The shocks are written about in order of testing, I hope you enjoy it! For up and down! I took this project very seriously, so this is a hefty read. As things tend to go, a few shipping delays, work, and poor weather meant that equal time wasnРІР‚в„ўt quite achieved, but that didnРІР‚в„ўt end up being an issue, as each shock was easily set up and very quickly revealed itself on the trail. My main goal was not to declare a winner, but rather highlight and discuss the different shocks after spending about a month on each, roughly 12-16 rides (3-4 rides a week). I was met with a lot of enthusiasm from the three companies, which was a great start. I reached out to Fox Racing Shox, Р“вЂ“hlins, and MRP to see if they would like to participate in this project. As the season got underway and I was riding as much as I could, I started to really analyze how my build was holding up so far РІР‚вЂњ I had a few thoughtsРІР‚В¦ then, Fox released the MY2020 suspension on June 1st, which meant there were then four manufactures producing easily-purchasable 210Р“вЂ”50 sized coil shocks, giving me an idea base on those aforementioned РІР‚СљthoughtsРІР‚Сњ the concept for the Short Shock Shootout was born! The 2019 short travel shred sled, seen with the CC DB. I bought a Cane Creek Double Barrel CS for the build, opting for the piggyback version based on my size and propensity for rowdy riding. ItРІР‚в„ўs a very unique Marin Hawk Hill build, in that it is not light, is rife with DH-spec parts, and basically just straight up looks insane considering it is a 140/125mm travel bike. The MTBJesus Edition XC/Trail bike I built over the Winter of 2019 was a lean, mean, race-looking machine ready for a summer of shredding, suspended on a coil shock. Dirt surfinРІР‚в„ў in NZ, custom DHX2 getting after it. The industry had heard mine and many othersРІР‚в„ў cries for coil on all of our bikes, not just the 200mm beasts reserved for descending after all, trail bikes have fast-become mini DH bikes with their speed-oriented geometry. To me, seeing this felt like vindication for all the years I talked down on air shocks and how they were lacking of features and performance I desired. It was during this hunt that I discovered several companies were producing short-stroke coil shocks which could be specРІР‚в„ўd on shorter-travel bikes. After my days of traveling around to World Cups/New Zealand had concluded in 2018, I sought after a more reasonable bike for the local trails, something more trimmed down than an alpine shredding machine like the Taniwha. It was amazing, a sublime change and one that opened my eyes to what a trail bike was capable of doing. That DHX2 ended up with a custom РІР‚СљMOG TuneРІР‚Сњ on it, which truly made the bike feel like an actual DH race bike. Once I upgraded to a 27.5 bike, a first-gen production 160mm Zerode Taniwha, I threw a Fox DHX2 on it, because I wanted a DH bike I could pedal around and one that would be as fun as possible when the going got fast. So when racing took a backseat and I began my journey into the world of also riding uphill, I quickly found that the bikes I kept riding were woefully under-gunned for how I was trying to ride them. I also really desire my suspension to be excellent when it comes to small-bump compliance, as I ride flat pedals on some of the roughest trails around. The problem though, for me, is air has a very specific feel, a poppy, lively ride characteristicРІР‚В¦ which I find to be irksome, my РІР‚СљA to BРІР‚Сњ riding style is better suited to the damp, more mechanically controlled coil shocks I grew up racing on (my heyday being the one where we all owned a DH bike and a DJ bike, XC/Trail cross-training was not quite a thing at the time). This was especially true with suspension, as air shocks had become the defacto option for all bikes, except DH, for quite a few years. My first 27.5, one bike to shred it all cir. My personal riding style has always been that of a DH racer plunked down on whatever bike was presented, so itРІР‚в„ўs fair to say that IРІР‚в„ўve struggled to find an XC/Trail bike that fits my needs for quite some time. The variation of riding types has become a spectrum or Venn diagram, rather than a definitive chart. No longer are the lines between XC, Trail, All Mountain, Enduro, and DH so clear cut. The trickle-down of race parts off the ski hill and onto local trail networks is nothing new, but the way bikes are being designed these days, that trickle is netting some interesting stylings of bikes. This idea was born from the desire to make my short-travel trail bike feel as close to a DH rig as possible.

Cane creek double barrel review