[e-rider]

hi all,

been looking to trade my ht in for a fs lately and have been looking at the Heckler. After reading this forum I have a few questions regarding setup. How does the swinger coil or air compare to the 5th coil? I am a complete newbie at this shock thing so anything to shed light on this will be much appreciated.
There were mentions of "brake jack"? So will it be necessary to fit a floater to it or will it all be in my head? Thanks.

Oo

 

[Big Tommy C]

I haven't noticed the brake jack yet, but that's probably because I ride like a girl.

 

[kapusta]

hi all,

been looking to trade my ht in for a fs lately and have been looking at the Heckler. After reading this forum I have a few questions regarding setup. How does the swinger coil or air compare to the 5th coil? I am a complete newbie at this shock thing so anything to shed light on this will be much appreciated.
There were mentions of "brake jack"? So will it be necessary to fit a floater to it or will it all be in my head? Thanks.

Oo

I've been on a Heckler with a 5th coil for about 1-1/2 years. At the time the 5th coil was probably the best option, but now I'm not so sure. It works great IF you are willing to spend a great deal of time fiddling with the 7 different variables (1-spring weight, 2-preload, 3-chamber volume, 4-chamber pressure, 5-rebound, 6-begining stoke compression, 7-end stroke compression). The issue I have with any spring shock with a platform is that if you don't want a super plush and active shock, why bother with a spring? Anyway, it is not something that is going make me go out and buy another shock, but if I could do it all over again I would at least look at the options out there. The Swinger 4 way air and the Fox RP3 sound like good options, though they have a shorter stroke, giving you 5" of rear travel as opposed to 5.6" with the 5th coil or Fox DHX.

As far as brake jack: yes it does exist, and I can tell a difference in behavior between this bike and a true horst-link, but it has never been something that makes any real difference in my book. It's just part of how the bike behaves, and I've adjusted my braking style accordingly. I think brake jack is more of an issue when someone has really bad form, and relies mostly on the back brake in scetchy situations. This may be unavoidable in DH racing, but not for the riding that one is likely to be doing on a Heckler.

Kapusta

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't worry about brake jack on a heckler.

People only care about brake jack on downhill bikes, and not light duty freeride and trail bikes.

 

[yagimax]

heckler and DHX air

I will be interesting if they offered the new Fox DHX 5 air ( as a 2.25 stroke) as a future option on the Heckler .
This rear shock is specked on the S. C. Nomad.

Gary

 

[MRC]

I wouldn't worry about brake jack on a heckler.

People only care about brake jack on downhill bikes, and not light duty freeride and trail bikes.

People may only care about it on downhill bikes, but that's not to say it's unnoticeable on the Heckler. I've had my Heckler for about 6 months now, and I notice it on a certain downhill section everytime I ride one of my regular trails. Does it bother me? Yes, a little, when you're 'jacking' you've got less control. The solution is to brake smarter and ride smoother.

Brake jack with the Heckler is minimal and it is inherent to the single pivot design. You may or may not notice it, but if you do, it's easy enough to mitigate.

 

[RobsterCraw]

If you have to worry about Brake Jack then you're probably better off on a DH bike. Brake jack is only a problem at high speeds and on really rough terrain. Or if your suspension has no damping. I though I was gonna want a floater on my bullit when I bought it but so far I don't really need one at all.

Also Air shocks are improving but if you are looking to do freeride style riding I would stick with a tried and true coil and oil. I'm also interested in how well the DHX Air holds up to the challenge, but I'm not about to jump on the bandwagon for its first lap. Also a heckler is a fun bike to ride but its often settled on as a compromise. If you want to do more DH and FR style riding don't hesitate to pick up a Bullit instead. Many people shy away from the true FR bikes because they think they can't really do real FR stuff so they go half way between XC and FR. If all you ever plan on doing is simple trail riding then stick with the heckler. But if you really want to move into the more aggressive stuff don't hesitate to go for a beefier bike.

Figure out exactly what kind of riding you WANT to be doing and base your purchase off of that. I went from XC bike to DH bike and I'm still amazed at what I can do on the DH.

