[Tarekith]

Hi all,

I've been having a ton of issues with the stock Monarch on my 2017 Enduro Elite getting slowly "stuck down" on longer rides, to the point that it's ruined 3 bike trips for me the last two years (Bend, Whistler, Squamish) when my bike ends up with zero travel in the back after a few hours riding. It's been looked at and rebuilt by three different authorized Specialized dealers and sent back to Rock Shox once too. All signs point to the Autosag functionality, but at this point I've already spent enough money trying to solve the issue that I could have just bought a brand new shock. And since I'm fed up with trying to fix this, that's just what I want to do now.

It's a shame because I love the Monarch when it's working, no complaints at all with it then.

So, what options are there that will fit with the non-standard mounting on the Enduro? I'd prefer to stick with air sprung versus coil, as I enjoy tuning my shocks for how (and what) I'll be riding on different trips.

 

[aenima]

I just put the DVO Topaz on my stumpy and have been very happy with it. They have one for the Enduro too.

https://dvosuspension.com/shocks/topaz-t3air/

 

[Tarekith]

Thanks, I hadn't thought about going the DVO route before!

 

[aenima]

No problem, it's a direct mount and gets lots of great reviews from the little bit of the research I did. Also, the customer service was great. They were pretty spot on with the air pressure and set up recommendations. I borrowed a shockwiz and the "playful" setting was dead on with what they suggested. Pretty reasonably priced too.

 

[kendunn]

I'm kind of in the same boat with my 2018 Elite. Everything I have ever touched SRAM or RS has turned to crap (don't even get me started on the brakes sticking). First my shock sliced the bumper oring with very little use, I just rebuilt myself since SRAM is pretty hard to deal with, a month ago my auto sag did the sucked down thing, thought maybe I bumped the knob and it wasn't fully seated or something, then yesterday I was riding some tight trails near my house and noticed I was getting pedal strikes where I normally don't, looked down and..... Something you may consider (I am ) is the bike yoke that allows you to use any standard 200x57 shock. I am also looking at an Ohlins since I have the Ohlins fork.
There is a "high" and "low" option, I never liked mine at the high setting (can't get the front wheel up!), so choose accordingly. https://takeahikeshop.com/products/...KLrFmL0PW5puRWyXDbkh4LYZyDlE_WMEaAswvEALw_wcB

 

[retrofred]

I'm kind of in the same boat with my 2018 Elite. Everything I have ever touched SRAM or RS has turned to crap (don't even get me started on the brakes sticking). First my shock sliced the bumper oring with very little use, I just rebuilt myself since SRAM is pretty hard to deal with, a month ago my auto sag did the sucked down thing, thought maybe I bumped the knob and it wasn't fully seated or something, then yesterday I was riding some tight trails near my house and noticed I was getting pedal strikes where I normally don't, looked down and..... Something you may consider (I am ) is the bike yoke that allows you to use any standard 200x57 shock. I am also looking at an Ohlins since I have the Ohlins fork.
There is a "high" and "low" option, I never liked mine at the high setting (can't get the front wheel up!), so choose accordingly. https://takeahikeshop.com/products/...KLrFmL0PW5puRWyXDbkh4LYZyDlE_WMEaAswvEALw_wcB

I've actually thought about going that route myself in order to run a coil shock rather than an air. I've looked at ditching the auto sag in favor of a Debonair can. Had that on my older Nomad and loved the feel of that Monarch versus what Specialized puts on the Enduro.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[ArchieTolliver]

I've been using the Ohliins TTX Coil on my 2017 Elite and find it to be great. I have had ZERO issues with it. Climbs great and descends great. Very tunable and I hardly notice the extra weight.

I had a number of issues with the Monarch Autosag. RS/SRAM removed the feature when I sent it in for repair. I had it rebuild with a new sleeve as well. I haven't used it since the repairs were made, and I don't plan on putting it back on any time soon....

 

[oikeith]

I too hated the Monarch which came stock on my elite, I upgraded to the Ohlins air STX22 to start with and had no issues with it, was much better than the monarch. I recently upgraded my frame to a Sworks frame and picked up a Ohlins TTX22 coil, the provides better traction and small bump sensitivity, I am having to play with the low speed compression so that the bikes resists pedal input and pumping, I have bottomed it out several times and it doesnt feel as harsh as bottoming out the air. Going to get the internals of it tuned then I am sure it will be excellent

 

[kendunn]

So I got the Bike Yoke in, nicely made and everything worked as it should. I have an X-Fusion O2 Pro RCS on my Process 111 that I am very pleased with so I thought I would get another for cheap new on Ebay. I changed tires at the same time, so that was a little unfair as I really liked what I took off, just wanted to try something that I had taken off and I really didn't like them all that much, but I think the shock is going to work very well and much better the the RS. I really don't like RS, swapped my Pike for a Mattoc and been very happy. My RS on my YT was replaced by a Fox DPX much to my liking as well. Add to the fact that SRAM is the worst I have dealt with and good riddance. Pro tip, if you do get the X-Fusion, pull the can off first thing and smear some of the grease on the O'ring or it will kick on rebound