vorsprung or push coil conversion
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It's gonna be rare to find people who have done both, but there are a few.
People who favor the Smashpot have posted here and here. On the other hand this poster preferred the ACS-3, at least initially.
Most people report that the Smashpot is about 150g-250g heavier.
People who favor the Smashpot have posted here and here. On the other hand this poster preferred the ACS-3, at least initially.
Most people report that the Smashpot is about 150g-250g heavier.
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This is the nicest post I've ever seen. Could have yelled that op didn't search, instead you drop live links to the exact posts.
Can I add the CRConception coil to this comparison thread? It's more basic but half the price. If you have a damper with hydraulic bottom out (manitou or avalanche) seems like it would perform very close to the other two.
I've had both. The Push kit works fine....until you try the smashpot.
For me the Smashpot has been silent and the hydraulic bottom out is fantastic. The Push could be noisy depending on where I was riding and I found getting the right balance between the right spring and having minimum pneumatic bottom out difficult (one spring was too heavy with no air felt I lost a little compliance and another spring was too light with too much air felt like it was ramping up too quickly on end stroke).
They are both good, just one is better.
For me the Smashpot has been silent and the hydraulic bottom out is fantastic. The Push could be noisy depending on where I was riding and I found getting the right balance between the right spring and having minimum pneumatic bottom out difficult (one spring was too heavy with no air felt I lost a little compliance and another spring was too light with too much air felt like it was ramping up too quickly on end stroke).
They are both good, just one is better.
ridden both, in the end I bought the smashpot.
Borrowed a friends Factory 36 Fit4 29er with the ACS3, which was very good, the air element was super sensitive to pressure changes. The difference of a few psi went from no bottom out control to feeling like it had 10 tokens in it, this may have been install issue or whatever I am not sure, However the initial stroke was plush and the mid stroke was controlled which is all you can ask for.
I guy locally was selling a smashpot 1 ride old for near half price of a new kit... with the spring that was reccomended for my weight and travel (170mm on 29er) so I rolled the dice.
Chucked it into my Fit-Grip 36 Rhythm in about 20 minutes (so easy) slowed down the rebound 3 clicks from my usual air setting and was in Fork Nirvana! It reminded me of my old Coil Fox 40 in a way, but the bottom out control is absolutely seamless and controlled. It's dead silent too.
Only con, yes it does add some weight. As soon as you ride it, you don't notice it at all.
I don't think you will regret either, speaking to my local suspension guru's they were very positive about the vorsprung kit (they sell both brands)
Borrowed a friends Factory 36 Fit4 29er with the ACS3, which was very good, the air element was super sensitive to pressure changes. The difference of a few psi went from no bottom out control to feeling like it had 10 tokens in it, this may have been install issue or whatever I am not sure, However the initial stroke was plush and the mid stroke was controlled which is all you can ask for.
I guy locally was selling a smashpot 1 ride old for near half price of a new kit... with the spring that was reccomended for my weight and travel (170mm on 29er) so I rolled the dice.
Chucked it into my Fit-Grip 36 Rhythm in about 20 minutes (so easy) slowed down the rebound 3 clicks from my usual air setting and was in Fork Nirvana! It reminded me of my old Coil Fox 40 in a way, but the bottom out control is absolutely seamless and controlled. It's dead silent too.
Only con, yes it does add some weight. As soon as you ride it, you don't notice it at all.
I don't think you will regret either, speaking to my local suspension guru's they were very positive about the vorsprung kit (they sell both brands)
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Vorsprung also has cooler stickers 
Haven't ridden either so I'll chime in with useless input: One of the selling points of coil is the luxury of not having to deal with air pressures. I'd rather have the vorsprung so I can dial in bottom out control with a dial- not a finicky air pressure.
Push's solution seems like it would behave a little like a super progressive air spring near bottom out. That can make it difficult to get your rebound damping set up nicely because if it's slow enough to control that very strong spring force deep in the travel it's too slow at your ride height. Might not be a problem with GRIP2 but for any damper without externally adjustable HSR I'd be choosing the Smashpot.
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Seems reasonable in theory. In practice I didn't have that issue on a 2018 Fox 36 RC2 170mm. About to try a new ACS-3 setup on a new bike, same fork travel, GRIP2 damper, step up in tire width to 2.5 from 2.3 and boost spacing instead of... uh... classic.
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Great thread, I just purchased the smashpot. Does anyone have any suggestion recommended spring chart soft vs med vs hard?
It's so dependent on terrain, how aggressive you are with the front end etc
Best to honestly assess your ability and what you ride then take an educated guess.
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Thanks! I like my spring a little softer so the damper can do more work. Picked the rate between medium and soft.
That should be fine, the original spring chart was too firm for a lot of people and was subsequently revised.
I'm running the recommended spring with nil/minimal compression damping and It's spot on for me. If anything I would go one rate lower and utilize the damping a bit more but I'm happy at the moment.
I'm running the recommended spring with nil/minimal compression damping and It's spot on for me. If anything I would go one rate lower and utilize the damping a bit more but I'm happy at the moment.
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Thanks. Yea I guess with the added mid suppleness you might as well over spring a bit crank open any stock damper. I used to just remove all the tokens and crank up the psi in my forks, but I have a nice damper now so I figure I might as well put it to use!
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I did two ACS conversions for a friend. Worked well and he liked it but with the way he rode he needed a stiffer spring and max pressure in the end-stroke air spring to control bottoming, and he's about 160 lb. I haven't seen Vorspung's smash pot, but it sounds like a better solution.
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