 

[e-rider]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. The reason I'm wanting to change to a FS is because my back isn't so good and the HT isn't helping. The riding I'll be doing will be a mixture of rocky trial, rocky dh sections, drops, dj and a good bit of blacktop getting to the trail head, so a heavier bike is probably not so desirable. The Heckler appears to fit the bill for me and I'm used to SC's geometry with my HT. Now the remaining question is to decide which shock would be best for my purpose.
From Kapusta's post it seems that the 5th would be too much of a handful and from RobsterCraw, the DHX Air is too new, so I guess that would leave the Swingers in coil or air flavour and either 3 or 4 ways. Again any pointers would be appreciated as I don't have any concept as to what to look for in a rear shock.

Oo

 

[RobsterCraw]

I run a fox DHX and I love it. My buddy has a 5th and its pretty cool too. I like using the pro pedal adjustments on the DHX. You could go for the DHX air. They seem pretty pimp. Just make sure you can warranty it if you have to. If you're rocking a bad back you probably wont be doing the kinda stunts I try to do. DHX air is a nifty concept. When I want to pick up stuff thats new on the market I always find out what some of the pros who get exposed to it earlier than us think of the products. Thats what I did when I bought my Marz 66RC. I was sceptical of it as a SC downhill fork but I called my freind and he said that when he was out with some other pros who ride it they were hucking everything and everything and it held up fine. So I bought it. So I recommend the DHX over all. Or if you want to save the weight a little and do your own maintenance get the DHX Air. But it will come with a greater risk of failing.

 

[roseyscot]

RP3 rocks!!!

last season i had a 5th coil on my heckler. i just switched it out for an rp3 air and took my maiden ride tonight. I am hooked. the loss of .5 inches of travel doesn't bother me in the least. the bike was way more responsive and jumping logs and rocks was much easier. plus i was able to climb a lot better with the more responsive suspension and the loss of serious weight. I recommend the rp3 for anyone, except the serious huckster...

I run a fox DHX and I love it. My buddy has a 5th and its pretty cool too. I like using the pro pedal adjustments on the DHX. You could go for the DHX air. They seem pretty pimp. Just make sure you can warranty it if you have to. If you're rocking a bad back you probably wont be doing the kinda stunts I try to do. DHX air is a nifty concept. When I want to pick up stuff thats new on the market I always find out what some of the pros who get exposed to it earlier than us think of the products. Thats what I did when I bought my Marz 66RC. I was sceptical of it as a SC downhill fork but I called my freind and he said that when he was out with some other pros who ride it they were hucking everything and everything and it held up fine. So I bought it. So I recommend the DHX over all. Or if you want to save the weight a little and do your own maintenance get the DHX Air. But it will come with a greater risk of failing.

 

[cdub]

do you think the rp3 will handle the abuse of a coil?

 

[bighitboy]

if u wanna jump alot wait for the new DHX air that looks like my next move when i get sick of this spring dhx although it has been way better after coming back from fox.

 

[cdub]

if u wanna jump alot wait for the new DHX air that looks like my next move when i get sick of this spring dhx although it has been way better after coming back from fox.

well whenever you want to sell it. just pm me. haha

 

[roseyscot]

rp3 content

the 5th coil that i replaced had to go back to progressive only 6 weeks into its life. the rebound was shot. progressive fixed it under warranty but their turnaround was not fast. plus, i picked up 2 day air to get it from the east coast to the west coast and then they shipped it ground back to me, after telling me they will return it via the same shipping level they receive it.

i bought a 5th air last season, but never ended up mounting it. i am really happy with the rp3 and although i am not hucking bigger than 4-5 feet, i am confident it will hold up. also, having dropped nearly two pounds with the change, i expect to be a lot smoother.

anyone want a 5th element air shock, new in the box with mounting hardware for the heckler? pm me.

do you think the rp3 will handle the abuse of a coil?

 

[R1D3R]

Go For The Swinger

The 5th element Copies the Swingers SPV feature and they do a good job of it, but 5th element is not as good quality as the Swingers.