The ShockWiz suspension data acquisition device first appeared back in 2015, the creation of Nigel Wade and his tuning company, Dusty Dynamics. Initially, the unit could be purchased only via a Kickstarter campaign, but the device caught SRAM's attention, and they decided to acquire ShockWiz, and to bring Nigel onboard to continue the development process. Now called the Quarq ShockWiz, the device is currently available to anyone with $399 USD in their bank account.
ShockWiz Details• Automated shock and fork tuning recommendations
• Works with air sprung forks and shocks with a single volume positive chamber
• Includes two air hoses for mounting
• Smartphone app for Apple and Android
• Waterproof and dustproof
• Price: $399 USD
• www.quarq.com I've spent the last couple of weeks experimenting with the ShockWiz, enough to get used to the app interface, setup, and performance. There are still a few scenarios I'm planning on putting it through in order to suss out exactly how accurate its recommendations are; look for a more in-depth examination once I have some more time with it.
Before we go any further, though, let's start with the basics: what exactly is the ShockWiz, and how does it work? ShockWiz is a tuning tool, a way to monitor your suspension's behavior over the course of a ride. It does this by constantly measuring a fork or shock's air pressure as it extends and compresses, and then using that information to calculate things like sag, number of deep compressions, rebound speed, etc... The device itself is waterproof and dustproof, powered by a CR2032 battery, and in addition to monitoring the changing air pressure, it has an accelerometer that can be used to calculate the average time spent in the air per jump.
Installation
Installation only takes a matter of minutes and a couple of zip ties – one side of the air hose is threaded to the ShockWiz unit, and the other is threaded onto a compatible fork or shock. Once it's hooked up, it can be paired to a smartphone via Bluetooth, and then calibrated following the steps laid out by the app.
Calibration involves letting the air out of the shock, cycling it a few times, pushing it to the end of its travel, and then pulling it to full extension. This gives the app the baseline numbers required to accurately measure how the shock is behaving.
After the calibration is complete, the next step is to go for a ride. If you'd rather leave the electronic leash at home, it's not necessary to bring a smartphone along – the ShockWiz will still record the data, and then it can be reviewed at a later time, once you're reunited with your phone.
First ImpressionsFor my first few rides with the ShockWiz I installed it on a Fox Float X2 mounted to a Trek Slash. In the weeks prior I'd dedicated more time than usual to getting this particular shock set up to my liking, so I was curious what the ShockWiz would have to say about my settings.
One nice feature of the ShockWiz is that you can check sag before heading out on a ride without needing to get out a shock pump. Just sit on the bike, cycle it a few times, then open up the app to confirm your settings.
Out on the trail, I did a couple laps of a two-minute downhill, one with a mix of rough sections, jumps, and drops. The ShockWiz will even tell you if it needs more information in order to provide accurate recommendations, such as riding a rougher section of trail.
After those two laps, I checked in with the ShockWiz. My score was 96/100, but on the suggestions page it recommended letting out some air pressure and speeding up the rebound. I gave that a try, and after starting a new session (a necessary step after any changes are made), I took another two laps, and took another look. I'd felt like the changes were beneficial – decreasing the air pressure improved the small bump compliance, and as it turned out, the device was happy with those changes as well, bumping my score up to a 98.
You can even find out how much air time you racked up during the course of a ride.
It's worth mentioning that there are four different tuning settings – Efficient, Balanced, Playful, and Aggressive. You can switch between them at any time, and the recommended settings will change accordingly, although there's sometimes a slight delay as the new recommendations are calculated. What goes into each of those modes is detailed on the ShockWiz website, but the names are fairly self-explanatory – Efficient creates the firmest tune, and Playful is similar to the Balanced mode, but with the goal of achieving a livelier feel.
SuggestionsTo me, the 'Aggressive' name is a little misleading – following the suggestions in that mode will create the softest tune, ensuring that all the travel is regularly used. It's aimed more at DH riders, but even then, I feel like the Aggressive tune should be firmer, rather than softer – more like what a racer would run and less like the settings preferred by someone wants their suspension as soft and squishy as possible.
The other feature that's missing in the app is a way to record the data gathered in each session. As it is, when you tap on 'Start A New Session,' that previous data is erased. I'd like to have a way to easily record the pertinent data, or at the very least have a section to record notes in the app itself. I'm sure we'll see the app continue to progress as more and more users give ShockWiz a try – it'll be interesting to see how it evolves.
