seems to be fairly straight forward in that all I need to do is find a 7.5" I to I 2" stroke shock. One of the candidates is the DHX-C which is no longer mfg Odd as it seems to be used on quite a few bikes. Two other shocks that seem very enticing are the Cane Creek DB and the Avalanche Chubbie (heck this shock might just win it due to all the fun jabs it earns with that name ). At this point the rear shock just comes down to how much I am willing to spend and do I feel I need a low speed compression setup in the Cane Creek. If you have any thoughts here would love to hear them. If you know where a new DHX-C can be had I would love to hear where. If there is no new DHX-C out there then I need to decide between the CCDB and the Avy. Tough choices..

Appreciate you making it this far through the post and look forward to hearing from those in the know.

 

[tscheezy]

A-C does indeed mean axle to crown. The Spot's stock geometry is quoted based on having a Fox 130mm fork installed to give it the 70 deg head angle. Those have a ~500mm A-C. Figure about 1/2-3/4 of a degree slacker for every 20mm of A-C you add (such as an extended Pike's ~520mm A-C) or 1/2-3/4 of a degree steeper for a shorter fork (such as Vanilla set at 100mm which would give it a ~480mm A-C). The Pike is probably the best bet as you can choose the A-C you want on the fly via the u-turn system.

Any of the shocks you mentioned would be great in back. Turner can obviously still get their mitts on the DHX coils, so you could probably ask them nicely if they would sell you one. Otherwise scan the classifieds for a bargain. They do come up, Avys included (one sold recently on eBay for something rediculous like $211).

 

[Fasttrak]

A-C does indeed mean axle to crown. The Spot's stock geometry is quoted based on having a Fox 130mm fork installed to give it the 70 deg head angle. Those have a ~500mm A-C. Figure about 1/2-3/4 of a degree slacker for every 20mm of A-C you add (such as an extended Pike's ~520mm A-C) or 1/2-3/4 of a degree steeper for a shorter fork (such as Vanilla set at 100mm which would give it a ~480mm A-C). The Pike is probably the best bet as you can choose the A-C you want on the fly via the u-turn system.

Any of the shocks you mentioned would be great in back. Turner can obviously still get their mitts on the DHX coils, so you could probably ask them nicely if they would sell you one. Otherwise scan the classifieds for a bargain. They do come up, Avys included (one sold recently on eBay for something rediculous like $211).

Thanks Cheez.

I am leaning towards the Pike due to it being 20mm through axle and read mostly good about it. Thanks for the Turner suggestion for the DHX-C, never even crossed my mind to go to a mfg source. If I go Pike right now and a new set of wheels I think I will just try and get my hands on a DHX-C opposed to the CCDB or Avy. Now to figure out what spring rate for both the Pike and the DHX-C

Funny, that Avy that was on Ebay was one I was bidding on. At the close of auction I usually wait till the last minute to post my bid and the damn browser reset my login and it dumped me back to login in screen instead of giving my bid on that same exact shock:madman: Oh well..

KB

 

[S-Works]

A-C does indeed mean axle to crown. The Spot's stock geometry is quoted based on having a Fox 130mm fork installed to give it the 70 deg head angle. .

Hey cheese,

I always thought the spot was designed around a fork, any fork, with a 500mm AC for 69 deg HA?

You feelin OK?

 

[tscheezy]

Yep, 69. Sorry, I spaced.

 

[cactuscorn]

barney was watchin him type. he couldnt say "69" with her in the room. 70 had to do.

 

[evilmoose]

Trying to Decide

OK,

So I am in the same boat as others, I'm running an '03 spot with and '03 Z1. The fork is pretty beat at this point, I'm trying to decide between a Pike, Revelation, Vanilla RLC or AM1. I don't mind making the switch to a thru axle if the Pike is the best choice. I like a plush fork that smooths out the trail. Living in CO I ride lots of rocky trails.

So what's the consensus?

Thanks - I'm one confused moose.

 

[tscheezy]

Pike. Air U-Turn. End of confusion.

 

[evilmoose]

Thanks, sounds like a no-brainer. Is the Pike air as cushy as an old Z1? Also, I assume with the 20mm axle it's a little stiffer through the rock gardens.

Any recommendations on a hub? I currently run a Hope which seems real durable.:thumbsup:

 

[DLine]

evil-

I'm getting a Pike in today, and will have it on the Spot tomorrow. I'm in Littleton, if you want to cruise around on it to see what it feels like on a Spot (size L), PM me. I too am using Hope hubs (Pro II) and converting to the 20mm Maxle. Seems like you could get a good feel for what you want to do by noodling around on mine...

 

[tscheezy]

If you have a Hope Bulb or Pro II you can just convert it to 20mm and not have to build a new wheel. If you have the Hope XC it won't be so easy.

 

[evilmoose]

Hub

It's an XC, of course. It looks like I can pick up a new Hope Pro II for a decent price.

Thanks for the help, now I have to save up a few $$$.

