[Potato Junkie]

Hi,

I'm after a bit of guidance from the Enduro pilots on the forum.

I'm buying a new bike and have decided on either a custom Turner 5-Spot with a Romic coil or a Specialized Enduro Pro '05. The Pro's the preferred bike at the moment.

I've real concerns over the reliability of the 5th Element air shock however. This is compounded by the demo bike at my lbs sitting in the window for the last few weeks with a blown 2nd chamber.

I know there's reviews on the site, but few from Enduro riders, and the opinions expressed on the forum don't report any actual failures (apologies if they do and I've missed them!).

Do any of the forumites have direct experience of 5th Element failures or am I worrying unecessarily?

Thanks in advance for your help as I really am in a quandry.

Ta,

PJ.

 

[.thumper.]

Hi,

I'm after a bit of guidance from the Enduro pilots on the forum.

I'm buying a new bike and have decided on either a custom Turner 5-Spot with a Romic coil or a Specialized Enduro Pro '05. The Pro's the preferred bike at the moment.

I've real concerns over the reliability of the 5th Element air shock however. This is compounded by the demo bike at my lbs sitting in the window for the last few weeks with a blown 2nd chamber.

I know there's reviews on the site, but few from Enduro riders, and the opinions expressed on the forum don't report any actual failures (apologies if they do and I've missed them!).

Do any of the forumites have direct experience of 5th Element failures or am I worrying unecessarily?

Thanks in advance for your help as I really am in a quandry.

Ta,

PJ.

This may not be any help, but I have not heard of problems with these shocks. All mechanical designs have a particular failure rate and some are simply expected to fail. Higher quality designs have a lower failure rate. It could possibly be that this shock has a lower failure rate, but since your LBS was unfortunate enough to get one that failed, your confidence level has dropped concerning this part. I would assume if this part had enough of a failure rate, your searches on this board would have turned up some failure reports along with how the replacement was handled. IMHO, it sounds like you are unnecessarily concerned.

My $0.02.

 

[Enduro SX]

I have had my S.Works Enduro for about 3 months now and havent had any problems at all with the 5th Air shock. I would highly reccomend the Enduro, its a superb bike.

 

[Potato Junkie]

Servicing Intervals?

Thanks guys. That's what I wanted to hear.

One more question though. Do the custom 5th airs on the Enduros have same recommended servicing intervals as the stock 5th airs?

The recommended interval seems to be 200hrs for the full overhaul, but more worryingly the air can is recommended to be serviced every 40 hours. That's pretty much every month!

See here for details.

Thanks again folks.

 

[dodger]

check out the 5th air shock reviews

Thanks guys. That's what I wanted to hear.

One more question though. Do the custom 5th airs on the Enduros have same recommended servicing intervals as the stock 5th airs?

The recommended interval seems to be 200hrs for the full overhaul, but more worryingly the air can is recommended to be serviced every 40 hours. That's pretty much every month!

See here for details.

Thanks again folks.

The 5th air shock is the most unreliable shock going. One need only verify this by the reviews on MTBR. I skipped this bike for that very reason (since the shock I2I is custom and you can't find a substitute shock)

 

[shorefrog]

A Hyundai part on a Honda frame

The 5th air shock is the most unreliable shock going. One need only verify this by the reviews on MTBR. I skipped this bike for that very reason (since the shock I2I is custom and you can't find a substitute shock)

I've ridden my Enduo hard about a dozen times. The Fox 36 had to be overhauled. The Progressive has stiction and lots of play at the top of the stroke. It's gonna die soon. A coil over would be nice. Been looking. Does anyone know found an applicable replacement rear shock?

 

[smudge]

I've ridden my Enduo hard about a dozen times. The Fox 36 had to be overhauled. The Progressive has stiction and lots of play at the top of the stroke. It's gonna die soon. A coil over would be nice. Been looking. Does anyone know found an applicable replacement rear shock?

What happened to your 36? Mine wasn't working correctly either.

 

[shorefrog]

What happened to your 36? Mine wasn't working correctly either.

Not really sure what was all wrong with it. I just got all wobbly and sloppy all of a sudden. Fox replaced the innnards. The warranty trip took almost 4 weeks.
The Marzocchi 66 is looking prettier all the time.

 

[simen]

Mine 36 works fine. My only concern is how to get full travel? I'm 165 and I can't get 145mm of travel even if I drop the pressure below 40psi?!
5th Element was ok but I noticed some air leak from negative chamber. People at Specialized were kind enough to exchange whole unit at Bike Festival- thanks again. Now it works fine.