[Rivers2648]

Been reading some reviews that the Trail Pistol's suspension can get harsh especially on small bumps. Wondering if this is inherent from the frame geometry or something else? And if the small bump compliance can be 'fixed' by adjusting the clickers on the suspension?

 

[Ganderson]

I don’t have a Trail Pistol, but my experience on the aluminum Shred Dogg says the harshness reported in these bikes is more owed to the rear shock than anything else.

The stock Super Deluxe was terrible for me. I recently changed over to a Fox X2 and it’s night and day. That said my X2 is a Megatrail stroke length so not an apples to apples, but the quality of the rear suspension has gone way up.


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[vikb]

I don't have a Trail Pistol, but my experience on the aluminum Shred Dogg says the harshness reported in these bikes is more owed to the rear shock than anything else.

I'd agree. I had my shock tuned and the new damper makes it feel completely different. Much more supple back there.

 

[NCBigHit]

I'd agree with the others above. I've ridden a buddies TP with DPX2 and it is absolutely a slayer as a trail bike and punches above its weight for even very fast and rough trail.

 

[westwood]

I have had my Trail Pistol for a little over a year now. Originally had the Rock Shox Super Deluxe. The shock came set up with 3 volume spacers. In the stock form I felt the "harshness" that other people have stated. I ended up removing 2 of the three volume spacers. The ride was much better and still pedaled very well. When it came time to service the shock I decided to replace it with a Cane Creek DB inline, WOW what a difference this shock makes. Really brought the bike to life! It pedals better, better mid stroke support and never feels harsh.

 

[Little_twin]

It's a 120mm trail bike, it's firm for sure but any harshness is due to poor shock set up as mentioned above. I have 3 shocks for my trail pistol. They all have slightly different characteristics but I wouldn't describe any of them as harsh.

Cane creek dbcoil inline 450 lbs spring:

Very good initial stroke but has a bit of a dead feeling in the mid and high speed hits. I don't run this shock because it just tends to sit too low in the travel for my liking. I also feel like it doesn't recover as well from successive hits.

RockShox super deluxe coil 450 lbs spring:

Firm initially with good mid and high speed support. This shock definitely doesn't have nearly as wide of a range of adjustment but works very well for me.

RockShox deluxe air 195psi,
1 volume spacer:

This shock feels similar to the deluxe coil, it is firm initially with a nice progressive spring curve. It also rides higher in its travel but works very well for me and my trails. This shock is on my bike 90% of the time.

For reference the bike is always in crush mode and has 130mm lyrik.



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[notsendy]

Do folks generally run their bikes in crush mode or plush mode? My bike has the stock RS super deluxe and I switched over to plush mode not long after I got it because the rear felt a bit stiff for my liking. Been happy with it since but thinking about switching it back sometime to see what I’ve been missing. Haven’t played around with tokens yet.

 

[vikb]

Do folks generally run their bikes in crush mode or plush mode?

I've always ridden my Smash in Plush.

 

[westwood]

Do folks generally run their bikes in crush mode or plush mode? .

I have only ridden mine in plush mode once and did not care for it, went right back to crush mode.

 

[She&I]

Do folks generally run their bikes in crush mode or plush mode?

Plush always with SD coil has worked well for me ('17 Smash, '18 Smash). Indiscernible pedal bob at my weight/spring, and climbing traction through steppy stuff is unreal. Descending didn't feel markedly different between the two modes - a little more stiffness in Crush that didn't seem to improve the ride. Maybe Crush will be more useful for me with other squish setups or different terrain/objective, but I have no reservations running Plush indefinitely. I even kept it in plush for a three-day bikepack.

 

[n1cholasj]

I ride in crush mode with a dvo topaz in the rear of my alloy TP. I don't find it harsh - its not a magic carpet ride through brake bumps or really chunky rock, but I wouldn't call it harsh by any means. It feels a lot better through hthat terrain than the process 134 I had last year did.

 

[gregnash]

Been riding only Plush mode on my REVVED Smash and it feels great in just about every way. From reading the description of CRUSH mode, it seems like that would be best for flowy, fast, buff-ish singletrack slaying. Something like long extended, flowing descents and fireroad climbs. But I could be wrong.

 

[bedell99]

I have DPX2 on my trail pistol and it rides great. No harshness at all.

Erik