 

[RWGreen]

An aside - that ridiculously priced Avy was mine... I was a little surprised it sold so cheaply. The guy that got it didn't seem to even appreciate the deal he got enough to leave positive feedback... I would rather one of the homers had gotten it.

 

[Fasttrak]

An aside - that ridiculously priced Avy was mine... I was a little surprised it sold so cheaply. The guy that got it didn't seem to even appreciate the deal he got enough to leave positive feedback... I would rather one of the homers had gotten it.

Wow, I was so pissed off at Ebays cookies not holding a setting and forcing me to relog. He got that shock so friggin cheap it is almost disgusting. Out of curiosity, why did you sell off what looked to be a barely ridden Avy? Oh well looks like I get to spend about double that for another one..

Sorry to hear about the lazy buyer not even leaving feedback. Last few buys\sales have been to some odd folks myself. My last auction the seller demanded my feedback before he would leave any even though he got paid a couple hours after auction closed; he is still waiting for that feedback..

KB

 

[RWGreen]

It is strange - people had religiously left feedback up until my last 5-10 transactions, and now it's pretty hit or miss. I'm not going to send out notes begging for it though.

I ride purely XC style - midwest rollercoaster stuff with roots and rocks, but probably never get the wheels off the ground more than 6 inches, no drops, etc etc. No freeride or whatever. 5-spot is probably overkill for me, maybe should have got a flux, but the spot doesn't really ride like it has that much travel, and I have it set up at 27lbs in XC mode with no dumb stuff on it.

Through his own admission, Craig designs and tunes 99% of his shocks for more of a downhill orientation. I hadn't really realized this when I bought it, and he was a little challenged to get it set up the way I wanted which was really fast, really light damping for lower speed high frequency kind of stuff. I had it retuned once (which it sounded like he had accidentally initially set it at the wrong eye to eye, and had set damping based on a bigger spring), got it back and it was still too heavy on both compression and rebound so I decided to dump it and just go back to the DHX air rather than keep going back and forth. This also gave me back 1-1/2 pounds.

Wow, I was so pissed off at Ebays cookies not holding a setting and forcing me to relog. He got that shock so friggin cheap it is almost disgusting. Out of curiosity, why did you sell off what looked to be a barely ridden Avy? Oh well looks like I get to spend about double that for another one..

Sorry to hear about the lazy buyer not even leaving feedback. Last few buys\sales have been to some odd folks myself. My last auction the seller demanded my feedback before he would leave any even though he got paid a couple hours after auction closed; he is still waiting for that feedback..

KB

 

[Fasttrak]

It is strange - people had religiously left feedback up until my last 5-10 transactions, and now it's pretty hit or miss. I'm not going to send out notes begging for it though.

I ride purely XC style - midwest rollercoaster stuff with roots and rocks, but probably never get the wheels off the ground more than 6 inches, no drops, etc etc. No freeride or whatever. 5-spot is probably overkill for me, maybe should have got a flux, but the spot doesn't really ride like it has that much travel, and I have it set up at 27lbs in XC mode with no dumb stuff on it.

Through his own admission, Craig designs and tunes 99% of his shocks for more of a downhill orientation. I hadn't really realized this when I bought it, and he was a little challenged to get it set up the way I wanted which was really fast, really light damping for lower speed high frequency kind of stuff. I had it retuned once (which it sounded like he had accidentally initially set it at the wrong eye to eye, and had set damping based on a bigger spring), got it back and it was still too heavy on both compression and rebound so I decided to dump it and just go back to the DHX air rather than keep going back and forth. This also gave me back 1-1/2 pounds.

Thanks for the nicely put feedback RW. You gave me something to seriously mull over with regards to the rear shock. I am probably a bit more aggressive on the trail then you with jumps, drops and terrain I ride over but only a small percent of my riding would contain that type of riding. I think I may have to spend a bit more time trying to find what I want with a rear shock that is coil based. The Pike is a done deal, I like how it rode and just need to decide between the DT Swiss 240S and Chris King wheel sets..

Getting that Spot down to 27 pounds is pretty darn good, is that with a medium or large frame? Mine being a large is a bit portly at the moment coming in at a tad under 32 lbs..

KB

 

[RWGreen]

It's an XL... and to be fair, is maybe an ounce or two over 27, but right around there.

There are a few things that saved some weight, but mostly built with standard stuff.

I9 wheels, triple ti eggbeaters, push rp23 rear shock, '07 pushed float 140mm up front, xtr cranks with boone rings and guard, thomson post and stem, raceface carbon riser, hope m4 brakes with 2 piece rotors, xtr cassette, conti vert pro tires.

Nothing too crazy. I might check out the new avids

getting ready to head outfor a ride... now to decide whether to ride the spot or my new rigid 29er...

(edit...P.S.) - for what it's worth, I also tried the CCDB, and big caveat here... For Me... the current generation coils I tried (forks and shocks) didn't have any advantage over the air. Am also selling my '06 pushed vanilla RLC.