Do You Need It?As it is, ShockWiz is sort of like a game for bike nerds, with the end goal of achieving a perfect score, that elusive 100%. Is it an absolute necessity? Of course not – the ShockWiz is simply one tool that can help take some of the mystery out of suspension setup. In particular, I can see it as being useful for bike shops working with customers to dial in their ride; the customer can go out with the device attached, come back, and the shop employee can take a look at the data gathered and see what steps might be worth taking. The same goes for coaches, or avid consumers keen to keep a close eye on their suspension's behavior. Or what about integrating the technology into the shock itself, eliminating the need to buy an aftermarket device? Now
that would be something to see.
Is there a better (and cheaper) alternative available?
Would be interesting to see a comparative review of the two systems when they are both available.
A lot of blokes like me don't have enough free time or access to shuttle assisted riding to really get to know their suspension.
This would be gold for me to use once or twice.
Not on the back though, because I've got a DHX2 and it's f*cking unreal!
I do think this is great though, if we all must suffer air shocks because of their infinite spring rate tuning then we may as well make damned sure they're working as well as they possibly can do.
@jaame: hiring them out would be a great idea, fingers crossed the crusty dude in my lbs see it that way ;-)
You could consider a rental service? I'm never going to buy one, but I would love to rent one.
You act like Nigel was held at gunpoint to sell his product design. It looks like the added product development expertise, manufacturing and distribution support have helped deliver a top shelf product. If you like having gadgets like this, you'll understand why it's worth so much. If you can't afford it or don't want it, don't complain, just don't buy it ya dingus.
I've had mine for a few months and I love it! It's helped me out a ton. Not just with refining the setup on my regular bike, but it helps when borrowing a friends bike too. I can get to the perfect settings for my weight and style in half a ride.
so in that way, for $400, this seems kinda neat and beneficial to play with. when a floor pump and pedals regularly cost $100+ each, and tires are often $70+ each, this isn't the end of the world. with the ability to have "run" playbacks or save multiple settings and "runs" so you can compare and keep notes on various trails/tracks, this would probably fit the bill real nicely for a lot of people. i like that this tech is trickling down.
I only ask as LoamHuck brought up some valid points that would be extremely useful for the consumer.
Is it possible to run two units(f/r) simultaneously? A package would be nice to see if that's the case.
As for the product selector, that is a great idea that has been considered. There is however a lot of variables involved with that, not to mention the internal upkeep of such tables. At the end of the day ShockWiz works best when the Compression Ratio is accurately measured using the Calibration Wizard within the ShockWiz App. The process may take up to 5 minutes your first time through. Once familiar you can cut that down to 2-3 minutes max. Also, once you have the CR measured, this value can be recorded and simply re-entered later if needed. The only caveat here is that making a change to Air Spring Ramp (Bottomless Tokens and Bands) will change your springs Compression Ratio which means such a change requires re-measuring.
how are you accounting for "optimal" when somebody could have too many or too little tokens in their fork/shock? assuming that these things boil down to personal preference? and so just trying to isolate psi, compression, rebound settings only for a person?
what if somebody is not utilizing enough of their stroke, so the program suggests compression setting changes, but really they should be using less tokens for the given terrain that they're using for testing? how does the program distinguish the difference?
if you're only riding 1 ShockWiz at a time, how do you account for changes on one end of the bike affecting changes, OR BEING affected by changes on the other end? are you assuming its negligible for the sake of it being a mountain bike compared to a motorcycle?
anyways... beyond that... setting savings in the app or ability to record the dynamics of a run in conjunction with one of those apps that gives you speed/distance/elevation of the run so you can map certain shock actions to exact areas of a course, and the ability to run 2 ShockWiz at the same time, would be awesome.
ShockWiz offers tuning suggestions for 6 adjustments; Baseline Air Pressure, Air Spring Ramp (Bottemless tokens and bands), Rebound (LSR), HSC, LSC, and Bottom Out Resistance.
When suggesting changes to these adjustments, ShockWiz takes a holistic approach. It considers the combination of all the tuning parameters available to us and tries to keep everything in balance so that no force is dominating over another, across all obstacles we encounter in a typical ride.
If your spring is too linear, ShockWiz will suggest that you "Add Spacers" to increase Air Spring Ramp.
If you aren't using enough of your travel, ShockWiz may suggest a number of things. The most obvious being to "Remove Air" to lower your Baseline Air Pressure. It may also suggest that you "Remove Spacers" to decrease your Air Spring Ramp. Creating a more linear spring curve allowing you to more easily use all your travel. The important thing is that it considers every aspect.
The Suspension Tuning Order article is very helpful to determine the correct order adjustments should be made, link below.
shockwiz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/229083967-Suspension-Tuning-Order
It is important to remember that there is no such thing as a "perfect" tune – unfortunately it does not exist and suspension tuning is always a balance of compromise. A tune that works well on one part of your ride will not necessarily be optimal on a different portion. However, it is possible to get to a point that is a very good compromise between all the aspects we are considering. ShockWiz directs you to the point at which a good compromise is achieved, which we call the ‘Window of Happiness’.
As the name suggest, the 'Window of Happiness' is an acceptable range we want to be in. It may consist of 1-2 damping clicks wide and maybe +/-5% Baseline Air Pressure, for any given Tuning Style. It is important to understand that the Window of Happiness is not as simple as focusing on one aspect, such as having your sag at a particular percentage.
ShockWiz devices cannot communicate with one another, and you can only connect a single device to the app a time (to view the data). This does not pose a problem when using multiple devices, as all the user calibration vales and ride data is stored on ShockWiz, not within the app. The ShockWiz App is only a means to view the ride data and to interact with the device; such as to calibrate or Start a New Session.
Using one ShockWiz, and swapping it between the front and rear suspension, is no less effective than using two simultaneously. The only disadvantage of using one device is the added time in tuning the fork and shock individually. When you are satisfied with the Shock Tuning Score and feel of one suspension component, you would simply move it over to the other.
For more information see the 'Using ShockWiz' section of our ShockWiz Online Help, link below.
shockwiz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/203983928-USING-SHOCKWIZ
That doesn't mean that changing tire pressure doesn't have a significant effect on the riding experience - it often does, but these are typically to do with lateral grip and how the bike 'feels' and inspires confidence on the trail - not things that relate directly to suspension performance.
Because of tire pressure, the rider may have a different amount of grip / confidence and therefore be faster / slower through certain obstacles resulting in different suspension movements, but ShockWiz will just continue to analyse this and suggest any suspension adjustments it thinks will lead to an improvement.
I think Alex already covered most of LoamHuck's points. As he alluded too, one of the nice things about a product like this is it has the ability to evolve after purchase, via updates, as new features are developed and implemented. Something which we don't normally think of when buying an bike component. Since the devices have been sent out to the original Kickstarter backers, we have deployed a couple of app and firmware updates to add in the 'Statistics' page, improve the tuning algorithms and add in multi-language support.
As for two devices for a dually, it is nice to run two units simultaneously, but is not a necessity, the ShockWiz 101 article covers it here: www.quarq.com/2017/02/07/shockwiz-101/#more-682
Thanks for the feedback. I'm developing a bit of a techno crush on your product.
The Early Adopter and Responsible Dad in me is having a bit if a fist fight about what to do with the savings earmarked for my daughter's school fund.
I am wondering about one thing: the SAG measurement. Thanks to the calibration and the initial pressure, the device will know the starting point and the end point of the spring curve (which is proportional to the pressure curve since the size of the piston is constant), but how does the device know how these to points are linked? The size of both the negative and positive chambers will greatly influence the shape of the spring curve. Is Shockwiz assuming a "standard" spring curve?
Shipping included.
Just DM and I can send you the details.
That being said, I would probably have bought one if it was 200-300$ CAN but 400$ US? No way. If you've been messing with suspension for a while, your setup is probably pretty dialed by now anyway.
So, please do us a favor and shut up.
The bit about it not saving data? That seems pretty minor, can be fixed in the app rather than requiring a hardware change. The unit gets reset - but your app could save the session data, then allow you to compare it to past sessions. Could even tie that into a website so you could buy a membership and always keep that data around to compare over time.
2.5k for an Enve wheelset? Hell yeah bro! 400 for a bit of equipment that can actually improve how you ride? Nahhh bro too expensive!
I feel like as soon as you have your shock "dialed" and throw the Unit onto your fork/make adjustments up front.....you'd potentially change how the rear reacts rendering your shock adjustments now obsolete. (and vice versa)
Suspension gurus?
Are you guys still working in a support capacity? Or is that all in the hands of Sram now?
BTW Congrats!
its not the kind of tool that you'll need on a day to day basis you can pass it around the group and all reap the benefits
With the advent of the ShockWiz tuning system I now have my suspension dialled to perfection and learnt a few things about the characteristics of my suspension during the process.
I used Adrenaline Cycles as they unlike other bike shops have a unique way of delivering tuning to their customers. Most bike shops who are currently able to hire out the ShockWiz are doing just that hiring out the gadget and leaving you to your own devices where you have to figure the whole thing out, download the app, go through a learning curve and then start tuning your bike. Although the gadget and respective app are very intuitive you still have to invest time to get a handle on the way it works which could take days even weeks until you are completely proficient with it .
The USP Adrenaline Cycles offer is your own tech geek who goes by the name of Kev. Kev has already done all the learning on your behalf and for a comparable cost to just hiring the ShockWiz Kev will come with the ShockWiz. Having an expert come with the gadget means that you don’t have to do any of the learning and you can reduce the time it takes to tune your bike down to a mere 2 hour session with Kev. Kev is a bike mechanic and a self-confessed geek on all things bike and he is likely going to school you downhill as well, pretty handy to have around.
Kev and his pair of ShockWiz’s will go to where you want to ride or your local, within reason (based in Derbyshire with access to the Peak district and various gnarly local Downhills), calibrate the ShockWiz front or rear or both depending on what your needs are, calibration takes 5 minutes. Kev will then send you off to ride your bike in your current settings and then once the system has enough data reconvene, for me this was 3 runs down my local downhill play area . Once the data acquisition was complete you can both geek out on the results and Kev will then start suggesting what is required to hit the sweet spot. In my case at £1 a piece Kev whipped my rear shock off and added 2 volume spacers, this task would have taken me 30 minutes in a work shop, Kev did it in 4-5 minutes out on the trail, impressive stuff.
My session with Kev lasted 2 hours from meeting and shaking hands to riding away with a smile on my face. The session was fun, informative and successful. I chose the playful tuning option and I could genuinely feel this through my bike. Other tuning options are Efficient for the XC crowd, Balanced for a neutral feel, Playful for those who value the downhill side of riding but still want to ride some miles and finally Aggressive for the Downhill only set. So there really is something for everyone.
So if all you want is to have your suspension tuned properly and you do not want to go through the pain of learning how to best use your intuition or go through the learning curve of using a ShockWiz then I highly recommend contacting Kev at Adrenaline Cycles, he’ll have you set up in no time, and you get the bonus of living out your fantasy as a Pro doing preseason testing, or is that just me.
@adrenalinecycleservicesuk
Edit to answer own question: It's because at 0 sag both positive and negative air chambers are connected.
The Dorado Air system from Manitou is the only air spring that I am aware of that works this way. Basically the air inflation valves on these springs feature a poppet valve that, when a shock pump is installed, opens the positive and negative chambers to one another allowing them to equalize. Once the pump is removed, the valve closes and the chambers become separate again. The ShockWiz hose functions no differently than a pump when installed, which is why it is not compatible.
ShockWiz compatibility articles can be found at Quarq.com > Support > ShockWiz Online Help. I also always recommend contacting your suspension's manufacturer or visiting your local bike shop for technical questions such as these.
Hoping that price drops over time.
I personally would really like this, but it definitely isn't for everyone - probably only for people who compete often I'd say.
It is important to remember that the data gathered is very real. There are really 2 important pieces here; the devices ability to measure and record pressure data at the very high rate that it does, and then the algorithm which takes in the very complex information and outputs very easy to understand tuning Suggestions. The raw data on it's own is of very little use to most.
...or so I read...
www.jensonusa.com/Quarq-Shockwiz/Quarq-Shockwiz-Shock-Tuning-Device
SRAM smell the money spinner in this....
Recon the Q stands for quids in!
(I know it really means quark)
shockwiz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/204347088-COMPATIBILITY;
youtu.be/03pdywBkuNQ
Do you want to improve your suspension performance?
Save those 400$ and buy a coil shock.